What if we're not ready to use both frameworks right away?

We strongly recommend using both the SMA and KTA frameworks in the same change initiative to accelerate your change help it last. But we understand that this isn't always possible. Some change agents and change teams may prefer to start with one framework and add components of the other as their change initiative evolves. If you decide that you can’t use both frameworks at the same time, we recommend you select aspects of each framework that fit your context and the change at hand.

Each framework has its own unique characteristics (for example, collective identity for the SMA Framework and formal evaluation processes for the KTA Framework) which may be particularly relevant to your change initiative. The decision tool below can help you and your change team choose one of the two frameworks, or components of each, to get you started. Remember that you can always add components from either framework at any point to enhance outcomes or scale your initiative.

Using our decision tool to select all or some of the components of the SMA or KTA Framework

The decision tool below takes a practical approach to help you select all or some of the components of the SMA or KTA Framework. We include are 11 guiding questions grouped by the six most common areas associated with change: why, what, who, where, when and how. We include a brief discussion of answers of either Yes, No, and/or Maybe. 

The questions highlight the similarities and differences between the two frameworks. The Leading Change Toolkit™ Development Team designed them with consensus by the expert panel.

Our decision tool is not meant as a scorecard. It's meant to showcase the unique characteristics of each framework. There is no precise formula to apply nor wrong choice: it's up to you and your team to choose what best suits  your context. We recommend that you consult with your colleagues and trust your collective instincts about what will work. Don’t worry about trying to find a perfect fit as there may not be one. Instead, make a choice and get started where you are at, with the people who are already interested in your team's ideas about change.    

Download our Decision Tool Worksheet
WHY are you using this framework? Does it support the purpose of your change initiative?
Guiding question SMA Framework KTA Framework
Is the purpose of your change initiative to increase the uptake and sustainability of evidence?

YES or MAYBE

The purpose of the SMA Framework is to show how applying social movement strategies and actions energizes teams from the bottom up and accelerates change, when aiming for knowledge uptake and sustainability.

Look at the antecedents and defining characteristics. Ask yourself: Do we have these at our workplace? 

YES

The purpose of the KTA Framework is to advance the uptake and sustainability of knowledge through seven phases, as described in the KTA action cycle. This framework supports knowledge translation – or the process of using knowledge to effect change - when used by health-care providers, policymakers, persons/patients and the general public. 

Is staff intrinsically motivated for the change initiative?

YES

Intrinsic motivation is central to social movements. The SMA framework requires that individuals commit to a shared cause or concern because it aligns with their values and beliefs. This intrinsic motivation acts as a driver for staff to get involved, become change agents and take action.  Ask yourself: Do some of the staff want to lead or learn to lead change? 

YES or NO

The KTA framework can be applied to staff who are intrinsically motivated by shared values, such as the need for evidence-informed care. Alternatively, extrinsic motivation (for example, external rewards or other incentives) can also be used effectively to support change initiatives and support staff participation. In other cases, a combination of both intrinsic and extrinsic motivation may be in place. 

WHAT are the characteristics of your change initiative?
Guiding questions SMA Framework KTA Framework
What actions do you need to achieve the goal of knowledge uptake and sustainability?

YES

Achieving knowledge uptake and sustainability needs grassroots or "bottom-up" individual and collective action. The development of collective identity and momentum are powerful SMA processes to propel change faster and sustain the change in the long run. 

YES

The framework includes an action cycle of seven phases that guides change teams through an interactive and flexible process of implementing a knowledge product. It acknowledges that knowledge alone does not lead to change; you need to put knowledge into action.

Is there an urgent need for your change initiative?

YES

Social movements are driven by an urgent need, an opportunity for change and a readiness for action. The urgency for change reflects the credibility and importance of a shared concern or strongly desired change.  Ask yourself: Do some of the staff feel an urgency to make change happen? 

YES or NO

The identified problem itself drives for change through the seven phases of the action cycle. It may or may not be seen as an urgent problem requiring immediate action. Nonetheless, the change is believed to lead to improved outcomes and the best possible care.

WHO will take part in your change initiative?
Guiding questions SMA Framework KTA Framework
Has your organization already decided that the change initiative will be led by the senior leadership team?

NO

The SMA framework doesn't apply in a  top-down change initiative led only by formal leadership teams. For this framework to apply, staff must be able to lead the initiative with the support of their organization as part of a people-led approach to change. Staff members are informal leaders who are invested and committed to the change.

MAYBE or YES

The KTA framework is flexible and can be led by a senior leadership team and/or by frontline staff. As in the SMA Framework, collaborative efforts can strengthen moving the change initiative from the planning phase to implementation, evaluation, and, ultimately, sustainability.   

Are informal or formal networks of people available to support your change initiative?

YES

Networks are critical to social movements because they connect individuals and groups with a shared purpose. They offer a place to share knowledge and resources, build leadership capacity and reinforce a collective identity to advance  lasting change. 

YES or MAYBE

As with the SMA framework, networks serve as channels to exchange knowledge and resources that can enhance implementation interventions. However, the role of networks may be less central than in the SMA framework.

WHERE is the framework being applied within the local context?
Guiding questions SMA Framework KTA Framework
Does the environment where the change is taking place (that is, the local context) allow staff to lead the change initiative as informal leaders?

YES

In the SMA framework, front-line staff are emergent informal leaders of the change , supported by their organization. If the local context is not conducive to a grassroots, people-led approach to change, social movement actions are less likely to succeed.  

YES

Staff may participate as either formal or informal leaders in a variety of roles, including as influential peer champions or change agents who make sense of knowledge tools and their meaning. They may also be members of change teams. 

WHEN or at what point in the change initiative is the framework used?
Guiding questions SMA Framework  KTA Framework
Does the framework need to encompass all stages of the stages of a change initiative  (for example, planning, implementation, evaluation and sustainability)?

MAYBE

The SMA Framework is described in categories of preconditions, key characteristics and outcomes. Outcomes of a social movement can show the degree to which progress has been made towards a goal. The SMA framework assumes that both formal and informal leaders will engage in planning, implementing and evaluating the change. These leaders include staff, managers and persons with lived experience.   

YES

The action cycles of the KTA Framework include phases focused on planning  - identifying the problem, assessing the local context and assessing facilitators and barriers); selecting and tailoring implementation interventions;  monitoring and evaluation; and sustainability. The  framework describes relevant elements for each action phase. It covers a comprehensive approach for engaging in implementation projects. 

HOW is the framework suited to the approach chosen for your change initiative?
Guiding questions SMA Framework KTA Framework
Is a planned approach being taken for your change initiative? 

YES

Social movements develop organically in response to an urgent demand for non-optional change. The process may initially appear to be spontaneous,. However, thoughtful planning is required to achieve a strategic and coordinated response that  mobilizes individual and collective action. This is especially true for social movements that evolve and grow to support maintaining change.

YES

The framework is based on several planned action theories. You can apply the framework to a structured approach to change, and use to track the progress of an implementation project.
Do you need a structured framework to guide your change initiative?

MAYBE

The nature of a social movement is organic and often develops bottom-up in a relatively unstructured way, especially in the early  days of the movement. When social movements continue and evolve, loosely-defined phases with fluid endpoints reshaped by the change teams to continue powering change can emerge. The SMA framework helps you accelerate progress and sustain change.

YES

The KTA framework includes action cycle phases that integrate planning, implementation, evaluation and sustainability. This framework may suit change teams who use traditional project management approaches to change.  

Is there an organizational desire to empower staff for the change and for future changes? 

YES or MAYBE

Social movements power people to become change agents well beyond the original change initiative or project for which they enrolled. If the organizational end goal is to have an empowered staff, use the SMA framework to learn how to build bottom-up leadership for change.

YES or MAYBE

The KTA framework can support a well-organized change. Combined with the SMA framework, the results will be an engaged staff empowered by a strong capacity to follow an analytical process for change.