Identifying a program’s “core components” using a co-design approach: a methodological worked example from a youth mental health and addictions navigation service

Successful implementation of innovations requires early, foundational steps that establish the groundwork for long-term sustainability. A key step in this process is defining the core components of an innovation: the indispensable, non-negotiable elements that, if removed, would fundamentally alter the innovation. While the importance of identifying core components has been recognized, practical guidance on how to develop them is limited. As an illustrative example, the Family Navigation Project (FNP), a youth and family mental health and addictions (MHA) service, developed a process for defining their core components. Clearly articulating these components is vital for broader implementation of FNP across diverse contexts, ensuring fidelity, maintaining foundational integrity, and enabling scalability of similar innovations. Guided by Implementation Science frameworks, a five-phase methodology was used to co-develop the core components of FNP: (1) identification and extraction of preliminary component sources, (2) knowledge generation and interest-holder input, (3) conceptual analysis and core component identification, (4) member checking, and (5) finalization. All phases engaged FNP interest-holders, including FNP leadership, operational staff, research staff, frontline staff, and youth and family advisors, through an innovative co-design approach. Eight core components were identified: (1) Rooted in the Lived Experience of Youth and Families, (2) Low Barrier, (3) Personalized Care Pathways, (4) Expert Guidance of the Mental Health and Addictions Systems, (5) Compassionate Persistence (6), Championing Equity, Diversity, Inclusion, and Anti-Racism, (7) Interdisciplinary Collaboration, and (8) Relationship-Based Care. Clearly identifying the core components of FNP supports successful and sustainable implementation in new contexts. This co-design approach offers a replicable model for other services and innovations to maintain fidelity while adapting and implementing in diverse settings. By grounding implementation in lived experience and collaboration, it positions FNP and similar services to expand access to other environments or settings that would benefit from youth and family MHA navigation programs. When new programs are created, it is important to take early steps that will help them last. One of the first steps is to figure out a program’s core components, which are the unique parts that make a program what it is. If one part is changed or removed, the program will no longer work the same. The Family Navigation Project (FNP) wanted to figure out what their core components were to make sure their mental health and addictions service can be used in other places while keeping its important features. The FNP team (leadership, operational staff, research staff, frontline staff, lived experience members) worked together in five steps to figure out the core components: (1) Finding and reviewing early ideas and materials, (2) Asking FNP team members about their ideas on what the core components are, (3) Compiling feedback to decide what the core components are, (4) Sharing the core components with all team members, and (5) Finalizing the core components. The eight core components were: (1) Rooted in the Lived Experience of Youth and Families, (2) Low Barrier, (3) Personalized Care Pathways, (4) Expert Guidance of the Mental Health and Addictions Systems, (5) Compassionate Persistence, (6) Championing Equity, Diversity, Inclusion, and Anti-Racism, (7) Interdisciplinary Collaboration, and (8) Relationship-Based Care. The core components will help FNP grow in new settings while keeping its important values. This team-based approach can guide others that want to figure out their own core components, and use to expand or adapt while staying true to themselves.