Lessons Learned

When implementing a community-based program, it is important to share with the community what lessons were learned and what impact the effort had on the community. Lessons learned may be identified throughout program implementation or discussed formally with partners at the end of the project. Sharing the lessons learned from your program will help others to develop and implement appropriate health interventions and programs for their communities. Programs disseminate lessons learned at the local, state, and national levels in order to reach as many people as possible.

Lessons learned from your program may include information about:

• Challenges that the program addressed in the community, such as stigma associated with seeking behavioral health services, or factors that may impact the success of the intervention
• Best practices and innovative strategies used to address challenges, such as integrating primary care and behavioral health services to reduce stigma
• Project findings or new information learned from a project that may be replicable in another community, such as the importance of community partnerships when integrating services
• Resources that were most important when implementing a program, such as funding, staff, and a champion for the work

Resources to Learn More

Lessons Learned
Website
Defines lessons learned, describes the process for documenting lessons learned, and provides links to tools to help organizations identify and record lessons learned in their projects.
Organization(s): Centers for Disease Control and Prevention