A workshop on Project Sustainability. An analysis and key questions to consider for project sustainability and management. Some theoretical and practical aspects.

1. ALF Sustainability session
14.30 David Bruce Hall
Karl Donert, President EUROGEO,
Director: European Centre of Excellence: digital-earth.eu
Director: Innovative Learning Network
eurogeomail@yahoo.co.uk

2. Session Purpose
• focus on sharing projects
• strategies and innovative practices
• strategies for generating and increasing
positive impact in the EuroMed societies
through EuroMed partnerships.
• The three themes of Medina 1 are Impact,
Reach and Sustainability.

3. Main aim of these sessions
provide a platform for Forum participants to
• share good practices
• project ideas as well as
• their methodologies in the framework of the
Anna Lindh Foundation’s intercultural dialogue
strategy
• with a focus on transforming “thinking” into
concrete practices

4. Outputs of the sessions
a) newly facilitated partnerships in the
framework of the Forum’s strategic pillars;
b) developing strategies based on existing good
practices at a subregional or multi-country
level;
c) defining a Toolbox for intercultural practice
to support the implementation of
intercultural actions in the region.

5. Session on Sustainability
• Sustainability is the third pillar of the
Foundation’s current strategic approach
• The group sessions will explore new models of
development and cooperation, among them
public-private partnerships, crowd-funding
and income generation.
• The recommendations will emphasize the
importance of Sustainability of the projects,
including mentorship and follow-up support.

6. “Sustainability is the nirvana of
development. Everyone wants to
get there but very few actually do”
Practical tools for international development
http://www.tools4dev.org/resources/how-to-write-the-
sustainability-section-of-a-proposal/
Most funders only want to fund projects
that will be sustainable

7. Sustainability Concept
http://moiz.ca/sustainability/concept.htm
• Sustainability is a systemic concept
• it relates to the continuity of
–Economic
–Social
–Institutional and
–Environmental aspects of a project
• to the primary target groups

8. Systemic conditions of
sustainability (common principles )
• dealing cautiously with risk, uncertainty and
irreversibility
• integration of environmental, social and
economic goals in policies and activities;
• equal opportunity and community
participation
• the principle of continuous improvement; and
• the need for good governance

9. What is Sustainability?
• Sustainability can be defined as the ability of a
project to maintain its operations, services and
benefits during its projected lifetime
• sustainable so it can carry on after funding ends
• World Bank defines sustainability as: “the ability
of a project to maintain an acceptable level of
benefit flows through its economic life”

10. The issue of sustainability should be seen:
• within a timeframe and
• in changing social, economic, political and
environmental contexts
• A project that is seen as important and worth
sustaining today may not be so in future.
• Q: Whose responsibility to make a project /
projects sustainable?
What is Sustainability?

11. What should be sustained?
• This decision is crucial
• should be made at an early stage of planning
• helps incorporate elements that are relevant
for 'sustainability'
• HERODOT - Digital-earth.eu project –
networks – sustain the partnership – advance
ideas

12. In general (could be defined as):
• i) project initiated products and services that
are still being delivered and maintained after
five years of end of project implementation,
• ii) the continuation of local actions stimulated
by the project and
• iii) generations of successor services and
initiatives as a result of project initiatives
Do you agree?
What should be sustained?

13. This definition implies that sustainability
concerns itself with:
• Level of continuation of delivery of project
goods and services
• Changes stimulated / caused by the project
• New initiatives caused by the project
Do you agree?
What should be sustained?

14. Who is it being sustained for?
• The target groups?
• The partner organisations?
• The donors?

15. 6 dimensions of sustainability
• Logistics Dimension: continued operation and
maintenance of project facilities - i.e., has the
project the ability to maintain a certain level of
facilities?
• Economic Dimension: continued flow of net
benefits - i.e. benefits over costs
• Community Dimension: continued community
participation for both continuing actions and
stimulating new ones - has the project
maintained a desirable level of participation?

16. • Equity Dimension: mechanisms for equitable
sharing and distribution of project benefits on a
continued basis?
• Institutional Dimension: institutional
requirements to support project operations, after
the life of the project
• Environmental Dimension: Maintenance of
environment – does the project continue to
create positive impacts on environment in which
it is operating?
6 dimensions of sustainability

17. How is sustainability measured?
• core indicators that contribute to
sustainability vary from project to project
• it may be the extent and degree to which the
delivery of goods and services have been
continued … or
• the proportion of target area population that
continue to receive the benefits from project
activities … or?

18. How and when to assess
sustainability?
Given the importance placed on sustainability
implies the project design phase needs:
• a rigorous sustainability analysis followed by
• the development of a sustainability strategy
What is a Sustainability Analysis?
• identification and analysis of degree of presence
or absence of the factors likely to impact, either
positively or negatively on the prospects of
sustained delivery of project benefits

19. How and when to assess
sustainability?
Check list might involve:
• Relevancy
• Acceptability
• Economic / Financial Viability
• Environmental suitability
• Implementation and Monitoring
• Post-implementation operation and
maintenance

20. How and when to assess
sustainability?
What is a sustainability strategy?
• it ensures that all sustainability enhancing
elements are incorporated at the design stage
of a project
• indicates the ways various elements of
sustainability are identified, assessed and
incorporated
• may be helpful to specify factors that limit
sustainability

21. How and when to assess
sustainability?
What is sustainability monitoring?
• helps tracking sustainability related issues
–process evaluation
–results-based monitoring
–project evaluation
–from the sustainability analysis check list
• useful to base this on pre-determined
indicators

22. How to ensure sustainability?
https://www2.fundsforngos.org/featured/how-to-ensure-
sustainability/
• It requires long term vision, goals and
planning the processes, the resources
• Diverse engagement (target groups)
• Improving capacity … to continue
– Financial sustainability,
– Organizational stability and
– Programmatic sustainability
• All parties involved – including the funder

23. Questions (1)
1. How do we define sustainability? Does
sustainability mean success of a project?
2. What should be sustained? How
chosen?
3. Who is the sustainability for?

24. Questions (2)
4. How to ensure sustainability?
5. Whose responsibility?
6. How and when to assess sustainability?
7. Does sustainability mean success of a
project?