Evidence-informed change management in Canadian healthcare organizations

PURPose The purpose of this project was to identify, with reference to the literature both within and outside Canada, and drawing upon the experience of decision makers in Canada, a suite of evidence-informed approaches to support change and/or transformation in small and large systems contexts, and that are applicable to the needs of the Canadian health system. [...] The first is a map of the “territory of change” that identifies two major landscapes; the first related to conceptualizing and preparing for change, and the second related to implementing and sustaining change. [...] The change map is an effort to reflect the dynamic, non-linear and interdependent nature of the change process, in a manner consistent with the principles of a complex adaptive system. [...] In order to get the most out of an exploration through the territory of change, the decision maker needs to understand the reason for the change (Initiation), the importance of the change, from a personal, organizational, or political point of view (Significance), and the fit between the worldview s/he brings to the experience of change and the worldview of the people of the territory into which s [...] To answer the third question, What is the evidence for a particular approach?, the right-hand column of the table lists the evidence-informed approaches that are appropriate to the purposes outlined in the first two columns.