Beyond Technology Readiness: Using Readiness Level Rubrics to Strengthen Results Stories

Technology Readiness Levels (TRLs) are widely used to assess innovation maturity and progress. However, successful results often depend on a broader set of enabling factors that extend beyond technology alone. Commercial readiness, policy readiness, societal readiness, environmental readiness, financial readiness, and other readiness dimensions can all influence whether innovations, programs, policies, and initiatives achieve their intended outcomes.

This webinar explores how Readiness Level (RL) Rubrics can complement traditional Technology Readiness Levels to provide a more complete understanding of progress, adoption, implementation, and impact. Drawing on emerging international practices and practical examples, participants will learn how readiness frameworks can strengthen results planning, performance measurement, evaluation, and results storytelling.

Organizations across Canada are increasingly seeking better ways to incorporate context, assumptions, risks, and enabling factors into theories of change, logic models, and performance frameworks. Readiness level rubrics offer a structured approach to understanding these factors and can help practitioners both explain past results and assess the likelihood of future success.

What You Will Learn

• Why Technology Readiness Levels (TRLs) alone may not provide a complete picture of progress and results.
• How commercial, policy, societal, environmental, financial, and other readiness dimensions can complement traditional technology readiness assessments.
• How readiness factors can be incorporated into theories of change, logic models, and results frameworks.
• Practical approaches for integrating readiness level rubrics into performance measurement and evaluation activities.
• How readiness frameworks can strengthen results stories by making contextual factors, assumptions, and enabling conditions more explicit.
• Ways to use readiness level rubrics both retrospectively to understand results achievement and prospectively to assess future initiatives.
• Examples of readiness level applications relevant to science, research, innovation, policy, and program environments.

Why Attend?

Whether you work in government, academia, the non-profit sector, or industry, understanding the conditions that enable success is essential for effective planning, management, and accountability. This session will provide practical tools and perspectives that can help participants better understand how innovations, policies, programs, and initiatives progress from concept to impact.

The webinar will also explore how multiple readiness dimensions can work together to strengthen evidence-based decision-making and improve the credibility of results reporting and performance stories.

Who Should Attend?

This webinar is intended for:

• Performance measurement professionals
• Evaluators
• Results-based management practitioners
• Policy analysts
• Program managers
• Researchers and research administrators
• Innovation leaders
• Government professionals
• Students interested in evaluation, innovation, public policy, or performance measurement
• Anyone seeking practical approaches to understanding and communicating results

About the Presenters

Steve Montague is a recognized leader in results-based management, performance measurement, evaluation, and organizational learning. Throughout his career, he has worked with governments, research organizations, international institutions, and non-profit organizations to strengthen results-focused planning, measurement, accountability, and learning practices.

Élyse McCall-Thomas brings extensive experience in science, research, innovation, and public policy. Her work has focused on advancing innovation systems and helping organizations better understand how ideas move from development to adoption, implementation, and impact.

Together, Steve and Élyse will share practical insights on how readiness level rubrics can complement Technology Readiness Levels and provide a richer understanding of the contextual factors that contribute to successful results achievement.

Registration

This webinar is offered free of charge as part of the PPX Webinar Series. Registration is required.

We look forward to welcoming researchers, practitioners, policymakers, evaluators, students, and members of the broader results and innovation communities to this timely discussion on strengthening results stories through readiness level thinking.