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The translation of research findings into clinical practice is challenging, especially fields like in pediatric rheumatology, where the evidence base is limited, there are few clinical trials, and the conditions are rare and heterogeneous. Implementation science methodologies have been shown to reduce the research- to- practice gap in other clinical settings may have similar utility in pediatric rheumatology. This paper describes the key discussion points from the inaugural Childhood Arthritis and Rheumatology Research Alliance Implementation Science retreat held in February 2020. The aim of this report is to synthesize those findings into an Implementation Science Roadmap for pediatric rheumatology research. This roadmap is based on three foundational principles: fostering curiosity and ensuring discovery, integration of research and quality improvement, and patient-centeredness. We include six key steps anchored in the principles of implementation science. Applying this roadmap will enable researchers to evaluate the full range of research activities, from the initial clinical design and evidence acquisition to the application of those findings in pediatric rheumatology clinics and direct patient care.

Few social science theories have a history of conceptual and empirical study as long as does the diffusion of innovations. The robustness of this theory derives from the many disciplines and fields of study in which diffusion has been studied, from the international richness of these studies, and from the variety of new ideas, practices, programs, and technologies that have been the objects of diffusion research. Early theorizing from the beginning of the 20th century was gradually displaced by post hoc empirical research that described and explained diffusion processes. By the 1950s, diffusion researchers had begun to apply the collective knowledge learned about naturalistic diffusion in tests of process interventions to affect the spread of innovations. Now, this purposive objective has given form to a science of dissemination in which evidence-based practices are designed a priori not just to result in internal validity but to increase the likelihood that external validity and diffusion both are more likely to result. Here, I review diffusion theory and focus on seven concepts--intervention attributes, intervention clusters, demonstration projects, societal sectors, reinforcing contextual conditions, opinion leadership, and intervention adaptation--with potential for accelerating the spread of evidence-based practices, programs, and policies in the field of social work. (Contains 1 table and 2 figures.)

One of the benefits of an applied research funding program such as those within the National Science Foundation's Directorate for Education and Human Resources is the reading and referencing across fields of study and application of ideas from diverse literatures for common social good such as STEM teaching and learning. This benefit resonates across the articles in this issue of "Metropolitan Universities". Chemists learn from education scholars and medical educators. Physicists learn from chemists and math education researchers. Education scholars learn from management scientists. Communication scientists learn from sociologists and cognitive psychologists. While specialists routinely build upon the work of others within their specialty, the present collection of articles reflects interdisciplinary sharing to a commendable degree.

Communication researchers increasingly have a primed and attentive audience in private foundations. Yet most foundations are quite dissimilar to the types of organizations that we as communication scholars know and understand. Here we discuss private foundation funding for applied communication research, including how funding priorities are set, and how potential grantees may position themselves for foundation funds. In doing so, we focus on five norms that characterize American private foundations and their program staff: (1) social betterment, (2) organizational interdependency, (3) personal commitment, (4) future orientation, and (5) external generalizability. How well you and your proposal match up with these norms will affect your success with private foundations. KEY WORDS: Private foundations, philanthropy, nonprofits, research grants.