ADKAR Change Model

What is the ADKAR Change Model?

The ADKAR Change Model is a structured approach to managing change at the individual level. Developed by Prosci, ADKAR is an acronym representing five building blocks necessary for successful change:

1. Awareness of the need for change
2. Desire to participate in and support the change
3. Knowledge of how to change
4. Ability to implement new skills and behaviors
5. Reinforcement to sustain the change over time

While many project management tools focus on timelines, tasks, and deliverable outcomes, ADKAR focuses on the human side of change. In higher education, where shared governance, institutional culture, and stakeholder engagement are central, this people-centered approach is especially important. ADKAR complements broader change management efforts by ensuring that change happens not just structurally, but behaviorally.

What are the benefits of using the ADKAR Change Model?

Using ADKAR in higher education settings offers several important benefits:

• Stronger Individual Adoption: By focusing on how faculty, staff, and students experience change, ADKAR increases the likelihood that new processes or systems are actually used as intended.
• Clear Diagnosis of Resistance: If a project stalls, ADKAR provides a structured way to identify the issue. Is there a lack of Awareness? Limited Desire? Insufficient Knowledge or Ability? This diagnostic lens can be incredibly helpful alongside tools like a risk assessment or stakeholder analysis.
• Improved Sustainability: Many initiatives launch successfully but lose momentum over time. The Reinforcement component ensures that change is sustained beyond the initial implementation.
• Better Leadership Alignment: ADKAR gives leaders and project teams a shared language for navigating institutional change, which can strengthen collaboration between a sponsor, project leads, and stakeholders.

In complex institutional environments, ADKAR helps ensure that projects don’t just meet their stated scope, but also achieve meaningful adoption.

Where might you see the ADKAR Change Model in higher education?

The ADKAR framework can be applied across many common higher education initiatives, including:

• Technology implementations, for example, when launching a new learning management system, CRM, or advising platform, institutions must ensure stakeholders understand why the change is happening (Awareness), feel motivated to engage (Desire), receive proper training (Knowledge), can practice using the system (Ability), and are encouraged to continue using it (Reinforcement).
• Curriculum reform, such as when faculty are revising learning outcomes or degree requirements need clarity around accreditation drivers (Awareness), support for participation (Desire), guidance on outcomes mapping (Knowledge), time and resources to revise materials (Ability), and recognition for their contributions (Reinforcement).
• Policy updates, including updating grading policies or remote work guidelines, where ADKAR can ensure that stakeholders move beyond simply receiving a communication and toward full adoption.
• Organizational restructuring, where ADKAR can help address uncertainty and support individuals through transition.

In many of these scenarios, ADKAR works alongside tools such as a charter, a communication plan, and a change log to create a comprehensive approach to managing change.

A step-by-step guide to using the ADKAR Change Model

If you want to apply ADKAR to your next initiative, here is a practical way to get started:

1. Build awareness and clearly communicate why the change is necessary. What problem is being solved? What risks exist if nothing changes? Use your communication plan to tailor messaging to different stakeholder groups.
2. Cultivate desire by engaging stakeholders early, invite feedback, and connect the change to departmental or institutional goals. Visible support from an executive sponsor can significantly influence buy-in.
3. Provide knowledge through trainings, workshops, documentation, and job aids. Ensure that learning opportunities are practical and accessible. This step aligns closely with defining your deliverable outcomes and overall scope.
4. Develop ability by helping people practice new skills. Consider coaching, peer mentoring, or adjusted workloads during transition. You might monitor progress through a dashboard or defined key performance indicator (KPI) metrics.
5. Reinforce the change by celebrating milestones and embedding the change into policies, procedures, and evaluation processes. Conduct an after-action review to assess adoption and identify areas for improvement. Reinforcement ensures the institution does not revert to previous practices.

Reflective questions

• Have you experienced a project where the technical implementation was successful, but adoption lagged? Which ADKAR element might have been missing?
• How do you currently build Awareness and Desire when launching new initiatives?
• Where could additional Knowledge or Ability support improve outcomes in your department?
• How might you incorporate ADKAR into your next charter or kickoff meeting?
• What strategies could you use to reinforce change over time in your institutional context?
• How could ADKAR strengthen collaboration across stakeholders in campus-wide initiatives?