Developing an Original Multi-Dimensional Framework for Measuring Digital Transformation Sustainability in Nigerian Non-Governmental Organisations

Non-governmental organisations in Nigeria are increasingly adopting digital tools for service delivery, fundraising, and programme management, but the sustainability of their digital transformation investments is precarious and poorly theorised, representing a significant gap in both IS sustainability research and African civil society technology literature. This study develops an original multi-dimensional framework for measuring digital transformation sustainability in Nigerian NGOs. A sequential mixed-methods research design was applied. Phase 1 conducted a systematic review of 67 publications on organisational digital transformation sustainability and a qualitative study involving 40 interviews with NGO digital officers, donors, and beneficiaries across South East, South South, and North Central Nigeria to identify sustainability dimensions specific to the Nigerian NGO context. Phase 2 developed the Digital Transformation Sustainability Index (DTSI), operationalising seven dimensions: technical infrastructure resilience, digital skill depth, funding continuity, leadership digital commitment, beneficiary digital engagement, knowledge retention, and regulatory environment adaptiveness. Phase 3 validated the DTSI through Rasch model analysis of instrument items and criterion validity testing against longitudinal NGO performance outcomes in a panel of 80 Nigerian NGOs tracked over three years. Available NGO digital sustainability literature from Sub-Saharan Africa identifies donor-dependency for digital infrastructure and high staff turnover disrupting digital skills retention as the most structurally distinctive sustainability vulnerabilities in the African NGO context. The IS Sustainability Theory and the Resource Dependency Theory provide the theoretical foundations. Keywords: digital transformation sustainability, Nigerian NGOs, measurement framework, civil society, DTSI.