Sustainability essentially means to endure for the foreseeable future. To build organisations, projects/programmes that are sustainable, their structures and processes need to be strong and independent by addressing the scope of its operation and its surroundings including indicators such as: environment, politics, socio-economic, governance, human, and humanitarian. When organisations, projects/programmes adequately look into these indicators and how it can affect its operations and develop measures that will mitigate shocks, then the organization, project/programme increases the chances of being sustainable.
As sustainability issues is vital and a recommendation for all the organisations, projects/programmes, it is unfortunate that several organisations, projects/programmes are not keen to take measures to address the internal and external challenges that might be brought about by the mentioned indicators. Some of the internal challenges may include competing priorities of managers, inadequate capital to invest in new ways of design and managing operations, inadequate systems to manage information, and failure to keep up with technological innovations among others. The external challenges include fitness to the local context, riots, conflicts, and political good-will. These challenges are some of the factors that can impedes the goal of transforming the organisations, projects/programmes into sustainable long-term practice.
It is on this account that Sharp Development Solutions (SDS) Consulting over its 11 years of operation and working with over 80 organisations in the sub-Saharan Africa has gathered insights and has identified its niche in supporting organisations, projects/programmes in strengthening their processes and structures to record optimal results and enhance their sustainability through a custom-made sustainability tool. With improved results and sustainability, organisations, projects/programmes will be accountable to their partners and donors.
In assessing our client’s sustainability, we will use evaluate the client and determine which indicators are applicable to their context. We will then assess the indicators as per the departments present by interviewing both the decision makers and the employees. The interview will mark the end of the assessment and we will prepare a report including recommendations for the gaps identified. The client can choose to bankroll on the SDS capacity building programme or do the capacity building themselves.
The sustainability tool provides the following benefits to all of our clients: ability to identify gaps in the categories mentioned in the first paragraph and be provided with recommendations on how to fill these gaps, clients can choose to enroll into SDS Capacity Building programme to fill the identified gaps, strengthened capacities of employees and beneficiaries in understanding of their roles and responsibilities, and evident results making organisations, projects/programmes accountable to their partners and donors.
SDS Consulting sustainability tool is not rigid but a live tool that will always take care of all the emerging patterns in the development sector. Reach out to us to check your sustainability capabilities and get strengthened.
