ADKARProsci

ADKARProsci refers to the ADKAR change management model developed by the consulting and education firm Prosci. The model was created to help organizations guide individual employees through change, with the understanding that successful organizational change depends on people adopting new behaviors. The acronym ADKAR stands for Awareness of the need for change, Desire to participate and support the change, Knowledge of how to change, Ability to implement required skills and behaviors, and Reinforcement to sustain the change over time.

In practice, ADKAR is used to design change initiatives that target these five outcomes. Change efforts are planned around awareness campaigns, strategies to build desire, training and knowledge transfer, approaches to develop ability, and mechanisms to reinforce the change. The framework supports diagnostics, enabling teams to identify gaps between current and desired states and to track progress across the five elements. It is applied across project management, IT implementations, process improvements, mergers, and cultural change efforts.

Prosci, the organization behind the model, offers research, tools, and training programs, including certifications in ADKAR-based change management. The model is widely taught in organizations and often used to structure communications, sponsorship, training plans, and stakeholder management.

Limitations include a focus on individual-level change that may underrepresent systemic or cultural dimensions, and potential oversimplification of complex transformations. Some critics argue that sustaining change requires additional organizational design and leadership approaches beyond the ADKAR components. Still, ADKAR remains a widely adopted practical framework for planning, executing, and measuring change initiatives.