Nuffic and PIE produce sustainability toolkit
Nuffic and PIE, the Platform for International Education, joined forces to organise a hands-on seminar on sustainability in capacity building projects for Dutch project implementers. The seminar produced a collection of best practices and a useful toolkit.
In for the long haul
Sustainability is a key objective of the NICHE and NPT programmes. Projects should not be ‘hit-and-runs’, but produce long-lasting results. What will stay after the project has been completed? Will it continue? Will it still remain effective?
Sustainability barometer
Nuffic has developed a useful ‘sustainability barometer’ that enables implementers to monitor the sustainability performance of NICHE projects. The barometer helps them to check if they are on the right track. However, due to the complexity of sustainability the barometer only captures a few parameters. Many others are not easy to capture in such a checklist.
It’s all in the click
As an example, several implementers at the seminar mentioned the importance of a ‘click’ between implementing partners. This hard-to-define chemistry seems to depend, to a large extent, on shared vision coupled with common goals and strong ownership.
Food for thought
In his enticing keynote speech Arjen Wals, Professor of Social Learning and Sustainable Development at Wageningen University, gave the implementers some food for thought and discussion. He questioned the concept of sustainability to trigger creative thinking.
Context is king
A recipe for a vital and successful project coalition includes a shared vision, cultural awareness, mutual support and complementary competencies. A successful coalition is most likely to be a temporary one, because of the evolving local context of projects.
A lot of focus should therefore be put on setting up the right coalitions throughout the project lifespan to achieve the desired results within the agreed project duration.
Sustainability toolkit and gazette
The afternoon break-out sessions were very lively and practical. In small groups, the participants discussed a number of good and bad practices that they supplied themselves. They also prepared posters displaying the best ideas on how to reach sustainability.
The ideas will be collated into a gazette and a sustainability toolkit that can be used by project managers.
More information
Download Arjen Wal’s keynote speech(1.4 MB)
Download Nuffic’s sustainability barometer(42.5 kB)
Visit the website of the Platform for International Education