Further Reading — Chapter 14: Sustainability and Dissemination

Verify current funder data-sharing and open-access policies, which are evolving quickly.

Sustainability Planning

  • Karsh & Fox, and O'Neal-McElrath (the nonprofit grant guides), the sustainability chapters. Practical guidance on writing a credible sustainability plan and the major strategies (diversified funding, earned revenue, absorption).
  • Wallace Foundation and similar funders' sustainability resources. Several large funders publish free guides on program sustainability and the pilot-to-adoption pathway — useful, concrete models written by the funders themselves.
  • National Council of Nonprofits and Candid, sustainability and earned-revenue resources. On diversified funding and social-enterprise models for nonprofits (connects to Chapters 28 and 33).

Dissemination and Knowledge Translation

  • Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR), "Knowledge Translation" resources. The leading framework for moving research findings into practice and policy — the basis for "active knowledge translation" (Section 14.4).
  • The Dissemination and Implementation (D&I) science literature (e.g., the journal Implementation Science). For research applicants, the field studying how findings actually spread into practice — increasingly relevant to funders.
  • Community-based participatory research (CBPR) and community-reporting guides. On disseminating back to communities in usable forms, not just to academic audiences (connects to Chapters 25 and 31).

Open Access and Open Data (Compliance)

  • NIH Data Management and Sharing (DMS) Policy (grants.nih.gov). The current NIH requirements for data sharing — a compliance matter that shapes the dissemination plan and sometimes the project design. Read before any NIH proposal.
  • NSF Data Management Plan requirements (PAPPG). NSF's required data-management plan and sharing expectations.
  • SPARC and your institution's library open-access resources. On open-access publishing options, repositories, and meeting funder open-access mandates. Your institutional library is often the best practical resource.

On the "Why" of These Requirements

  • The Overhead Myth / Nonprofit Starvation Cycle materials (Chapter 12). Related context on funders thinking like investors and valuing lasting impact over short-term activity.
  • Foundation evaluation and "impact investing" literature. On the shift toward funders seeking durable, measurable, spreading return — the trend behind sustainability and dissemination requirements.