VIA Tool: Diffusion of Innovation Template
Strategies to Engage Stakeholders by Adopter Category
Use this template to examine the various stakeholders on your campus and develop a strategic plan for effective engagement. Reference the sample plan as one approach to this process.
In this column, enter the various stakeholders with whom you aspire to interact. / In this column, outline the things that you need/want from the various stakeholders. / Identify what type of adopter the various stakeholders are in this column. See “Overview of Theory” below for adopter descriptions. / Outline the possibilities and barriers that influence your ability to interact with the various stakeholders. / Identify the ways in which you plan to engage with the various stakeholders here. / Identify areas in which you need additional training or materials to effectively interact with the various stakeholders here.
Overview of Theory
This template is based on diffusion of innovation theory. Diffusion of innovation theory includes three distinct processes and is defined by a combination of responses:
Process Response
Presentation of the new culture element or elements / Need to reduce uncertainty with new informationAcceptance of the new culture element or elements / Need to reconcile new information with perceptions of what credible others are doing and thinking
Integration of the new culture element or elements into the preexisting culture
/ General sense of pressure to do what others have done or are doing
In the context of this theory, innovations are defined as new practices, programs or policies that are tested, rejected, and integrated into the preexisting culture. Cluster is defined as a logical set of innovations that are constructed either on the basis of their complementary relationship or are logical alternatives to the other. Introducing innovations as a logical set or system of interventions or an “interrelated bundle of new ideas” can elicit more adoption decisions.
Adopters are categorized as the following:
· Innovators: tend to adopt an innovation because of novelty with having little to lose
· Early adopters: tend to adopt an innovation because of a positive appraisal of the innovation’s advantages and are often opinion leaders
· Early majority: tend to adopt an innovation because opinion leaders have adopted the innovation
· Late majority: tend to adopt an innovation due to social pressures to do so and “fall in line” with “like” others
Citation: Dearing, J.W. (2009). Applying diffusion of innovation theory to intervention development. Res Soc Work Pract, 19, 503-518.