The project approach to development has a range of benefits. But it also comes with challenges, especially around how to achieve scale and ensure sustainability.
Larry Cooley, president emeritus and senior adviser at Management Systems International, has been investigating best practices for achieving large system change for the past 20 years. This has led to the creation of a community of practice for development practitioners focusing on the issue of scale and how to bring it about.
More on scaling nutrition:
► Opinion: Scaling up multisectoral nutrition — the role of international NGOs
► Q&A: What does it take to create a nutrition program with lasting impact?
According to Cooley, the key to successful projects is making sure interventions fit into “the two platforms that can deliver sustainably at scale: governments and markets.” The only way a project can reach its full potential is by reducing complexity and thinking through all of the changes required to integrate an improvement into these larger, preexisting structures, he says.
In this video opinion piece, Cooley shares his insights on successfully designing for scale, arguing for a more streamlined approach that puts “scaling by subtraction” at its core.
To find out more about the Scaling Up Community of Practice, email scalingCOP@msi-inc.com.
Take a closer look at what it takes to achieve scale in the nutrition sector.
About the author
Naomi Mihara
Naomi Mihara is an Associate Editor for Devex, working on creative and audiovisual projects. She has a background in journalism and international development, having previously served as an assistant correspondent for Japanese newspaper The Yomiuri Shimbun and as a communications officer for the International Organization for Migration in Southeast Asia. She holds a master’s degree in Multimedia Journalism from Bournemouth University.
