Institutional sustainability: a case study on project transition in rural Malawi

In the final stages of a project, the transition between implementation and the post-project context marks a critical period for institutionalizing sustainability of project impacts. In practice, however, transition is an often overlooked and undervalued aspect of project design. Facilitating the transition strategy of a WaterAid Malawi project from the district of Salima over the past year, Engineers Without Borders Canada has been working in partnership with permanent institutions and the local implementing organization to both effectively transition the project and to articulate the process taken. Role definition and mapping, skills gap identification, and targeted development of key capacities have emerged as key steps in this case study. In addition, essential components of a strong transition are elaborated on, such as clear expectation setting and design of collective spaces.