International Development - Anne Heyman on making development projects sustainable

International Development - Anne Heyman on making development projects sustainable: "Everyone implementing projects in developing countries faces the challenge of ensuring their sustainability. Often these efforts focus on financial sustainability, but this is only part of the equation. Equally important is the question of operational sustainability: how can founders ensure that the project will continue at the expected level of program delivery even after they have left the country?

This question has been a critical component of strategic planning for the Agahozo-Shalom Youth Village in Rwanda since the project’s inception in September 2006. Our focus on hiring and increasing the capacity of Rwandan staff has been more expensive, and this approach is more time-consuming at the outset than using already-trained staff from abroad. But it has been essential to making the project sustainable over the long term."

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