Payback Periods
The payback period is an important subject on which to gain agreement. As you interact with potential funding partners it is wise to discuss what they believe to be a reasonable period of time for programs and projects to pay for themselves. Five years is a frequently used payback period for work undertaken by the Harvard Green Campus Initiative (HGCI).
If your potential funding partner does not think that a project with any kind of payback period is worthwhile, you have your work cut out for you. If you can get some agreement on a payback period, then you will have established an important basis upon which to design and measure your proposed green living program or student internship program.
Behavioral change programs can generate very impressive payback periods. On average the HGCI's programs of this kind have paid themselves back within 18 months, showing consistently that well-designed, funded and managed behavioral change programs have rates of return of over 70 percent per year. This success has gone a long way in convincing skeptics that behavioral change programs are valuable. You will likely come up against skepticism when you begin, but take heart—the evidence exists to show that you can indeed meet your funding partners' payback requirements.