Key Considerations for Sustainability Planning
When planning for sustainability, health promotion/disease prevention programs should focus on the following:
- Identifying potential barriers to sustainability and strategies to address them.
- Identifying potential opportunities to leverage and build upon existing priorities, strategies, and interventions.
- Identifying and pursuing funding opportunities early in the development phase.
- Implementing data-driven decision-making processes.
- Emphasizing the intrinsic motivation that can exist in programs which maintain participant behavior change.
- Identifying ways to demonstrate cost savings and cost-effectiveness.
- Identify payment models that support and reward improvements in population health.
- Considering which partner organizations are best positioned to run the program over the long-term and or that can assume certain programmatic responsibilities when necessary.
- Exploring opportunities for partnering with existing federal, state, county, or community initiatives.
- Considering how services integration and care coordination strategies can support health promotion and disease prevention programs and population health improvements.
Resources to Learn More
Bringing
the Future into Focus: A Step-by-Step Sustainability Planning Workbook
Document
Focuses on the various steps in sustainability planning for rural communities and provides examples of
sustainable programs and their impact.
Organization(s): Georgia Health Policy Center
Date: 2011
The Dynamics of Sustainability: A Primer for Rural Health Organizations
Document
Provides information on sustainability planning during initial program implementation.
Organization(s): U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Health Resources and
Services Administration
Date: 2/2012
Positioning for Sustainability: A
Formative Assessment Tool
Document
Provides information on critical areas of sustainability planning for rural community health programs, a
Sustainability Self-Assessment Tool, and guidelines for improving sustainability.
Organization(s): Georgia Health Policy Center
Date: 2011