Since improvement networks are temporary organizations, we examine how the work sustains beyond the life of the grant funded design. Specifically, we are interested in what sustainability priorities network leaders identify, how is responsible for sustaining the work, and what challenges they anticipate as they move into a new phase of work.
Sustainability priorities:
- sustained use of continuous improvement processes and methods,
- continued use of NSI-developed change ideas and interventions,
- a sustained focus on the network aim in schools,
- continued collaborative work within school-based improvement teams,
- maintained connection / collaboration across schools
Organizational responsibility for sustainability:
- Schools
- Districts, and/or
- The intermediary
Anticipated sustainability challenges:
- Loss of key hub personnel
- Staff turnover
- Loss of protected time for the work
Our sustainability study is tracking broad trends in how network leaders are planning for sustainability and will dive deeper into a set of case studies that examine what sustains when networks transition from their initial funding.