Collective Impact

“Collective Impact” - Approach to social change first named in Stanford Social Innovation Review 2011.

Overwhelming response to article – Second article published 2012 “Channeling Change: Making Collective Impact Work”

• Stanford Innovation Review premier journal in the social innovation area, articles published have high rigor re: primary research and peer review.

• “Collective Impact” is not new – Instead it is a structured and comprehensive description of the elements needed to create social change using a multi-stakeholder approach.

Collective Impact – Who coined the phrase? Why is it an important development in the social innovation field?

Collective Impact involves the commitment of a group of important actors from different sectors to a common agenda for solving a specific social problem.

Collective impact offers no silver bullets. It works through many gradual improvements over time as stakeholders learn for themselves how to become more aligned and effective.

What is Collective Impact?

Collaboration is not new. Collective Impact initiatives are distinctly different in that they involve:•Centralised infrastructure•A dedicated staff•A structured process

And five key conditions:1.A common agenda2.Shared measurement system3.Continuous communication4.Mutually reinforcing activities5.Presence of a back-bone organisation.

What is Collective Impact?

The Role of the Backbone Organisation

The backbone organisation serves six essential functions:

1. Provides overall strategic direction2. Facilitates dialogue between partners3. Manages data collection and analysis4. Handles communication5. Coordinates community outreach6. Mobilises funding

Cascading Levels of Linked Collaboration

What the US research finds: Structure

“We have observed markedly similar patterns in the way successful collective impact efforts are structured across

many different issues and geographies”

1. Forming of a CEO level committee which create the common agenda, define the boundaries of the effort and set a strategic framework.

2. Committee then meet regularly to oversee the progress of the effort.

What the US research finds: Structure

3. Once strategic direction set, different working groups are formed around each of the primary strategies

4. Each working group meets separately but communicate & coordinate through a processes / communication driven by the backbone

5. Work groups can change over time 6. Backbone provides periodic and systematic assessments

of progress made across working groups and feeds back to the CEO level committee.

What the US research finds: Functioning of subgroups

1. Implementation takes place in the sub groups through a continuous process of:(i) planning (ii) doing (iii) evidence based feedback(iv) communication of sub group activities to broader audience

What the US research finds: Functioning of subgroups

(i) Planning in subgroup: Plans to implement shared objective / shared measure

(ii) Doing: Takes place within each person’s organisation, the whole sub-group together, small groups within subgroup

(iii) Evidence based feedback in sub-group: Sharing data and stories of what is working

(iv) Communicating to broad audience: Creates bottom up engagement and involvement “order for free”

Essential intangibles: The soft stuff

“We, as well as others, have written extensively about the profound impact that getting the soft stuff right has on

social change efforts. “

Essential intangibles: The soft stuff

•Relationship and trust building amongst diverse stakeholders

•Leadership identification and development

•Creating a culture of learning

•Welcoming meeting environment – Food!

Leadership style that supports Collective Impact

1. Adaptive leadership abilities2. Ability to mobilise people without imposing a

predetermined agenda3. Credit for success is attributed to the Collective

Impact group

Where Part A fits into the

Stronger Families Alliance