Building capacity and sustainable prevention innovations: a sustainability planning model [An article from: Evaluation and Program Planning]

This digital document is a journal article from Evaluation and Program Planning, published by Elsevier in 2004. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Media Library immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Description:
This article presents an informed definition of sustainability and an associated planning model for sustaining innovations (pertinent to both infrastructure and interventions) within organizational, community, and state systems. The planning model stems from a systematic review of the literature and from concepts derived from a series of 'think tanks' made up of key substance abuse prevention professionals. The model assumes a five-step process (i.e. assessment, development, implementation, evaluation, and reassessment/modification) and addresses factors known to inhibit efforts to sustain an innovation. One set of factors concerns the capacity of prevention systems to support sustainable innovations. The other pertains to the extent to which a particular innovation is sustainable. A sustainability action strategy is presented that includes goals with corresponding sets of objectives, actions, and results that determine the extent of readiness to sustain an innovation. Sustainability tools to assist in implementing the planning model are illustrated, and next steps for the model are discussed. This planning model provides a conceptual and practical understanding of sustainability that can lead to further investigation.