Progress is slow, but a critical mass can be built: Using a capacity building program to develop implementation science social capital in Australia’s largest HHS

Introduction/backgroundA Graduate Certificate program was developed in partnership between a university and a Hospital and Health Service (HHS) with the aim of building a critical mass of hybrid health service professionals with skills in implementing health service innovations.Population/settingMetro North HHS, Brisbane, Queensland. Students were selected by the HHS from a broad range of roles and facilities. MethodMixed methods study informed by the Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research, consisting of interviews, focus groups and a quantitative survey. Participants: health service and university executives, students from the first and second cohorts, students’ managers, and a matched control group of managers.Results/findingsThe program led to short-term changes across four themes: realisation of knowledge gaps; increased individual and network capacity; promising social capital development, but early days; and organisational support in theory but barriers in practice.Implications for implementation research or practiceBuilding social capital is key to developing health system readiness for implementation science. Control groups are important in evaluating changes to capacity.Take home messages/ key messagesDevelopment of social capital through training is possible, but progress is slow. Executive leadership support and training are essential but insufficient. Relationships and networks, shared language, and removal of structural barriers are essential.