The Virtuous Spiral

Sustainability is crucial for all institutions involved in international development. This book offers much-needed practical guidance on how to achieve it. There are 3 main kinds of sustainability and a section of the book is devoted to each: 1. Making the impact of the organization's work sustainable. 2. Ensuring continuity of Funding. 3. Making the organization itself sustainable to remain viable. Achieving all three creates a virtuous spiral. The book is distinctive in taking an organizational rather than technical or impact-based approach to sustainability. It is based on very extensive international research and offers many practical examples of sustainability and the difficult trade-offs involved

Alan Fowler is a consultant, analyst and writer, currently resident in Ethiopia. For over 20 years he has worked with international development NGOs in Africa, Asia and the United States, as manager, consultant, researcher, Ford Foundation Programme Officer and Visiting Fellow at The World Bank and the Society for Participatory Research in Asia, New Delhi. He is co-founder of the International NGO Training and Research Centre (INTRAC) and a Director of the International Society for Third Sector Research