Collective Impact Applying the Conditions & Concepts Within a

Community Context

March 1, 2015Sylvia Cheuy

Directorsylvia@tamarackcommunity.ca

Session Goals

Review: The Collective Impact Framework within the context of Healthy Start

Assess: Current progress in implementing

Collective Impact

Apply: Tools and resources to support the

implementation of Collective Impact

Consider: The mindset shifts needed to

effectively implement Collective Impact

Experience: The benefit of peer learning and

mutual support

Partnering for Collective Impact

Sylvia Cheuy

Director

Tamarack – An Institute for Community Engagement

www.tamarackcommunity.ca ♦ sylvia@tamarackcommunity.ca

We develop and support learning communities that help

people to collaborate, co-generate knowledge and

achieve collective impact on complex community issues.

For Collaborative Leaders who use collective

impact approaches to address complex

community issues. www.tamarackcci.ca

For Cities that develop

and implement

comprehensive poverty

reduction strategies

vibrantcommunities.ca

For individuals who care

about community, the

vibrancy of

neighbourhoods and the

unique role of citizens in

social change.

seekingcommunity.ca

An Institute for Community Engagement

Who’s in the Room?

Making Connections

A Definition of Collective Impact

“A disciplined, cross-sector

approach to solving complex

social and environmental

issues on a large scale.”- FSG: Social Impact Consultants

Another way to think about it…

“Collective Impact is positive and consistent progress at scale”

Having a significant and measureable impact.

Preconditions for Collective Impact

Influential Champion(s)

Urgency of issue

Adequate Resources

The Five Conditions of Collective Impact

Common Agenda

Shared

Measurement

Mutually

Reinforcing

Activities

Continuous

Communication

Backbone Support

All participants have a shared vision for change including a

common understanding of the problem and a joint approach to

solving it through agreed upon actions

Collecting data and measuring results consistently across all

participants ensures efforts remain aligned and participants

hold each other accountable

Participant activities must be differentiated while still being

coordinated through a mutually reinforcing plan of action

Consistent and open communication is needed across the

many players to build trust, assure mutual objectives, and

appreciate common motivation

Creating and managing collective impact requires a dedicated

staff and a specific set of skills to serve as the backbone for the

entire initiative and coordinate participating organizations and

agenciesSource: FSG

11

Collective Impact & Healthy Start

• Improve Perinatal outcomes

• Reduce racial and ethnic disparities

• Use community-based approaches to service delivery

• Facilitate access to comprehensive health and social services for women, infants and their families

Common Agenda

• Improve Women’s Health

• Promote Quality Services

• Strengthen Family Resilience

• Achieve Collective Impact

• Increase Accountability

Mutually Reinforcing Activities

• Achieve Healthy Start Benchmarks

• Measurement Process and Approach

Shared Measurement

• Audiences

• Media

Continuous Communication

•Coordination

•Facilitation

•Administrative Support

Backbone Organization

Source: FSG Social Impact Consultants

Where is your CI Initiative Today?

Common Agenda

Shared

Measurement

Mutually

Reinforcing

Activities

Continuous

Communication

Backbone Support 11

PHASE ONEGenerate Ideas &

Dialogue

PHASE TWOInitiate Action

PHASE THREEOrganize for Impact

PHASE FOURSustain Action &

Impact

Think – Pair – Share

What is your aspiration?

What are your current strengths & assets?

What are your current challenges & barriers?

What are your burning questions?

Where Do You Want to Be in 6-8 Months?

11

Where Do You Want to Be in 6-8 Months?

Developing Your Framework of Change

A resource to

align mutually

reinforcing

activities

How can you

convey it

visually to the

community?

A Framework of Change

Makes Our Thinking Visible

Framework of Change Example

Road Map ProjectGOAL: To double the number of students in South King County and South Seattle who are on track to graduate from college or earn a career credential by 2020.

INDICATORS OF SUCCESS

Framework of Change Example

Framework of Change Example

Road Map Project

Framework of Change Example

Framework of Change Example

Road Map Project

Framework of Change Example

Framework of Change Example

Our Kids Network

www.ourkidsnetwork.ca

Framework of Change Example

Framework of Change Example

Our Kids Network Data Portal

Understanding community context

Addressing the pre-conditions of

Collective Impact

Assessing community needs and

assets

Defining your issue

Building Your Common Agenda

Putting Theory Into Practice

Practical Tools to implement

Collective Impact and improve

your collaborative outcomes

Building a Common Agenda

Defining Our IssueIssue: What is the issue? What is the problem we’re trying to solve? Can we quantify it?

Outcomes and Measures: What is the change we want to see? How will we know if we are successful? What will our community look like five years

from now? What percent (or number) of the population do we want to impact? How much can we ‘move the needle’? (make ‘x’ number of people ‘y’% better off)?

What opportunities for change in our community can we leverage?

What barriers currently exist to prevent that change?

Building a Common Agenda

Evaluating Our Community ContextCondition What is challenging about this

condition for our community?Ideas for filling the gaps

History of Collaboration

Influential Leaders

Urgency of the Issue

Adequate Resources

Building a Common Agenda

Scoping Your Intended Impact

In Out

Beneficiaries or targetsfor which beneficiaries...• Population (e.g. age, gender, socio-economic

status)

Geography• Neighbourhoods? City? Region, State?

Timeline• 5 years? 10 years?

Activities and Outcomes• Direct service? Capacity-Building? Advocacy? • Policy change? Population health outcomes?

What’s in and what’s outside the scope of our work?

Building a Common Agenda

Our Common Agenda Worksheet

Where Do You Want to Be in 6-8 Months?

Developing Your Framework of Change

11Your collaborative group’s shared working hypothesis of how

you intend to positively impact your issue.

What is needed to

advance your Common

Agenda?

Group Dialogue

Community Engagement & Your Common Agenda

6-8 Month Action Plan Checklist

Define The Issue

Understand the community context

Determine who needs to be in the conversation

Host conversations in the community

Ask – Engage new partners by defining specific requests or roles

Refine the Issue and build community ownership

Consider Both “The What” and “The How”

It’s not about

doing more work

It’s about doing

work differently

The Power of Thinking Differently

The way I think…

The options I see…

The choices I make…

Stances that support the arising of collective wisdom:

Suspend certainty

See the whole

Seek diverse perspectives

Welcome all that is arising

Trust in the transcendent

Cultivate Collective Wisdom

The Scallop Principle:

• Each one of us is an eye (I); the whole

discerns through us.

• The corollary: when we don’t hear from

any eye (I), the whole is at greater risk.

“If you want to go fast, go

alone…If you want to go far, go

together…” - Kenyan Proverb

10 Principles of Adaptive Leadership

Adapted from : Heifetz, Grashow, Linsky. The Practice of Adaptive Leadership

Convene stakeholders

Focus attention on issue

Cultivate a high aspiration

Use framing as a tool

Build a good enough vision

Chunk and link work

Go for multiple actions

Court and mediate conflict

Maintain productive distress

Acknowledge multiple accountabilities

Embrace Adaptive Leadership

Build Community Capacity

7 Habits of Effective Communities

1. Reach for it

2. Go with who you got

3. Hold the centre

4. Keep the circle open

5. Avoid the blame game

6. Choose measurable outcomes

7. Develop a sense of urgency and

keep going

Think Beyond Programs

From Programs To Systems

From Content To Context

Consider Content AND Context

What else do we need to

grow our competencies

for collective impact?

Group Dialogue

“Whatever the problem….community is the answer”- Meg Wheatley

The Power of Peer Learning

Next Steps for CI Training & TA

Healthy Start Collective Impact Discussion Groups

• Six themed grouped

• Co-facilitated by HS Grantee & EPIC Team Member

• 6-8 sessions (likely one per month)

• Focus: Peer sharing & learning, CI plan development, tools that can assist with each of five principles

Additional Webinars and workshops

Questions & Reflections?

Questions?

What are you taking

away from today’s

session?