STRATEGIES THAT PROMOTE SUSTAINABILITY OF COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS IN SOUTHEAST NIGERIA

Abstract

Project sustainability is a concern for community development practitioners. An aspect of community development is sustainability which implies that benefits derived from executed projects are main-tained and continue as long as the project exists. The strong commitment of the local people, lead-ership and other local resources are needed to re-suscitate executed projects in the community. This study explores strategies for promoting the sustain-ability of community development projects in Southeast Nigeria. The study adopted cluster and purposive sam-pling techniques. A total of eight communities from four Local Government Areas (LGAs) from two states in Southeast Nigeria were sampled for the study. The Focus Group Discussions (FGDs) and in-depth interviews (IDIs) served as data collection instruments. The study sample size comprised 88 participants. The information produced for the research was analyzed thematically. Findings showed that while the numerous community development projects in the study areas can account for some developmental interest, they also created opportunities for neglect. To promote the sustainability of community development projects, a holistic approach is crucial and interventions must be indigenous and people-oriented. Also, social workers need to create dialogue forums with community members to help attain the goal of project sustainability.