The R = MC² approach emphasizes the critical importance of organizational willingness (i.e., motivation) and ability (i.e., capacity) for readiness to implement something new with quality. Generally, we define innovation as a program, practice, policy or process that is new to a setting.

1. Motivation
   There are psychological aspects of any change effort that are important for implementation success. Motivation consists of features of an innovation that contribute to whether people want to do it.
2. General Capacities
   General capacities are the conditions applicable for any innovation. These are the overall organizational characteristics.
3. Innovation-Specific Capacities
   Innovation-specific capacities are the conditions that are necessary to implement a particular innovation. This includes not only the knowledge and skills for the innovation, but the conditions within the organization that facilitate implementation.

What do I need to know about Readiness?

• Readiness consists of multiple constructs.

  Readiness is more than being “ready or not.” Rather, readiness is determined by the three related components that can vary in influence depending on the setting. There are a lot of different things that go into motivation and capacity. Each one can be broken down into other factors that explain it better.

• Readiness is innovation-specific.

  When considering using readiness in a setting, consider this question: What are we ready for? Conditions may be right for one innovation but not for another. For example, just because a community coalition is motivated to implement a community walking program does not mean that they are ready to implement a nutrition program, even though they are both related to health and wellness. Therefore, it is necessary to specify the innovation to apply the readiness concepts.

• Readiness is important throughout implementation.

  Because it is dynamic, readiness is applicable and relevant at all stages of implementation: pre-implementation, adoption, active implementation, and sustainability. No matter the stage of an innovation’s lifespan, there are readiness issues that should be considered.

• Readiness is important for outcomes across multiple system levels.

  Readiness also applies across levels: from the individual to the team, to the organization, to the coalition, to the community, to the state, to the nation. We have been able to apply the model across multiple levels.

• Readiness can be built.

  If an organization wants to increase the chances of good outcomes, it needs to build the conditions that are associated with quality implementation. Furthermore, these conditions can be preventively addressed to promote the sustainability of implementation so that gains are maintained and drift in quality is minimized. By knowing the readiness of an organization, a readiness-building plan can be developed to increase motivation and capacity.