Criteria for successful Developmentfollowing Withdrawal of external Funding : An Analysis of Theory and Practice

Abstract: In recent years in many sectors the trend seemed to be to rationalise and increase efficiency toensure processes deliver the best possible outcome with the least required input. In a goaloriented and fast paced world, this seems to be a logic step. But what if the individual factorsfor reaching a goal are not known, acknowledged, or simply not respected? What if it occursthat not all actors seem to have understood where the journey should take them? Who takes adecision to hopefully achieve a state of self-sufficiency within the beneficiary community andtherefore resulting long-term sustainability of development interventions?These and some more questions are being touched in the following thesis as the phenomena ofsustainable development and its’ effects and outcomes are researched. The thesis is based onan extensive and critical review of academic work on different steps along the way of theimplementation of development work. To understand the challenges happening afterwithdrawal of external funding, it is crucial to first evaluate how projects and programs weredesigned and implemented to strategically achieve a sustainable outcome.