Sustain Your Action

Now that you have made an impact, how can you sustain it? Each project or initiative has its own unique lifespan and has the potential to expand or emerge in new forms. Read the 5 points for sustainability and write down 3 ways you or other youth could sustain interest in taking action on the issue you chose.

Sustaining a project for a long time can be a major challenge. Even if you decide not to continue your project, think about the ways that people involved in your project can sustain their interest in taking action on the issue you looked at with your project.

Sustainability is about:

1. Having a clear timeline: Creating goals that are to be achieved by certain dates will help you keep on track and not lose site of your greater goals when you get really busy.

2. Collaborating with other organizations: By spreading responsibility for your project across several different groups, you're building a stronger support structure for the future. If one group discontinues their support, at least there are others who can take on more responsibility.

3. Building strong alliances with adults & mentors: Adults and mentors can be a vital source of wisdom, financial resources, and technical expertise that is often required to take a one-time project to a more long-term venture.

4. Planning for leadership transition: You may not always be the person in charge of your project! Leaving the right information so that a new leader can take over is essential. Put together a package of useful information for the next project leader.

5. Keeping good records and managing knowledge: Keeping good records of your contacts, how you do things, and your achievements will help you to sustain the effect of your project in the future. This includes documenting what you have learned through the process of evaluation.

3 ways to sustain interest in your project

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