The Translation Gap
You already have the evidence base. Nurse-Family Partnership, KIPP, GreenLight Fund—the proof points exist. The 17-year gap between evidence and adoption is not about proof. It is about systems.
RCT to practice translation time
The average time from randomized controlled trial evidence to field practice in the US is 17 years. 86% of proven interventions never make it to scale at all. The evidence-to-practice pipeline is the longest, leakiest funnel in social impact.
The translation gap exists because proof and scaling require fundamentally different capabilities. Academic researchers optimize for statistical significance. Scaling requires operational infrastructure, political will, funding continuity, and workforce development. These are different skills, different teams, different timelines.
Nurse-Family Partnership
One of the rare social programs to achieve population scale (200K+ families annually). 15 years from evidence to 40+ state adoption through rigorous evidence building and systematic replication.
“15 years from first RCT to 40+ state adoption - they got there by building systems, not just proof.”
Learn moreFor your impact strategy, investing in translation infrastructure is where proven evidence becomes population-level change.
Built to Last
Build the leaders, teams, policies, and systems that outlast any single program. LEAP, board advisory, capacity building, scaling playbooks.
And the cycle begins again. Where does the next dollar flow?
Continue to Gap 1: Needs to FundingNow, let's make this about your work.
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