WE-CQI: Wisdom-driven Evaluation
& Continuous Quality Improvement

Empowering Team Science Through Reflection & Learning

Grounded in principles of team science, we use the Wisdom-driven Evaluation and Continuous Quality Improvement (WE-CQI) approach to support programs in embedding evaluation and continuous improvement directly into their activities. WE-CQI is a practical, theory-based framework designed to help Clinical and Translational Science Award (CTSA) programs improve the quality and impact of their initiatives.Our framework incorporates Plan-Do-Study-Act’s iterative improvement cycle, aligns with the Breakthrough Series and Kaizen approaches by emphasizing collaborative learning, team-based reflection, and valuing incremental and practical improvements, and uses the Logic Framework by incorporating logic models to support structured problem-solving. Unlike CQI models with more rigid and linear steps (e.g., FADE, DMAIC), our approach is designed to be flexible and adaptive to dynamic team environments, such as multi-team complex systems like CTSAs.The WE-CQI model follows a three-step cycle (Figure 1): Collaborative Planning, where diverse team members co-create improvement strategies; Shared Action, where teams jointly implement those strategies; and Team Reflection & Learning, where inclusive dialogue and data are used to assess progress and refine the next steps.This flexible, evidence-informed approach fosters meaningful participation, continuous learning, and ultimately, greater public health impact.