Language program management provides structure and methods for a community to plan and execute projects that contribute to their language-related goals.

Language development involves many different stakeholders:  local communities, civic groups, governments, educational institutions, religious organizations, plus national and international organizations. An effective program enlarges a community’s capacity for managing the use of the languages in their current repertoire. This involves training members of the community for various roles in language development programs, including leadership development, and discovering resources to sustain program activities. With so many different goals and actors, good management is essential to achieving the desired results through a language development program.

There are proven principles of project design and management for sustainable development.  Language Program Managers use these principles to:

• enable members of the language community to work effectively with national, local or international organizations interested in various aspects of development in the region
• facilitate effective participation by those who are interested in language development results
• develop community and stakeholder capacity for sustainable language development including discovering resources for local project operations
   

Language program management in SIL builds on the experiences of its staff and the experience of other organizations who are working with communities in many parts of the world. SIL develops reference materials and provides language program management training. These contributions add to a growing body of knowledge and best practices about managing language development projects.