What is it?

Gearing up, planning timings, ensuring resources and materials are in place, and getting all the key parties ready to play their part in the effective launch of the intervention.

Why do this?

  • You want to avoid a situation where colleagues and others with influence can frustrate your progress.

    They may have a preconceived idea about what needs to be done and this can lead to confusion and frustration

  • Front line staff who will deliver the intervention need to be up to speed with what will be expected of them, agree with your objectives and equipped to deliver them
  • You want to avoid a situation where the intervention starts before anyone who will be affected is aware of what you are doing

How might you do this?

  • By involving key stakeholders (which should involve colleagues and managers) during scoping and development, and by sharing the findings of research and insight gathering with them, potential problems should have been removed or reduced by this point
  • Make sure staff who will be involved are informed, well prepared and, if necessary, trained to support delivery. Make sure roles and responsibilities are defined and clearly understood
  • Check that the necessary resources are in place. This is especially true of the services that may see a rise in demand, as a result of what you are doing
  • Select an appropriate date for announcing and (if required) publicising the official start of the intervention.

    It is helpful to consider staff holiday periods and patterns of behaviour of the target audience. During scoping, information collected on the target audience can help inform the correct timing of the launch

Tips

  • If resistance is forthcoming, remind people they are unlikely to be the target audience.

    Stress that the intervention has been based on good consumer insight and has been pre-tested with the target audience. Hopefully you have done as much as you can to make the intervention relevant and appealing to the people it is intended to help. If professional groups or individuals continue to resist the intervention, despite it being impressed on them that you have followed a systematic process based on customer insight, then they are not following a social marketing approach

  • Make sure relevant staff understand the rationale behind any changes that have been made to services and how they are to be delivered
  • Encourage staff and stakeholders to be aware of any correlation between different intervention activities that may inter-connect
  • Make sure front line service staff are aware of the timing of the intervention and when and where they might expect to see a rise in demand from the target audience
  • Identify one person who will have overall responsibility for the entire project and ensure that everyone knows who that person is

Output

  • A smooth and supportive path being created to support the roll out of the intervention

Intended Outcome

  • All key players well informed and able to play their part, thus minimising possible complications as the intervention is delivered