Editorial: Navigating short-term funding and government election cycles to achieve sustainable, transformative social impact

Purpose The purpose of this study is to introduce a special issue that surfaces the under-documented structural flaw at the heart of social impact work, exposing how short-term funding horizons and government election cycles influence the achievement of sustainable, transformative social impact. Design/methodology/approach A conceptual synthesis is offered, integrating insights from collaborative governance, resource dependence theory, distributive politics, nonprofit resilience and projectification scholarship. Inspired by an Australian Indigenous community-controlled organisation’s experiences, this special issue foregrounds the conditions that hinder durable social impact. Findings Short-term funding and government election cycles create structural distortions, including output capture, outcome drift, performative evaluation, relational erosion, workforce churn and the projectification of complex social change into siloed, piecemeal activities. These dynamics erode the conditions necessary for sustainable, transformative social change. This editorial synthesises the literature and locates the special issue contributions. This study also presents an Indigenous Knowledge System-informed special issue design that is practitioner-driven and Indigenous-led with a whole-circle practice-research-practice feedback loop that exemplifies how social impact learnings can be mobilised. Practical implications Social change scholars and practitioners will find an evidence base to advocate for structural reforms. Many readers may also find this editorial affirming, as it makes visible the shared lived experiences of funding and election cycle volatility, calling out the associated hidden labour and disrupted social impact trajectories. Originality/value This special issue shows how short-term funding and election cycles operate as structural headwinds that shape social impact programs capacity to achieve sustainable transformation. This study also models and encourages social impact whole-circle practice-research-practice feedback loops.