ABSTRACT
Sadly – despite many claims to the contrary – sound and rigorous financial planning is often omitted in new projects and institutions seeking to harness the potential of distance-education methods. The most problematic aspect of this omission is not analysis of the current or short-term running costs of a distance-education programme or institution; many (but by no means all) planners have a handle on these dimensions of distanceeducation practice. Far less common, though, is rigorous planning for the long-term sustainability of a programme or institution. Obviously this is problematic in any context, but it is of particular concern in contexts where financial resources are very constrained, which is usually a feature of distance-education programmes in developing countries.
