Queensland Stay On Your Feet® Toolkit

• Queensland Stay On Your Feet® Home
• Toolkit
  • Model diagram
  • Model's explanation
• Background
• Phase 1 - Investigate
  • What is the problem?
  • What are the impacts of the problem?
  • Why does the problem occur?
  • Where does the problem occur?
  • When does the problem occur?
  • What is the current context?
  • What is already happening?
• Phase 1 - Materials
  • Collecting information
  • Fear of falling
  • Risk factors
  • Key documents
  • Community stocktake
• Phase 2 - Plan
  • What can be done?
  • What do we know about the target group?
  • Who can be involved?
  • How do we keep the work going?
  • How will we measure progress?
• Phase 2 - Materials
  • Key stakeholders
  • Roles and responsibilities
  • Good working relationships
  • What works?
  • Decision making
  • Goals, objectives, strategies
  • Community planning meetings
  • Reach and marketing
  • Social marketing plan
  • Key messages
  • Community engagement
  • Partnerships
• Phase 3 - Implement
  • Are we testing before we act?
  • What can we achieve now and later?
  • Are there opportunities to explore?
  • How are we monitoring progress?
  • Are we talking with others about our work?
  • Are we measuring our efforts?
• Phase 3 - Materials
  • Communicating
  • Awareness raising
  • Communication plan
  • Community progress meetings
  • Ambassadors
  • Physical activity
  • Sports tours
  • Come and try days
  • Case studies
• Phase 4 - Review
  • Process evaluation
  • Impact evaulation
  • Outcome evaluation
  • Share and celebrate
  • What happens next?
• Phase 4 - Materials
  • Process evaluation tools
  • Impact evaluation tools
  • Outcome evaluation tools
• Acknowledgements

How do we keep the work going?

Sustainability refers to the continuation of project/program strategies or the project/program itself beyond the life of the initial work to continue ongoing progress towards original goals and objectives [16, 95]. Sustainability can also be referred to as maintenance.

Planning to make the project/program and/or its strategies last commences at the beginning of the planning phase [16].  There are four main reasons why sustainability is important [95]:

• projects/programs that are sustained can maintain their effect over a long period of time [95]
• there is a lag period of around three to ten years from the beginning of the project/program to the time when change can be seen in population health [95]
• investment is lost when a project/program is not sustained [95]
• the stop and start nature of projects can make the community feel disillusioned which may prevent future involvement [95].

Sustainability can be considered at a number of levels, including:

• awareness, for example: the number of people who have heard of the project/program [96]
• influence, for example: the number of people who felt that the project/program influenced them in some way [96]
• routine or practices, for example: the aspects of the project/program which have become a part of an organisation's routine practices [96]
• skills, for example: community members and stakeholders have the knowledge, skills and experience to undertake falls prevention activities (increased community capacity) [22]
• structures, for example: organisational and environmental structures such as local government action plans and ramps and hand rails in public places  [22]
• networks, for example: the number of working groups or committees committed to continuing the project/program [22]
• products, for example: products to help reduce falls such as safer shoes [22]
• services, for example: physical activity programs that focus on balance and strength [22]
• policy, for example: organisations and government departments that include falls prevention and healthy active ageing as a part of their policies [95]
• investment, for example: other groups and organisations making a tangible investment in the project/program [95]
• ownership, for example: the degree that project/program participants and key stakeholders feel that they own the project/program [95]
• resources, for example: the use of community financial, human and infrastructure resources to continue the project/program [95]. Also the ongoing availability of resources developed, such as brochures, web links, self assessments tools.

Some suggested steps to improve sustainability include:

• to minimise the longer term reliance/dependence on external funding providers
• match the delivery of the project/program with the core role or mission of the organisation [94]
• integrate strategies into the context of existing systems, structures and services [16]
• formalise into policy and procedures and integrate falls prevention strategies into the core business of organisations, where appropriate
• provide stakeholders with supportive training and education
• take a partnership approach of defined and shared roles, responsibilities and resources
• document concrete project/program impact and outcomes [94]
• market the project/program's worth effectively, for example: promote the impact it is having for older people and with health professionals [16]
• gain project/program visibility through effective marketing eg. inform the public about the project/program through newsletters [16]
• avoid the reliance/dependence on a temporarily employed project officer
• be informed by an advisory group made up of key stakeholders and the target group [94]
• ensure projects/programs meet community needs [94]
• have a champion who provides strong leadership with charisma, skills and dedication can keep the project/program going until they become core routine practice [94].

To plan your evaluation, refer to the evaluation planning worksheet and the list of evaluation tools.

The only aspects of a project/program worth sustaining are those that are effective [95]. Therefore, it is important to test the strategies to determine if they are effective, feasible and acceptable to the target group in the real world before efforts are made to make these strategies a part of the ongoing routine and practice in organisations.

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