We suggest that the scaling (i.e., spreading) of intervention is a prerequisite, not a luxury, for sustainable action research. This is essential for the necessary processes of learning and experience sharing. A vital aspect of our perspective is that local interventions depend heavily on the support of similar action research efforts in other locations. More precisely, local action research interventions need to be conceptualized and approached as but one element in a larger network of action in order to ensure sustainability. Our paper is motivated by one simple question: Why do so many action research efforts fail to persist over time? We approach this question, the problem of sustainability, building on a perspective on action research identifying the pivotal impor- tance of networks. This study makes interesting contributions to the domain of IS/HMIS research in two ways: (a) by reporting from a country that until now has been almost invisible to the IS community, and (b) by adding to the debate around IS and organizational change through the lens of institutional logics and deinstitutionalization. However, this is a remarkable challenge, given a centralized control context. Clearly, a complete deinstitutionalization-amounting to a par-adigm shift-is necessary to overcome the differences in institutional logics. This ar-ticle explores the different institutional logics arising from what already existed and from our proposals, as well as the interplay among them over the course of the project. The institutional logics underlying the current HMIS in Tajikistan were heavily inºuenced by the tenets of central planning from a deeply embedded Soviet system that was alien to the ideas proposed. One of the recommendations was to support local decision-making through a ºexible, decentralized system to collect, process, and analyze essential primary healthcare data. The authors were involved in proposing and piloting a computerized HMIS based on a complete overhaul of the current data collection tools, as well as in planning for the scaling up of the system. This article describes the efforts to reform the Health Management Informa-tion System (HMIS) of Tajikistan.
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