Successful innovations were defined as those that altered organizational behavior and attitudes and made some progress toward achieving the innovation's original goals. The following characteristics were found to be key correlates of success: (1) sincere motivation at adoption; (2) support from top leadership combined with director and staff commitment and, where appropriate, external cooperation; (3) staff competence; (4) a benefit/cost surplus; (5) clarity of the innovation's goals and procedures; and (6) clear lines of authority. Because all but the first of these characteristics may change during implementation, the implementation process is also a crucial factor. The strategies for producing the correlates of success are producing multiple payoffs, ensuring key actor participation in planning and problemsolving over time, and incorporating a flexible problemsolving process. Success requires fusing all three of these strategies with four corollary features: an evolutionary approach that builds on prior achievement, craft-learning that enhances staff competence, ongoing planning, and regular communication. To cope with fiscal retrenchment, managers must distinguish between successful innovations that can absorb budget cuts and those that cannot. Appended are supplementary tables and interview guides. A total of 143 bibliographic entries are provided. (Author summary modified)