ALF Sustainability session14.30 David Bruce Hall

Karl Donert, President EUROGEO, Director: European Centre of Excellence: digital-earth.eu

Director: Innovative Learning Networkeurogeomail@yahoo.co.uk

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.

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

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.

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.

“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

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

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

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”

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?

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

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?

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?

Who is it being sustained for?

• The target groups?• The partner organisations?• The donors?

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?

• 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

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?

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

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

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

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

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

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?

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?