Planning for Sustainability:
Framework and Process
U.S. Department of Labor, Employment & Training
Administration, Division of Youth Services
Grantee Check-Up Meeting
May 12, 2010
Victoria Wegener, The Finance Project
About The Finance Project



The Finance Project is a specialized non-profit
policy research and technical assistance
organization for public and private sector leaders
nationwide
Mission: To support decision making that
produces and sustains good results for children,
families and communities
Our Work:

Technical assistance on financing and
sustainability issues

Capacity-building through Sustainability Training
Institute

Policy tools and materials
What is Sustainability Planning?


The process of sitting down to
develop specific strategies and an
action plan to help ensure the longterm sustainability of an initiative
Includes considering a full range of
resources and competencies –
financial, political, administrative,
managerial– needed to meet longterm goals
Why Do Sustainability Planning?




To clarify where you are and where
you want to go
To develop strategies for longterm success
To provide benchmarks to
measure progress
To demonstrate the value of
your work
A written plan can provide overarching guidance
for your initiative over time
Key Elements of Sustainability
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
Vision
Results orientation
Strategic financing orientation
Adaptability to changing conditions
Broad base of community support
Key champions
Strong internal systems
Sustainability plan
Eight Elements
Vision and
Results
Strategic
Financing
Orientation
Adaptability to changing
conditions
Sustainability Planning Process
Developing a Vision and
Results Orientation
Creating a Strategic
Financing Plan
Strong internal systems
Developing Strategies for
Building Organizational
Capacity and Community
Support
Sustainability
Plan
Developing and Writing a
Plan
Broad base of community support
Key champions
Planning for Sustainability






Planning to Plan
Module I: Building a Sustainable
Initiative
Module II: Creating a Vision and Results
Orientation
Module III: Creating a Strategic
Financing Plan
Module IV: Building Organizational
Capacity and Community Support
Module V: Writing the Plan
Planning to Plan

Goals:




Develop a realistic workplan for
completing the process
Clarify scope of your planning effort
Determine a planning group and
structure
Tools:

Sample workplan, workplan worksheets
Getting Started
1.
Define “initiative”
2.
Clarify planning parameters
3.
Decide who’s input you need
and how that input should be
structured and managed
4.
Develop a workplan
Who to Include in planning


Internal

Governance, management, staff

Clients/consumers, target population
External



Those with influence: policymakers, public
agency administrators, funders, business
leaders, etc
Those with information: community
organizations, researchers, budget and
development personnel, etc
Potential partners: those working toward similar
goals
How Will You Structure Input?

Existing governance entity completes
process



Significant staff support to gather and analyze
information to present.
Appropriate if you have an active board, that
includes needed stakeholders.
Create a taskforce to complete process

Include governance members but also
others
Module I: Building a
Sustainable Initiative


Goals:

To introduce the sustainability framework and
planning process

To benchmark progress by identifying strengths
and weaknesses
Tools:

Sustainability Self-Assessment

Sample Agenda: Completing the Self-Assessment
Self-Assessment Tool



Diagnostic tool to help you:
 assess progress
 identify strengths and weaknesses
 determine where to target scarce
resources
Organized by elements; rank your
progress toward a desired state
First step in developing a sustainability
plan
Completing the Self-Assessment

Define “initiative” and “initiative’s leaders”

Options for managing discussion - Email electronic
version out to participants, then choose to:

Read each task together – poll on rank and discuss

Participants rank individually – then poll and discuss

Participants rank individually – then poll and only
discuss items with wide variation
Facilitation Tips

Remind them that this is not a critique –
“embrace the one”

The goal is not consensus – allow for diversity
of opinion and sharing of information

Make use of a parking lot

Change techniques if the process gets
bogged down
Next Steps



Read through Sustainability Planning
workbook
Identify planning group and complete
Self-Assessment Tool
Two teleconferences in May



1st to focus on Module II – Vision and
Results Orientation
2nd to focus on Module III – Strategic
Financing and Module IV – Organizational
Capacity and Community Support
Follow-up workshop in June