General Characteristics of Effective Dissemination and Utilization

The one-way flow of written information and mechanical, "traditional" dissemination approaches have not proven to be effective in encouraging the adoption and implementation of new programs and strategies. NCDDR's experience and the literature concerning dissemination strategies that do work lead to the perceptions that to be effective, dissemination systems need the following characteristics:

• They are oriented toward the needs of the user, incorporating the kinds and levels of information needed into the forms and language preferred by the user.
• They use varied dissemination methods, including written information, electronic media, and person-to-person contact.
• They include both proactive and reactive dissemination channels - that is, they include information that users have identified as important, and they include information that users may not know to request but that they are likely to need. Clear channels are established for users to make their needs and priorities known to the disseminating agency.
• They recognize and provide for the "natural flow" of the four levels of dissemination that have been identified as leading to utilization: spread, exchange, choice, and implementation.
• They draw upon existing resources, relationships, and networks to the maximum extent possible while building new resources as needed by users.
• They include effective quality control mechanisms to assure that information to be included in the system is accurate, relevant, and representative.
• They include sufficient information so that the reader/user can determine the basic principles underlying specific practices and the settings in which these practices may be used most productively.
• They establish linkages to resources that may be needed to implement the information - usually referred to as technical assistance.