Assessing organizational functioning as a step toward innovation.

Innovate and adapt are watchwords for substance abuse treatment programs in today's environment of legislative mandates, effective new interventions, and competition. Organizations are having to evolve - ready or not - and those that are ready have superior chances for success and survival. The Texas Christian University Organizational Readiness for Change (ORC) survey is a free instrument, with supporting materials, that substance abuse treatment programs use to assess organizational traits that can facilitate or hinder efforts at transition. This article presents organizational change as a three-stage process of adopting, implementing, and routinizing new procedures; describes the use of the ORC; and outlines a step-by-step procedure for clearing away potential obstacles before setting forth on the road to improved practices and outcomes.