Before you adopt a solution, you will need to assess and understand the core components that are delivering value, and how adaptable these are. If there are core components that are critical to the value of an innovation, but which don’t easily translate to your application and can’t be adapted, you will not be able to adopt this solution.

While there is little written on how to carry out this process in the humanitarian sector, the Centre for Health Market Innovations (CHMI) and Results for Development (R4D) have developed a useful adaptation framework. The framework is not exhaustive, but it includes three helpful steps and corresponding tools to assess the adaptability of a product or (potentially) a service:

1. Identify the active ingredients: Use the set of criteria and guidance provided to identify the active ingredients (or core components) of a solution that deliver its value. It is critical that these are appropriate, or adaptable, for your application.
2. Determine effectiveness: Assess available evidence regarding the impact of the solution you are looking to adopt and how relevant and transferable that evidence is to your context (or ‘receptor site’).
3. Assess adaptability: Assess adaptability from the perspective of regulatory and legal requirements, resource considerations, contextual factors, stakeholders, and adapting essential elements.