Model Demonstration Coordination Center

Providing technical assistance through the Model Demonstration Coordination Center to implement innovative approaches to addressing challenges in serving children and youth with disabilities.

Over 10 years, SRI provided technical assistance through the Model Demonstration Coordination Center to grantees funded by the U.S. Office of Special Education Programs to implement innovative approaches to addressing challenges in serving children and youth with disabilities. SRI synthesized findings across model demonstration and technology implementation projects to identify factors that led to high-quality implementation, sustainment, and wider adoption of evidence-based practices.

Through the Model Demonstration Coordination Center, SRI helped bridge the chasm that can exist between identifying educational evidence-based practices and achieving their widespread use. SRI worked with projects focused on promising practices for children with disabilities in a wide range of topic areas and settings, from early childhood education programs to practices and programs in elementary and secondary schools.

Across these diverse projects and settings, analyses identified characteristics of an effective implementation and refinement process—one that could move a practice from early testing to full implementation, sustained implementation, and wider adoption. This work addressed the kinds of questions that would be on the minds of potential adopters of the models and technology tools, such as administrators, service providers, and teachers: What does it take to implement a new program or practice, and what are the implications for implementing organizations and stakeholders?

Project objectives included:

Facilitating collaborative partnerships with grantee staff to create opportunities to learn and share ideas, tools, and resources
Working with grantee staff to establish consistent design elements across projects to deepen the evidence base for the models
Developing approaches for collecting and analyzing data and synthesizing data across projects to illuminate the issues
Identifying key issues in translating research to practice to improve outcomes for children and youth with disabilities