Networks of Initiatives
a strategy for self-sustainability
More self-sustainability means having more autonomy and less reliance on external funding, expertise or decisions. It means having a larger capacity to choose and negotiate with other initiatives what’s best for your project and what’s not. It means an increasingly equitable participation, which will lead to development models that are more comprehensive and relevant for all, that is, more sustainable. Know more
A development initiative’s institutional profile impacts its options for targeting certain problems and populations, establishing partnerships and raising and managing funds. Some projects become more self-sustainable by formally partnering with other initiatives because this makes it easier for them to work together with other projects that have complementary social goals; thus, they make better use of their resources and have greater outreach.
Because different projects working together can address several interrelated development problems, collaborations help achieve more comprehensive interventions that are relevant to more people. A health initiative that partners with an education initiative, for instance, can ensure that schools teach children how to take care of their health, and local clinics keep children healthy so that they learn in school properly. In other words, the services not only add up, but their effect is multiplied.
In addition, formalizing or institutionalizing these partnerships allows projects to share and maximize resources and responsibilities more readily, avoid duplication of efforts, and integrate more perspectives that, together, can come up with better solutions to a community’s problems. This minimizes dependence on external funding sources that could condition the use of their money, and allows funds to be managed more flexibly and placed where they are best suited to fulfil local needs.
Some initiatives associate with projects that address different areas of development, while others partner with projects that work on the same problem but in another region or with a different population.
There are many different ways to build self-sustainability by forming networks of initiatives. Take a look at how these initiatives have done it!
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