Annual Seminar Series and Workshop

Workshop

The UTHealth Houston Institute for Implementation Science hosts an annual, application-only Implementation Science Workshop designed to build institutional and regional capacity in the rigorous design, evaluation, and implementation of evidence-based interventions. Each year, 20 competitively selected participants engage in a structured, multi-session curriculum led by Drs. Maria E. Fernandez and Bijal Balasubramanian, along with a multidisciplinary team of faculty and staff. The workshop provides hands-on guidance, expert feedback, and peer learning to support participants in developing high-quality implementation research projects that are methodologically sound, contextually grounded, and positioned for future funding.

The workshop consists of five virtual sessions delivered over five months, allowing participants to iteratively refine their projects between sessions. Participants are grouped by topic area to foster deeper discussion, tailored mentorship, and cross-disciplinary collaboration. The program is designed to support early-career investigators, clinicians, and researchers who are developing or advancing implementation-focused projects.

Applications are due July 31, 2026. Preference will be given to applications from UTHealth Houston investigators, but all are encouraged to apply.

For questions about the annual workshop, please contact [email protected].

Submit Your Application

Price Structure

The workshop has a tiered participant price structure, based on participant career-stage. A limited number of scholarships are available. 

Program Goals

The workshop is designed to:

• Build foundational and intermediate competencies in implementation science theories, methods, and measurement.
• Strengthen participants’ ability to design, justify, and evaluate implementation strategies.
• Support the development of competitive grant proposals and pilot studies.
• Foster cross-disciplinary collaboration and peer learning.
• Enhance institutional capacity to conduct high-impact implementation research.
• Promote the translation of evidence-based interventions into diverse clinical and community settings.

Workshop Structure and Format

The workshop includes five two-hour virtual sessions, each combining didactic instruction, facilitated discussion, and structured project presentations. Participants present their developing projects and receive real-time feedback from faculty experts and peers. Between sessions, participants refine their aims, conceptual models, implementation strategies, and evaluation plans.

Participants are divided into groups based on topic area. Each group meets on an assigned day, ensuring adequate time for individualized feedback and deeper engagement. Faculty facilitation varies by session but consistently emphasizes active participation, constructive critique, and collaborative problem-solving.

Curriculum Summary

The curriculum follows a logical progression aligned with the lifecycle of implementation research:

Session 1: Defining the Intervention - Participants articulate the evidence-based intervention, clarify research questions, and assess the strength of supporting evidence.

Session 2: Planning the Implementation - Participants identify contextual determinants, apply theories and frameworks, and design or tailor implementation strategies.

Session 3: Study Designs - Faculty introduce implementation research designs, including hybrid effectiveness–implementation approaches, and guide participants in selecting appropriate evaluation methods.

Session 4: Measurement of Outcomes and Determinants - Participants explore measurement challenges, define implementation success, and identify indicators and benchmarks for evaluation.

Session 5: Project Update - Participants present their refined projects, demonstrating progress across the workshop and outlining next steps for grant development or pilot testing.

Participant Outcomes

By the end of the workshop, participants typically achieve:

• A clearly defined implementation research question and conceptual model.
• A refined description of the evidence-based intervention and its core components.
• A preliminary implementation strategy or set of strategies informed by theory and evidence.
• A draft study design, including evaluation questions, measures, and data sources.
• A strengthened foundation for developing grant applications, pilot studies, or manuscripts.
• A network of peers and mentors engaged in implementation science.

Seminar Series

Our seminar series explores the evolution, current state, and future research agenda in implementation science through a series of seminars featuring lectures by leading implementation science experts, as well as facilitated panel discussions. Attendees will engage with implementation science theory, implementation strategy development, selection and tailoring, study design, evaluation approaches, and real-world application of implementation science.

The seminars are held virtually on Zoom and registration is open to the public. The intended audience is researchers, healthcare professionals, and other practitioners interested in implementation science.

We are pleased to offer 1.0 Entry-Level CHES/MCHES® Credits for the above seminars in collaboration with the Michael & Susan Dell Center for Healthy Living, housed at UTHealth Houston School of Public Health in Austin. The Michael & Susan Dell Center for Healthy Living is a Designated Provider of continuing education contact hours (CECH) for Certified Health Education Specialists/Master Certified Health Education Specialists (CHES/MCHES®) through The National Commission for Health Education Credentialing, Inc. (NCHEC®). For questions about credits, please email us at [email protected]

This 2025 seminar series concluded in December. Recordings from previous seminars can be found here.