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This research focuses on issues that are important for managing natural resources sustainably at the community level in technology-oriented project level developmental initiatives. Despite the existing plurality of the sustainable development concept, this is an attempt to examine the operationalization of the concept at the project level by following the case study approach. This research highlights the importance of focusing on process-oriented criteria for assessing the sustainability of development outcomes. These process-oriented criteria are expected to be inclusive of factors such as community participation, institutional development, social acceptance of a technology and its adaptability to local conditions, and congruence of stakeholder interests with project goals, and the external policy environment. To validate these criteria with observations from the field, specific projects have been chosen from the India-Canada Environment Facility’s (ICEF’s) portfolio of sponsored projects. A study of the commonalities among these projects point to institutional development and technology adoption as the focal points of intervention. An analytical framework has been developed to test the parameters that are hypothesized to characterize effective institutions and effective technology. These parameters have been assessed through qualitative research methods and using the field level information gathered from the selected case studies. A major finding of the study is that for sustainable development outcomes from project interventions, there must be effective institutional arrangements at all levels of project design, implementation, and its monitoring. These effective institutions are brought about by meaningful participation by the target groups at all possible levels, efficient information dissemination and convergence of interests of all stakeholders.
