The trend according to Starbucks

The question of how far and how well it is possible to adapt proven programs to meet local conditions, and news of an experiment in Hong Kong to encourage immigrant parents to become service providers in their own right feature in this quarter’s revamped Journal.

Editors Nick Axford and Michael Little compare recent changes in the world of service design to the shift in merchandising from mass production to the “nicheing” typified by the growth of Starbucks in the 1990s.
 
Reflecting on a discussion by US researchers Daniel Perkins and Lisa Chauveron of how far successful implementation of a classroom-based social and emotional learning programme depends on the similarities between pupils, they write: “It stands to reason that to be fixed on fidelity to the extent of giving no guidance about the type and amount of adaptation permissible for different recipients and contexts will limit practitioners’ capacity to tailor a programme meaningfully. It is also likely to undermine professional autonomy and innovation. Equally, since it is only human to fiddle, and creative ingenuity is only a small step beyond mere fiddling, programme ‘drift’ is inevitable.
 
The problem is that some changes made in good faith are reactionary and likely to undermine the programme’s impact. The resulting impasse has been identified as one of the main barriers to the widespread adoption of the ones that work best.”