Sustainability from the Start: Ensuring Lasting Impact of Community Prevention Efforts

Across the country, communities are working to make themselves into healthier places by develop and maintaining prevention and transformation initiatives. But how can they make sure that these efforts have a lasting impact even after grants and contracts run out or community coalitions fade? Community prevention leaders must think from the very beginning about how their efforts will be sustained so the changes put in to place during an initiative leave a lasting impact and continue to benefit community residents. This brief lays out strategies public health practitioners and prevention advocates can use to build the capacity of community members, organizations and decision-makers to continue their work and maintain their gains once funding has ended. Key sustainability components include: engaging the community; building multi-sector/multi-field partnerships; increasing the capacity to engage in policy, systems, and environmental change; and being able to make the case to decision makers and funders about the ongoing value of the work.