Sustainability happens when organizations strategize, plan for, and set systems in place.
How? Consider these ideas:
1. Conduct an evaluation that includes sustainability indicators that monitor performance over time. This includes not only developing the indicators but also creating an easy-to-use system for measuring performance and reporting.
2. Develop an infrastructure to support the project long term. Projects and programs need personnel, funding, resources, and leadership support and guidance to create sustainable change. Even if your organization experiences staff turnover, you can still maintain the gain of an improvement project (and continue to improve upon it).
3. Review performance on a continuous basis. Depending on the project, set regular meetings to review performance. One set of evaluators created “improvement huddles,” which are 10- to 15-minute meetings to “anticipate problems and review current performance.”[1]
A key aspect of sustainable change is to keep people talking and investing in sustained results. The nature of sustainable change is change, which means that even when you have systems in place, they need to be flexible as you gather new information. This flexibility along with constant communication allows you to respond to changing needs while deepening your sustainable efforts.
If you’re interested in having ACET help you with an evaluation to create sustainable change, please contact us at info@acetinc.com. We offer a free initial consultation!
[1] Silver, S., McQuillan, R., Harel, Z., et. al. (May 6, 2016). How to sustain change and support continuous quality improvement. Clinical Journal of the American Society of Nephrology, Vol. 11, No. 5, 916-924.