How to obtain and measure sustainability within project organization

Abstract: Theewaterskloof is a community with several faces. Situated right outside Cape Town, South Africa, the community of Theewaterskloof is distinguished by a low socio-economic standard. Housing and jobs are the main issues that concern the inhabitants of Theewaterskloof. Since 2004 the Theewaterskloof Development Project is run by students and by the Theewaterskloof Development Project Organization. The overall project aims are Service-Learning for students and sustainable rural community development, which in turn should result in increased entrepreneurship, work opportunities and self-sufficiency for the inhabitants in Theewaterskloof.With the complex conditions that characterize the project we found it very valuable to have a sustainable organization representing a strong base and clear concept. We came to understand that the power and motivation to make changes within the organization lies within the organization itself. With this in mind we began researching the project by interviewing involved parties and observing the project in field. The first conclusion we made was that the aims of the Theewaterskloof Development Project in theory and practice were not coherent. We then came to focus on areas within the organization that we perceived to be complex. As a result four themes were identified and processed; 1) Communication, cohesion and will to co-operate, 2) Project office, administration, organization and project management, 3) Enjoyable work assignments, the importance of every person involved and clearer vision on what every person is contributing with, and 4) Clear vision and aim, clarify the purpose of the whole project and clarify the approach to reach the aims. To simplify the themes and make them more applicable we came to our second conclusion; the need of finding a suitable approach for transforming the themes into normative principles. This approach is presented as the Seven Step Approach in which the results are four normative principles; Communication, Project management, Motivation and Strategy, all important for a sustainable organization and the further development of the project. As a final outcome we produced a guide with the base of the Seven Step Approach suited to fit the needs and conditions of Theewaterskloof Development Project. The guide has the purpose of assisting the project organization in achieving the principles to better reach the aims of the project.