THOUGHTFUL SUSTAINABILITY

Teri Lewis Oregon State UniversityRonnie Detrich Wing InstituteDavid Standiford Oregon State University

ABAI, San Antonio, Texas June 1, 2010

Goals for Today

Summarize the literature on sustainability and describe what we have learned.

Describe one way to use what we know to increase chances of sustaining effective programs.

Nature of the Problem

In education innovations come and go in 18-48 months (Latham, 1988).

Sustainability should be a focus from the day a project is implemented. With most projects, the pressure of just

becoming operational often postpones such a focus until well into the 2nd year (Aldelman & Taylor, 2003).

Review Parameters

15 years (1989-2006)

Descriptors Sustainability Maintenance Generalization Implementation fidelity Longitudinal

Review Process

Reviewed 95 articles 57 included 38 not included

Coded articles Defining sustainability When intervention has sustained Critical features

(i.e., selection, implementation)

Interest in Sustainability

Inlcuded and Not Included by Year

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

1993

1994

1995

1996

1997

1998

1999

2000

2001

2002

2003

2004

2005

2006

2007

2008

Unknow

n

Year

Nu

mb

er

Not Included

Included

Topics - Included

Education (22) Professional development (14) Medical (4) Mental health (6) Higher education (4) Community (2) Other (2) Business (2)

Not Included

Quality of research (5) Assessment protocol (1) Public-private partnerships (2) Evidence-based practices (1) Implementation (7) Program description (7) Policy/standards (2)

Type of Article

*Descriptive (19) Position (10) *Case study (10) *Qualitative (7) *Experimental-group/single subject (5) Literature review (4) Pilot (1) Unknown (1)

* each had one longitudinal

Evaluation(Could be multiple categories) None mentioned (13) NA (12) Descriptive (9) Outcome measure (6) Survey/satisfaction (5) Fidelity (2) Post-hoc (1)

What is Sustainability?

Maintenance - durable over time Generalization - across settings,

people, etc. Adaptation - changed to fit

different settings/contexts

What is Sustainability?

Term applied across three different related but different levels: Student Outcomes Interventions Systems

What is Sustainability?

Sustainability does not simply mean whether something will last. It addresses how particular initiatives can be developed without compromising the development of others in the surrounding environment now and in the future. Hargreaves & Fink, 2006

Definition- Features

None provided (36)

Learn/change/adapt/innovate (7) Endure/maintain (5) Resource management (4) Part of culture (4) Partnership (3) Long term plan (2) Local champion (1)

Definition - Complexity

One feature (8) Two features (4) Three features (1) Four features (0) Five features (1)

Critical Features

Elliott & Mihalic (2004) review Blueprint Model Programs (violence prevention and drug prevention programs) replication in community settings. Programs reviewed across 5 dimensions:

Site selection Training Technical assistance Fidelity Sustainability

Features

Implementers - Who implemented Exploration - Why look for program Site Selection - Critical features Practice Selection - Why selected Implementation - Support/resources Evaluation - of sustainability Success & Challenges

Implementers (Could be multiple categories)

Service providers (31) NA (15) Community/Agency (9) Researchers/Consultants (7) Administrators (7) Leader/Champion (6) Students (5) Parents (3) District/State (3) Government (2)

Exploration

None discussed (23) NA or part of existing study (19) Site goal (5) Site need (3) Capacity/Ready for change (2) Policy/Initiative (2) Research question (1)

Site Selection

Beliefs/values (13) Buy-in/Volunteer/support (13) Research need (11) NA (11) Administrative support (9) Policy (8) Resources (6) Prior success (6) None (4) Need (4) Community support (4) Fit with other initiative (3)

Evalutation

None (13) NA (11) Descriptive (9) Outcome measure (6) Survey/Satisfaction (6) Fidelity measure (2) Post-hoc (1)

Summary

Broad range of topics/fields focusing on sustainability

Most of the literature is descriptive with limited evaluation

Still need to learn more about critical features - process beginning to end

Initial Recommendations

Limited information about site prerequisites Need, readiness

When choosing sites to implement consider Buy-in and fit with values of culture Support such as administrator, resources,

organizational structure and policy

Initial Recommendations

Implementation should include direct service providers, relevant stakeholders and at least one local champion/leader

In general success was attributed to Collaboration and communication Integrating/embedding w/existing practices Methodical/slow implementation Adapting practice/program to fit the culture Access to resources

Practitioners Guide

Innovation Configuration (Hall & Hord, 1987) Assess the extent of implementation of a

program “road map”

Use Start new intervention Review/refine current intervention Applied research considerations

Practitioners Guide

Content Sections Exploration Site Readiness Implementers Implementation On-going decision-making

Five sub-sections Summary of key literature/considerations Scoring guide Strengths/weaknesses and Action plan

Site Readiness 0 1 2 3 4 Rating

Buy-InoStaff SupportoVoluntary participation oCommunity SupportoPrior implementation success

NoneStaff support for implementation

Staff support plus voluntary

participation

Staff support, voluntary

participation plus community support

Staff & community support, voluntary participation plus

prior implementation success

Contextual FitoMeets a program needoAligns with valuesoDoesn’t interfere with other initiativesoSupports other

initiatives

NoneMeets a need of the

program

Meets a need plus aligns with values

and beliefs of program

Meets a need, aligns with values plus doesn’t interfere

with other initiatives

Meets a need, aligns with values, doesn’t interfere but support

other initiatives

ResourcesoAdministrator SupportoProtected FTE/LeaderoTime/ Materials/ FundingoPolicy

None Administrative

support

Administrative support plus a

designated leader

Administrative support, designated

leader plus sufficient resources

Administrative support, designated

leader, sufficient resources plus written policy

Column subtotals

Final Thought

Sustainability of initiatives is due in a large part to thoughtful selection, planning and early implementation

Copies may be downloaded atwww.winginstitute.org

Thank you