Step 5. Full Operation
Purpose
Monitor and ensure the continuing operations of initiatives and programs beyond the initial implementation phase.
Activities
- Develop and implement processes to monitor implemented community initiatives and/or programs to ensure they continue to operate as expected, are carried out with proficiency and skill, and are supported and facilitated by managers and administrators. (May be a continuation or expansion of data cullection and reporting put in place during Initial Implementation. For example, a community may ask learners to complete training evaluations for each gatekeeper training. During Full Operation, a community may, at a later time, survey those who received training to determine if the skills they learned continue to be carried out and supported.)
- Address issues until the initiative or program becomes “accepted practice” and a new operationalization of “treatment as usual” takes its place in the community (e.g., Faggin, 1985).
Resources/Input
- Completed community actions and goals
- Evaluation methods
- Data collection and reporting processes
- Process for acting on findings (e.g., data reports reviewed, discussed, and action plans developed during meetings of a community suicide prevention coalition)
Results/Output
- Outcome measures
- Action plans
- Reduced risk of failure after initial implementation
- Continued effectiveness of suicide prevention activities, initiatives and programs