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Throughout the global community, the challenges of finite resources, budget deficits and growing interdependence and complexity have forced governments and the private sector to do more with less. In the foreign assistance realm, this has translated into a donor mandate to promote self-sustaining development in the Third World, a key component of which is the institutional framework that conceives, plans, funds, implements and manages activities. This book, based on the results of a multi-year applied research project, focuses on institutional sustainability and its role in agriculture and rural development. It concentrates on collaboration between international donor organizations and developing countries to design and implement projects aimed at introducing performance and capacity improvements. The collection of 15 essays is divided into three subject areas. Part one examines the sustainability dimensions of agriculture and rural development, with chapters that focus on the range of meanings of sustainability and the relationship between it and continued benefit flows; a conceptual model that draws on systems theory, organizational contingency theory and political economy; and the action-research methodology for applying the model in the field. Part two is made up of nine chapters, each of which uses the model to analyze a particular case where an international donor-funded intervention sought to develop a sustainable institution. The cases range geographically across the world. Finally, part three draws on case experiences to highlight strategies for promoting institutional sustainability. Lessons are derived from a comparative analysis of several of the cases, and a chapter incorporating the points made in all of the cases is also provided. With its comparative framework and conclusion that institutional sustainability is a feasible objective for development agencies, this volume is aimed at development practitioners and students of development administration.
Part 1 The quest for sustainability: introduction, Derick W.Brinkerhoff and Arthur A.Goldsmith; sustainability and rural and agricultural development, Arthur A.Goldsmith and Derick W.Brinkerhoff; institutional sustainability - a conceptual framework, Derick W.Brinkerhoff et al; analyzing institutional sustainability - an action-inquiry methodology, Kurt Finsterbusch and Marcus D.Ingle. Part 2 Promoting institutional sustainability - case experiences: sustaining benefits of the Thailand Northeast Rainfed Agriculture Development Project, Marcus D.Ingle et al; sustainable credit for rural development - learning from Indonesia, Melissa C.Brinkerhoff; laying the groundwork for sustainability - using action-planning to improve project design and implementation in Ghana and Guatemala, Andrea Jones; policy reform as institutional change - privatizing the fertilizer subsector in Cameroon, Tham V.Truong and S.Tjip Walker; the three phases of sustainability in Morocco's Hassan II Institute for Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine, Alice L.Morton and James Lowenthal; the limits of sustainability - management improvement in Haiti's planning ministry, Derick W.Brinkerhoff; sustainable reforms for national agriculture research - the case of India, Arthur A.Goldsmith; sustaining the performance of the Caribbean agricultural research and development institute, Marcus D.Ingle et al; training and visit as an approach for sustainable agriculture exstension - applications in the Philippines, Daniel J.Gustafson. Part 3 The lessons of experience: sustainability lessons - findings from cross-case analysis of seven development projects, Kurt Finsterbusch; institutional sustainability strategies - a global view, Arthur A.Goldsmith and Derick W.Brinkerhoff.
