The Research and Development Utilization Program (RDU) was intended to apply research and development products to local school problems; to develop a problem-solving and product selection process usable by local schools; and to organize a linkage system making national, state, and other external resources available to local school personnel. The service delivery system of the RDU program operated through seven projects in 20 states and served over 300 schools or school districts over the period 1976-79. Qualitative research methods, that is, case study reports, site visit material, and coded written reports, are the data sources for this report. The discussion of the preliminary findings places equal emphasis on products and problem-solving processes. Product characteristics positively related to successful programs are validated effectiveness, complexity, and direct impact on pupils. Problem-solving process characteristics positively related to successful programs are linking agent behavior as measured by the amount of time spent by the agent, amount of influence of the agent, and the agent's adoption of a facilitator or process role. (Author/MLF)