Projects often ask whether they are “ready” to scale. However, readiness should not be understood as a fixed state or checklist.

Scalability is shaped by multiple interacting dimensions, including governance arrangements, levels of participation, technical infrastructure, leadership capacity, financial sustainability, partnerships, and the wider institutional context (Wigboldus et al., 2016). These factors rarely operate independently. Instead, they interact dynamically over time.

Importantly, these conditions evolve over time. A project that is not currently prepared for broader expansion may become more capable through learning, adaptation, or partnership-building.

Practitioners may find it useful to create space for discussion around:

●       organisational strengths;

●       vulnerabilities;

●       assumptions;

●       hidden dependencies;

●       and long-term sustainability.

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