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Based on the experience of the development community, five principles have particular relevance to building sustainable partner capacity.

• Local ownership. Lasting solutions cannot be imposed; they require the local government to take ownership of the program. Absent that, once U.S officials turn their attention elsewhere or depart, the program will wither.
• A comprehensive approach. Such an approach to capacity-building takes into account the full range of factors that affect program success, including the roles, abilities, and incentives of partners, as well as the broader political and economic environment that shapes them.
• Selectivity. Assistance providers should have the appropriate experience, cultural understanding, and skill sets to carefully select the right partners and effectively engage with them.
• Harmonization. For efforts to be harmonized, all stakeholders must share information, ensuring complementary rather than conflicting or duplicative efforts; collaborate to streamline processes and capitalize on lessons learned from prior efforts; and use the right personnel and resources to implement a program.
• Long-term, iterative adaptation. Enduring SSA requires preserving the flexibility to adapt programs and methods as engagements progress and mature.

SSA practitioners face distinct challenges in achieving sustainability when attempting to adopt development practices.

• SSA planners and implementers face systemic barriers to adopting the five principles. These challenges are posed both by the U.S. government and by the partner nation. Some are imposed by processes, while others are imposed by the inherent difficulty that accompanies attempts to align a partner nation's goals with those of the United States.
• Among the specific challenges that SSA practitioners face are the following: The partner nation's SSA goals may differ from those of the United States. Programs often focus on tactical capabilities and fail to provide critical enablers, such as appropriate personnel and materiel systems. SSA programs often lack creativity and tailoring to U.S. goals and partner-nation requirements; instead, proposals are sometimes created using a standard framework for each country or unit, regardless of characteristics, need, and fitness for the program. Furthermore, SSA personnel assignments are typically short, and many authorities are funded by appropriations that last just one year.