Review implementation activities - MARAM framework

An implementation review is a way to check that the implementation activities are being successfully embedded into your organisation.

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Implementation Review Guide
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Introduction

Successful implementation means your organisation’s workforce is consistently identifying, screening, assessing and managing family violence risk according to its MARAM responsibilities, and working collaboratively with other services and practitioners to participate in ongoing risk management.

This guide suggests three ways to review the success of implementation activities.

  1. A qualitative review involves asking staff members questions, and reflecting on and analysing their responses. This helps your organisation understand how the workforce is experiencing implementation, which is important because they have close contact with service users. The qualitative review could take place at a workshop with key staff members and managers, by anonymous online survey, focus groups or during an all-staff forum.
  2. A case file checklist involves making a random selection of representative case files from across the organisation and staff members, and assessing them according to a checklist of information.
  3. A quantitative review is a data-based review to determine whether policies and procedures are being applied in practice.

Steps to review implementation activities

  • Determine when to undertake the review – review your implementation plan to evaluate how implementation of the MARAM Framework has tracked against expected timelines, and the outputs you would expect to see at the point of time of the review.
  • Decide how to undertake the review – determine the questions to be asked in a qualitative review, and the forum for the review (i.e. anonymous staff survey, workshops, all staff forum). Select an agreed number of random case files. Run a data report (where possible).
  • Analyse the results – analyse the feedback and data obtained, and consider the impact on the further planned efforts for implementation and alignment.
  • Review policies, procedures, practice guides and tools – based on the feedback and data obtained, review the organisation’s documentation to identify what further changes may be required to improve the feedback received.
  • Share the results – ensure the people responsible for the next MARAM organisational self-audit have the results of the review available to help assess current progress.
  • Close the feedback loop – report the outcome of the review and the next steps that will be taken to the organisation, governance groups and staff members.

When to review

Deciding when to conduct an implementation review is a fine balance – too early and a lot of implementation issues may not be resolved; too late and you may not be able to accurately capture lessons learned.

The review can be scheduled as part of the project plan at suitable junctures of implementation.

Repeat the review at key points to ensure continuous improvement.

Using the data to inform a further MARAM organisational self-audit

The data collected as part of an implementation review should inform the next use of the MARAM organisational self-audit.

Example case study:

  • Greater than 75 per cent of staff surveyed said they are not at all confident, not very confident or a bit confident in seeking secondary consultations.
  • A case file audit revealed very few cases had referrals made to external organisations.
  • Risk assessment data contains low levels of information sharing when compared with the number of cases where family violence was identified.

This data is relevant to Milestones 2D and 2E in the MARAM organisational self-audit tool on secondary consultations, referrals and information sharing. While an organisation may have enacted policies, procedures and practice guidance, and put in place appropriate forms, the data suggests staff members do not feel confident in putting these into practice.

The assessment for Milestones 2D and 2E is likely to be between some progress (staff members are not familiar with the changes made and aligning to MARAM in their course of their work) or good progress (there is room for further work to be undertaken including to ensure more consistent application by staff members).

The notes section may include comments and insight into why it is thought staff members are not confident in responsibilities 5 and 6 and explore what appropriate implementation activities should follow – such as further training, improved resources, managerial support and so on.

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