HHD Looks at Sustainability from All Angles

Sustainability is less about keeping specific programs going and more about attaining broader goals, according to project leaders at Health and Human Development Programs (HHD). "The essence of sustainability is how to think about the 'big picture,' i.e., what is contributing overall to the health and mental health of children, youth, and families," says Deborah Haber, Director of the National Center for Mental Health Promotion and Youth Violence Prevention, housed at HHD.

"We think of sustainability in terms of legacy—what is left behind,” says Haber. The National Center has created a Legacy Wheel to give its grantee programs guidance on how to create lasting changes that promote mental health and prevent violence. This tool provides information on all the key strategies for sustainability: strategic planning, leadership, partnership and collaboration, capacity building, financing, evaluation, public policy, and communications and marketing. Resources are provided that can help programs tailor their efforts to their situation. A combination of these strategies helps programs achieve their goals, objectives, and outcomes, which enables them to create change.

According to the National Center's philosophy, sustainability is achieved by working with leaders, building the support of broad constituencies, promoting change within a frame of respect, and celebrating differences. Cooperative learning is also part of the process, where grantees share knowledge with National Center staff and with each other.

Evaluation is a key component of sustainability because programs need data to gain credibility and additional funding. Evaluating their programs early and often is what gives grantees the information needed to keep them going. "Without evaluation, you might spend a lot of energy sustaining elements that really don't have a lot of impact," says Haber. The National Center's Legacy Wheel describes "Evaluation" as a “key strategy for improving your program, keeping it on track, and marketing it to partners and other potential supporters."

Chelsey Goddard, Associate Director of the Northeast Center for the Application of Prevention Technologies (Northeast CAPT) at HHD, agrees that evaluation is an important component, but she says that it is often overlooked in funded programs. "You want to be able to show funders and the community that this program was worth it. Without documented outcomes, you won't be able to continue to get funding." However, she adds that although funding is one thing that is generally needed to sustain programs, it is not the only thing.

Haber says, "Sustainability is never about money, and it is always about money.” Money may be needed to sustain some of the positive outcomes of a program, but it is possible to sustain outcomes without any funding or with far less funding than the original grant provided. The National Center's Legacy Wheel section on "Financing" offers dozens of links to resources that offer grants and explain the intricacies of grant funding.

Strong leadership can be the impetus that pushes programs to thrive and survive, according to Laurie Davidson, Associate Director of HHD’s National Center for College Health and Safety and of the Higher Education Center for Alcohol and Other Drug Abuse and Violence Prevention,"If funding is not available, motivated leaders can still keep a program going.”

Davidson adds, however, that counting on consistent leadership is not always possible, especially on college campuses. "It's difficult to sustain campus-community coalitions when there is a high turnover in university administration.” To deal with this issue, the Higher Ed Center offers two-day team training events that provide teams of higher education professionals and community members with opportunities to learn best practices for coalition-based environmental approaches to prevention.

Goddard reinforced the value of leadership training to reach goals and keep programs going. "Many of the agencies we work with collapse when a key person leaves," she says. "Leadership training is essential, especially for mid-level people who have something to offer but also have the potential to burn out.” The Northeast CAPT offers a leadership institute as well as training for state prevention practitioners to strengthen their youth prevention systems. Its technical assistance and training programs focus on skill development.

For more information on leadership as a strategy for attaining sustainability, visit the National Center's Legacy Wheel section under "Leadership."