by Matthew Smith
The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Social Work’s Allison Metz took center stage last month more than 3,000 miles from Chapel Hill, delivering a keynote address in Dublin, Ireland.
Metz was the featured speaker at the Implementation Network of Ireland and Northern Ireland’s networking event “Using Implementation Approaches to Enable Equity; Dismantling Barriers to Services.” The event brought together policy makers, service planners and designers, program managers, and service delivery teams that champion equality for minority and marginalized groups.
An internationally renowned implementation expert, Metz led the event with her discussion “How can implementation science advance equity?”
Implementation science is a field of study that asks “how;” how do individuals and groups — in this case government and agencies — put proven interventions or policies into practice to help those that need it with speed, efficiency and quality.
Metz is the School’s professor of the practice, co-chair of the Institute on Implementation Practice, and is the founding director of the Collaborative for Implementation Practice.
Her research interests include the role of trust, power and relationships in evidence use, competencies for supporting implementation, and co-creation strategies to support sustainable change.
The Implementation Network of Ireland and Northern Ireland was developed to share real-world experience and reflections of successful implementations of policies and practices across the globe. The network is made up of 160 members from across the region, providing opportunities of knowledge exchange, relationship building and networking.
The network is supported by The Centre for Effective Services. The centre works with government departments and service providers to help tackle their biggest challenges, while improving the lives of people in Ireland.
Photos contributed by Claire Lavery/The Centre for Effective Services
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