SUSTAINING
EVIDENCE-BASED PRACTICES
Prepared by the Justice Research and Statistics Association
THE IMPORTANCE OF
SUSTAINABILITY
• Funding agencies expect a return on their initial
investments with sustained evidence-based programs.
• Funding agencies have a growing concern over
program sustainability because of:
• Scare resources and increased fiscal accountability
• Ethical responsibility to communities
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WHAT IS SUSTAINABILITY?
• “Sustainability” is the maintenance, after initial
funding is exhausted, of evidence-based program
components that have been developed and fully
implemented
• It is an evolving process beginning with program
adoption and implementation.
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IMPLEMENTATION
• Sustainability is intertwined with the implementation
process.
• EBP sustainment can be enhanced by:
• Maintaining fidelity to core program components
• Articulating clear goals and plans to achieve them
• Demonstrating program success with program evaluation
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IMPLEMENTATION FIDELITY
• Programs implemented with a high degree of fidelity
are more likely to be successful.
• Without successful results, additional funding and
support is difficult to obtain.
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SUSTAINABILITY PLANNING
• Research shows that sustained programs plan for
sustainability in the early stages of program adoption
and throughout implementation.
• Strategic sustainability plans:
• Clarify where to take initiatives in the future
• Provide benchmarks to determine success in reaching goals
• Help policymakers and stakeholders decide whether and
how to support an initiative
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FACTORS RELATED TO PROGRAM
SUSTAINABILITY
• Program characteristics and actions
• Relationship to the larger organization
• Relationship to the community
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PROGRAM CHARACTERISTICS
AND ACTIONS
• Adaptability or responsiveness
• EBPs operate in continuously evolving organizational and
community contexts.
• EBPs that are modifiable are more likely to be responsive
to changes like cuts in organizational budget, policy shifts,
and staff turnover.
• Adaptations must be done while maintaining fidelity to
core program components.
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STRATEGIES TO ENHANCE
RESPONSIVITY
• To be responsive to changes, programs must monitor
their organizational and community contexts.
• Developments in criminal justice research
• Economic, demographic, and social data on local
community
• Strategies for monitoring include:
• Participation in listservs
• Joining coalitions with common interests
• Subscribing to relevant publications
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PROGRAM LEADERSHIP
COMPETENCE
• Competent leaders set program goals, engage in
ongoing program planning, and develop
implementation and evaluation plans.
• Leadership competence is related to other predictors
of program sustainment.
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STAFF INVOLVEMENT
• Staff buy-in and commitment promote program
sustainment.
• When staff are involved in program decisions, they
become invested in the program and staff turnover is
reduced.
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RELATIONSHIP TO LARGER
ORGANIZATION
• A program’s relationship to its host organization has a
strong influence on the sustainability of the program.
• Many of the same organizational characteristics that
foster implementation also enhance sustainability:
• Strong internal systems
• Program integration
• Internal program champion
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STRONG INTERNAL SYSTEMS
• Organizations with established systems for fiscal
management, information and technology, and
personnel promote the effective and efficient
operations necessary to sustain a program.
• Organizations with established systems are better
equipped to respond and adapt to changes in the
environment (i.e. budget cuts, staff turnover, policy
shifts).
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INTERNAL PROGRAM CHAMPION
• Sustained programs have at least one internal
program champion.
• Programs are more likely to be sustained when the
program champion is a leader in the host
organization.
• Organizational leaders ensure the program is a high
priority and its core components are well-integrated
into the organizational structure.
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RELATIONSHIP WITH THE
COMMUNITY
• Programs may be more difficult to sustain in some
communities than others.
• Program sustainment is tied to building a broad base
of community support.
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BROAD BASED COMMUNITY
SUPPORT
• A broad base of community support helps grantees
maximize resources and build community and
political support.
• Pool resources with other organizations
• Provide in-kind resources like expert-advice in fundraising,
volunteers, and political support
• Local professionals (e.g. attorneys, accountants, and
physicians) may volunteer their services in support of an
initiative
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BROAD BASED COMMUNITY
SUPPORT
• Strategies to increase awareness can widen the
scope of community and political support.
• Hold open houses and program tours for leaders in
the community
• Use brochures and social media to communicate
positive results from an evaluation.
• Organize events in public spaces
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EXTERNAL PROGRAM CHAMPION
• Sustainable programs are likely to have an external
program champion
• Leaders from businesses, faith-based institutions, and
government can be valuable assets in mobilizing
resources and political support for a program.
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GRANTORS CAN FACILITATE
SUSTAINABILITY
Grantors can use a number of strategies to help grantees
sustain their programs.
• Require sustainability plans in the RFP
• Provide technical assistance and funding to build
organizational capacity
• Staff training and program evaluation
• Funding for technological infrastructures
• Training in leadership, management, fundraising, financial
planning
• Facilitate community relationship building and
responsiveness
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