Opening Pandora’s Box : Examining Sustainability in Development Aid Projects through the Lens of Project Managers

What does sustainability entail in development aid projects? Sustainability is ambiguous in the context of development aid, lacking a universal interpretation applicable across aid initiatives. This study, therefore, aims to understand sustainability in development aid projects from the perspectives of project managers. Drawing on insights from seven project managers gathered through interviews and the analysis of 17 archival documents, the findings indicate that sustainability mainly revolves around lasting results and continued funding. It also emerges that project managers possess an expanded mandate, as they take on funding-related responsibilities traditionally held by project sponsors. Furthermore, the study reveals that as project managers engage with stakeholders, they encounter paradoxes that create tensions during the project implementation process. When these paradoxical tensions arise, it may feel as though Pandora’s box has just been opened, unleashing a plethora of implications. If project managers do not find dynamic strategies to navigate or resolve these tensions, projects risk being trapped in vicious cycles of unsustainability, fueled by aid fungibility and weak ownership. Nonetheless, project managers remain hopeful that through reforms and innovation, aid projects can serve as agents of change, leading to sustainable transformation in the complex contexts where they are implemented.