The Virtuous Spiral: A Guide to Sustainability for NGOs in International Development

‘The Virtuous Spiral is without doubt a most welcome addition to the body of knowledge that will continue to be highly valued in the NGO sector.’
Ezra Limiri Mbogori, Director, Mwelekeo wa NGO (MWENGO), Harare

‘Fowler demonstrates how development NGOs can engage in a virtuous spiral of performance-based learning that regenerates public trust. This is a timely book, dealing squarely with the confidence crisis faced by many NGOs in the South and North.’
Louk De La Rive Box, Director, European Centre for Development Policy Management, Maastricht

Sustainability is crucial for all institutions involved in international development. This work offers practical guidance on how to achieve it. There are three main kinds of sustainability and a section of the book is devoted to each: making the impact of the organization’s work sustainable, ensuring continuity of funding, and making the organization itself sustainable to remain viable. Achieving all three creates a virtuous spiral. The book takes an organizational rather than a technical or impact-based approach to sustainability. It is based on extensive international research and offers many practical examples of sustainability and the difficult trade-offs involved.