In this book Göran Brulin and Lennart Svensson set out a learning approach to change. They argue that although project work, driven by competent project leaders drives positive outcomes, frequently the optimistic initial results are often short-sighted with few evaluations of their long-term impact.

The research contained in Managing Sustain able Development Programmes reveals an extraordinary level of failure in the durability of large change programmes and projects in both the private and public sectors. The authors question whether sustainable development can be achieved within the framework of large publicly financed programmes.

This strong critique of traditional programme implementation overturns much of our current thinking about project delivery and governance. The authors focus instead on sustainable change and development. They show how active ownership and collaboration between different actors and the dynamics of developmental learning can be used to create programmes and projects that contribute to innovation.

The message at the heart of the book is ‘don’t blame the project leader’ but rather look for dynamic possession of projects, joint knowledge management and sharing with external stakeholders that will secure long-term effects.

Published by Gower. ISBN: 978-1-4094-3719-2. £65.00.