Collective Impact Forum

Jen, Robert, and Tracy go into the topics of getting ready to launch a collective impact effort, including exploring the question of “How do I know if the collective impact approach is the right approach to take for my collaborative?”

Episode Contents:

2:35: Robert and Jen share a few of the conditions that can be helpful to have in place when deciding whether or not to use this approach on a social change issue.

7:48: Jen and Robert discuss what it means to bring in a variety of “interventions,” both relating to single programs and also the overarching system the programs are working in.

11:56: Jen dives into how and when population size matters when planning collaborative work.

14:10: How does collective impact work across issues?

15:59: Does geography play a big role when doing collaborative work?

19:20: Robert and Jen dive into four “readiness factors,” how they affect a collaborative effort, and what happens when some of these factors are hard to put in place.

21:05: Bringing in influential Champions (and how you find them)

25:17: Galvanizing urgency (and what happens when your partners don’t feel that same urgency that you do?)

28:35: Building resources to get started- does that just mean money or does it mean something else? And do you need the resources to get started or can you start in order to get resources?

31:45: Having a history of collaboration- why it can help and what to think about if past collaborations in your community have not worked out well (and what does that mean for future collaborative efforts.)

Footnotes and Resources:

Blog: Is Collective Impact the Right Approach?

Tool: Collective Impact Feasibility Framework

Webinar Video: Building Readiness Through the Collective Impact Feasibility Framework 

More on Collective Impact approach to collaborate for social change:

Infographic: What is Collective Impact?  

Resource List: Getting Started in Collective Impact  

The Intro music, entitled “Running,” was composed by Rafael Krux, and can be found here and is licensed under CC: By 4.0.

The outro music, entitled “Deliberate Thought,” was composed by Kevin Macleod. Licensed under CC: By.

Have a question related to collaborative work that you'd like to have discussed on the podcast? You can send it to us at [email protected].

Jen, Robert, and Tracy of the Collective Impact Forum kick off the podcast with a deep-dive into what the term "collective impact" means, and what does it look like in action when partners are working in cross-sector collaboration on complex social change issues.

Episode Contents

2:00: Jen and Robert introduce themselves and the work and history of the Collective Impact Forum, an initiative co-led by FSG and the Aspen Forum for Community Solutions.

10:40: Jen and Robert define what the term "collective impact" means and how it has become a specific approach towards long-term collaboration for social change.

12:50: What are the five conditions that make up the collective impact approach? Jen and Robert explain, and kick things off with a look at the common agenda.

17:05: Next up is "Mutually Reinforcing Activities." That's quite the term! But what does it really mean? (And why are these activities so important?)

26:00: Next is the condition of Continuous Communication. That sounds pretty straight-forward, but is it really? And what does it look like when you're working in a collaborative?

29:40: Jen and Robert dive into one of the most challenging (yet vital) components when doing collaborative work- Shared Measurement.

34:42: The Backbone - one of the most vital components when working in collaboration, but what does the role of the backbone really entail? Jen and Robert explain and share the variety of ways the backbone can show up when doing the work.

39:30: The Collective Impact Principles of Practice - these principles run across all five conditions, but what do they look like, and how were they formed? Robert explains.

43:25: A lot of what's been discussed around collective impact doesn't seem very "new new," to use Tracy's phrase. Jen discusses how the collective impact approach builds on and draws from decades of collaborative and community work.

References for this episode:

What is Collective Impact? infographic

Getting Started in Collective Impact Resource Page

“Collective Impact” by John Kania and Mark Kramer in the Stanford Social Innovation Review (2011)

One article that Jen references in this episode is The Water of Systems Change.

The Intro music, entitled “Running,” was composed by Rafael Krux, and can be found here and is licensed under CC: By 4.0.

The outro music, entitled “Deliberate Thought,” was composed by Kevin Macleod. Licensed under CC: By.

Have a question related to collaborative work that you'd like to have discussed on the podcast? You can send it to us at [email protected].