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Purpose The purpose of this paper is to address how adult development (AD) theories can contribute to quality improvement (QI). Design/methodology/approach A theoretical analysis and discussion on how personal development empirical findings can relate to QI and Deming's four improvement knowledge domains. Findings AD research shows that professionals have qualitatively diverse ways of meaning-making and ways to approach possibilities in improvement efforts. Therefore, professionals with more complex meaning-making capacities are needed to create successful transformational changes and learning, with the recognition that system knowledge is a developmental capacity. Practical implications In QI and improvement science there is an assumption that professionals have the skills and competence needed for improvement efforts, but AD theories show that this is not always the case, which suggests a need for facilitating improvement initiatives, so that everyone can contribute based on their capacity. Originality/value This study illustrates that some competences in QI efforts are a developmental challenge to professionals, and should be considered in practice and research.

AbstractRooted in ideas from operations research in the 1930s, improvement science bloomed in the healthcare literature during the 1990s and has since then spread rapidly across fields such as management, social work, behavioral economics, and most recently education (Lewis, ). So what is thing called "improvement science"? What is the intellectual foundation of improvement science? And what does it look like in real‐world applications? What, if anything, might we, as evaluators, learn from the techniques and tools of improvement science? These are questions that will be addressed in this chapter.

This chapter focuses on features of improvement science that the evaluation field could benefit from, drawing from case examples. Themes addressed include learning from error, learning from and reducing variation, systems thinking, and learning for scale. We also consider opportunities for professional development, whereby evaluation professionals and people in practice can successfully apply improvement science techniques and methods within and across fields and in the complex systems that shape health, social, and educational outcomes. Finally, we describe resource and management challenges of building improvement science into the evaluation repertoire.

AbstractIn this chapter, we discuss the similarities and points of departure between improvement science and evaluation, according to use, valuing, and methods—three dimensions of evaluation theory to which all theorists attend (Christie & Alkin, ). Using these three dimensions as a framework for discussion, we show some of the ways in which improvement science and evaluation are similar and how they are different in terms of purposes, goals, and processes. By doing so we frame the illustrative cases of improvement science that follow in this issue.

With the aim to explore how improvement science is understood, taught, practiced, and its impact on quality healthcare across Europe, the Improvement Science Training for European Healthcare Workers (ISTEW) project "Improvement Science Training for European Healthcare Workers" was funded by the European Commission and integrated by 7 teams from different European countries. As part of the project, a narrative literature review was conducted between 2008 and 2019, including documents in all partners' languages from 26 databases. Data collection and analysis involved a common database. Validation took place through partners' discussions. Referring to healthcare improvement science (HIS), a variety of terms, tools, and techniques were reported with no baseline definition or specific framework. All partner teams were informed about the non-existence of a specific term equivalent to HIS in their mother languages, except for the English-speaking countries. A lack of consensus, regarding the understanding and implementation of HIS into the healthcare and educational contexts was found. Our findings have brought to light the gap existing in HIS within Europe, far from other nations, such as the US, where there is a clearer HIS picture. As a consequence, the authors suggest further developing the standardization of HIS understanding and education in Europe. ; The research conducted until 2015 was funded by the European Union funded ERASMUS Lifelong Learning Project, ISTEW: Improvement Science Training for European Healthcare Workers (Project No. 539194-LLP-1-2013-1-UK-ERASMUS-EQR).

AbstractNewborns in low‐income families often experience delays between birth hospital discharge and the first primary care visit. Delays in primary care can result in inadequate support and education for families and may lead to emergency department (ED) visits for nonurgent conditions. Our intervention sought to reduce average age at first primary care visit to ≤ 9 days of life and reduce nonurgent ED visits by 20% among infants < 6 months old from one low‐income neighborhood in Cincinnati, Ohio. We applied improvement science to iteratively address the many family‐ and system‐level barriers to primary care. Improvement science is a structured approach to improving outcomes through ongoing data collection and examination of how specific practices affect performance. Advantages of this approach include the ability to detect incremental changes in outcomes and continuously adapt interventions over time. This chapter discusses the successes and challenges of applying improvement science to our goals.

AbstractSchool reform efforts have collectively failed to find sustainable solutions to education's most pressing problems. Researchers and education practitioners have both vocalized these challenges. The difficulty of fitting proven reforms to local school contexts often leads to a cycle of "adopt, attack, and abandon." This chapter discusses the potential power of improvement science to break the cycle in education. In doing so, the research aims to understand the school leader's perspective when improvement science processes were employed at their sites. The research examined three school cases, as principals used rapid cycles of evaluations, using the improvement science PDSA model. In addition to providing a better understanding of what factors facilitate or constrain the implementation of rapid cycles of evaluation in school sites, the research offers insight into how evaluators can use improvement science methods to adapt interventions or practices to local context.

In the first two months of 2014, the State Committee for Science and Technology (SCST) did not submit traditionally optimistic reports on the advancement of science in 2013. The National Academy of Sciences of Belarus (NASB) made even more optimistic one instead. In 2013, a reform of the science sector entered an open phase after the NASB presented a draft scientific development program. The science sector saw a number of staff reductions and reshuffles. Thirty-one legislative acts were issued to regulate scientific and innovative activities. However, taken together, all these measures create an ambivalent impression, showing the problem of coherence of education and science reforms.

"Report of the Annual Meeting Committee. Thirteenth Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, Philadelphia, April 16, and 17, 1909": p. 163-171. ; Includes bibliographical references. ; Mode of access: Internet.

Introduction. There is a limited body of research in the field of healthcare improvement science (HIS). Quality improvement and 'change making' should become an intrinsic part of everyone's job, every day in all parts of the healthcare system. The lack of theoretical grounding may partly explain the minimal transfer of health research into health policy. Methods. This article seeks to present the development of the definition for healthcare improvement science. A consensus method approach was adopted with a two-stage Delphi process, expert panel and consensus group techniques. A total of 18 participants were involved in the expert panel and consensus group, and 153 answers were analysed as a part of the Delphi survey. Participants were researchers, educators and healthcare professionals from Scotland, Slovenia, Spain, Italy, England, Poland, and Romania. Results. A high level of consensus was achieved for the broad definition in the 2nd Delphi iteration (86%). The final definition was agreed on by the consensus group: 'Healthcare improvement science is the generation of knowledge to cultivate change and deliver person-centred care that is safe, effective, efficient, equitable and timely. It improves patient outcomes, health system performance and population health.' Conclusions. The process of developing a consensus definition revealed different understandings of healthcare improvement science between the participants. Having a shared consensus definition of healthcare improvement science is an important step forward, bringing about a common understanding in order to advance the professional education and practice of healthcare improvement science. ; The research was financed by the European Union funded ERASMUS Lifelong Learning Project, ISTEW: Improvement Science Training for European Healthcare Workers (Project No. 539194-LLP-1-2013-1-UK-ERASMUS-EQR).

The subject of research: the need to improve the professional competence of the applicant by introducing new components of the curriculum and acquiring skills during practical work. The purpose of the study is to identify the main aspects and directions of professional competence, as well as its formation, which should be carried out in the process of training a teacher of vocational training in commodity science in higher education from the standpoint of modern practical approach. The field of application of results. The results of the study can be used in the activities of higher education institutions to increase the effectiveness of practical training of teachers of vocational training in commodity science. The results of the research and conclusions. On the basis of the conducted research, the improvement of the formation of professional competence of future teachers of professional training in commodity science is revealed, which is deepened and consolidated during the internship. Professional and practical training of bachelors is one of the main elements of the educational process and a prerequisite for their successful employment.

Front cover -- Half title -- Full title -- Copyright -- Contents -- Contributors -- 1 - Methods in sustainability science -- 1.1 Introduction -- 1.2 Sustainability assessment and analysis -- 1.2.1 Sustainability metrics/indicators -- 1.2.2 Sustainability analysis tools -- 1.2.3 Material flow analysis -- 1.3 Sustainability ranking and prioritization -- 1.4 Sustainability enhancement and improvement -- 1.5 Sustainability design and optimization -- 1.6 Conclusion -- Acknowledgments -- References -- 2 - Business contributions to sustainable development goals -- 2.1 Introduction -- 2.2 Literature review -- 2.2.1 Sustainable development goals (SDGs) -- 2.2.2 Sustainability reports -- 2.3 Materials and methods -- 2.4 Discussion -- 2.4.1 SDGs disclosures based on industrial sector -- 2.4.2 SDGs disclosures based on goals -- 2.5 Conclusion -- References -- 3 - Sustainability assessment: Metrics and methods -- 3.1 Introduction -- 3.2 Need of sustainability assessment -- 3.2.1 Steady-state economy -- 3.2.2 Circular economy -- 3.2.3 Ecological footprints -- 3.3 Various methods of sustainability assessment -- 3.3.1 Life-cycle assessment -- 3.3.2 Socioeconomic impact assessment -- 3.3.3 Strategic environmental assessment -- 3.3.4 Cost-benefit analysis -- 3.3.5 Travel cost analysis -- 3.3.6 Social impact assessment -- 3.3.7 Contingent valuation method -- 3.3.8 Hedonic pricing method -- 3.3.9 Multicriteria analysis -- 3.3.10 Material intensity per service unit -- 3.3.11 Analytic network process -- 3.3.12 Environmental and sustainability rating systems -- 3.4 Comparison of sustainability assessment methods -- 3.5 Conclusion -- References -- 4 - Sustainability assessment of energy systems: Indicators, methods, and applications -- 4.1 Introduction -- 4.1.1 Principle of sustainability.