Success - Sustainability

The evaluation found two main aspects of sustainability to examine: one relates to completion of project implementation, and the second one to the results and outcomes of the Programme. There are also a few other smaller aspects that will be mentioned.

Completing project life

The projects in IICD Country Programmes have a theoretical lifespan of 5 years, but the last two years do not have secure financing (even the third one is subject to a non-guaranteed extension). There is a critical issue with project sustainability as most of the projects have not advanced much in their search for complementary financing. Most of them were in fact behaving as though their projects were really for 2-3 years, so there was an impending sense of project cycles coming to an end. Part of IICD’s ongoing commitment to the projects involves assisting project partners in finding these funding sources.

Sustaining Programme results

Improved ICT skills and their application

Advances in ICT integration, operationally as well as management-wise, are largely sustainable for project partners. Their ICT skills have improved significantly. All project partners have been able to apply the necessary ICTs in their projects. Furthermore, they have brought their increased technical capacity into their organizations for better management practices and/or other non-project related operations.

Training vs. capacity building

ICT training is but one element of building capacity of the use of ICT for project partners. Training consists of discrete learning exercises for skill-building. Building (or developing) capacity refers to the ability for individuals to perform functions, solve problems and set and achieve objectives. The latter is intrinsically more difficult, but also more sustainable.

Project partners are specialized in a given thematic area (eg.  MCCH in sustainable agricultural production/commercialisation, or ZARD in gender equity), and they would benefit from more substantive support on the thematic applications of ICT to those areas (eg. agriculture, environment, etc.). Substantive backstopping was largely missing in the CPs.

Data Security

Problems with data and information security can clearly have negative effects on the sustainability of projects results. Some project partners like Acción Ecológica or C-CONDEM handle sensitive information, as their work at times brings them into conflict with the government or powerful economic interests. It is relatively easy for ICT experts to penetrate an organization’s information systems to extract data or plant spying software devices. This could compromise the organization’s operations, and even the physical integrity of some individuals. It is imperative that these organizations become aware of data security issues, and then take measures to increase it.

Dependency and sustainability

Too strong an influence of a project over its implementing organizations, particularly if it is a small entity, can have adverse consequences for the sustainability of both project results and the organization itself. This is the case of ZARD, where the WIDNET project presently constitutes the bulk of its activity (and staff). As the executive coordinator put it, “it is an example of a project that could take over an organization.”

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