We welcome back members of the Healthy Food Community of Practice to hear what they learned from their multi-year collaboration and how the way they worked together changed over time.

Launched in 2020, the Healthy Food Community of Practice is a network of more than 50 organizations working toward a shared goal—that communities of color across the country can access and consume nutritious food. Through their collaboration, they came to understand that to be successful, the community of practice had to shift *how* they worked together in four key ways:

• Move from scarcity to abundance
• Move from consensus to consent
• Move from breadth to depth
• Move from “I” to “we”

These pivots were necessary for the Healthy Food Community of Practice to strengthen their network and their ability to collaborate with each other, but it wasn’t easy.

In this new podcast conversation, we talk with community of practice members Minerva Delgado (Alliance to End Hunger) and Stacey McDaniel (YMCA of the USA), and Community of Practice Facilitator Carolina Ramirez (Community Wealth Partners) about their experiences and what they learned as they made these shifts in how they worked together. They share what was most challenging and most necessary for their work to be successful.

Resources and Footnotes

• Blog: From Chaos and Competition to Clarity and Coordination: Four Pivots for Aligning Coalitions to Achieve Equity
  Resource: Targeted Universalism
  Article: Curb Cut Effect
  Podcast: Strengthening Relationships through a Community of Practice
  Healthy Food Community of Practice
  Alliance to End Hunger
  YMCA of the USA
  Community Wealth Partners

More on Collective Impact

• 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? Contact us at: https://www.collectiveimpactforum.org/contact-us/

The Millers for Nutrition coalition is working with 100+ millers and other partners to achieve an ambitious goal—getting nutritious, fortified food to 1 billion people by 2026.

One of the critical questions that Millers for Nutrition has grappled with is how to get private-sector partners, many of whom may be in competition with each other, to find common ground, build sustained, trusting relationships, and ultimately work together to support healthy food access for millions of people.

To learn what has worked to support private-sector collaboration, we talk with backbone team member Christian Pirzer from Endeva, and Yvonne Bakken from dsm-firmenich, a founding coalition partner. We explore what has been most helpful in developing these partnerships, and how they balanced the needs and considerations of the millers and other partners.

Resources and Footnotes

• Millers for Nutrition
• Endeva
• dsm-firmenich

More on Collective Impact

• 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? Contact us at: https://www.collectiveimpactforum.org/contact-us/

What does it mean to build a movement? How is movement building connected to organizing and practicing solidarity with others? And why are these concepts important to make progress on collective work?

In this deep dive conversation, we discuss core aspects of movement-building with Adaku Utah, senior manager at Building Movement Project. In this discussion, we review definitions of movement-building, organizing, and solidarity. We also explore what it means to be doing movement work and why strong relationships are necessary to build strong movements.

References and Footnotes

• Building Movement Project
• Adaku Utah

More on Collective Impact

• 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? Contact us at: https://www.collectiveimpactforum.org/contact-us/

Getting to the heart of complex problems can be tricky. How does one untangle the many threads that can be involved? How do you uncover what the real pain points are so that you can address them?

In this discussion, we explore the approach of human-centered design and how it can be used to both discover and uplift perspectives to help find community-focused solutions.

To learn more about human-centered design, we talk with Michelle Carrillo and Leslie Tergas of ThinkPlace West.  The discussion explores their work using the “four voices of design” approach, and uplifts examples of how to use this approach within collective work. We also discuss how tools like “empathy interviews” can help draw out community voices so that one can get a deeper understanding of community members’ experiences, including what’s working and what’s not.

References and Footnotes

• ThinkPlace
• Four Voices of Design

More on Collective Impact

• 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? Contact us at: https://www.collectiveimpactforum.org/contact-us/

Communities can be “researched,” engaged, and surveyed to explore a variety of questions such as what barriers are preventing students from graduating? What are the local economic and health impacts of having only a few grocery stores in the area? It’s important to rigorously explore these types of questions, but there can be danger in taking data and stories from a community for the purpose of research. You can fall into the trap of “community extraction” if the research is not deeply connected to how that community progresses.

Participatory Action Research, otherwise known as PAR, is a methodology that engages those closest to the issues and positions them as the leading experts in research on and about their community.

To learn about PAR, and what it looks like when community members are the researchers, we hear about the work of NoLa CARES, a collaborative of childcare organizations that focuses on creating access, resources, and equity for the success of Black and Latine women in New Orleans, Louisiana. 

We talk with Dr. Nnenna Odim (Beloved Community) and community researchers Peggy Patterson and Lisa Williams about how NoLa CARES practices PAR to further their goals -  embedding it into their initiative to uplift community leadership, voice, and expertise, and support community members to take the lead in the changes they want to see.

References and Footnotes

• NoLa CARES
  Beloved Community

More on Collective Impact

• 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? Contact us at: https://www.collectiveimpactforum.org/contact-us/

Addressing homelessness in rural areas has multiple complexities  including scarcity of funding, support services, and shelter options, as well as facing a common misconception that rural homelessness does not exist.

To better understand how homelessness was affecting their community, partners working in Mercer County, IL came together to participate in their own “100-day challenge,” an organized collaborative event that supports communities in kick-starting complex change efforts. As part of their 100 days, they mapped out the broader system that contributes to getting people rapidly housed and stress-tested their support infrastructure to see what was working and what was not.

In this discussion, we talk with several leaders from this work to learn about how folks came together for these 100 days. Joining us to share their experiences is Cathy Jordan (Project Now) and Sean Whitten, Sara Robens, and Peter Muse (RE!NSTITUTE). They share how they worked through challenging times to uncover how homelessness was hidden in their community, and what they did to support people moving into housing. 

Resources and Footnotes

• Project Now
• RE!NSTITUTE
• Systems Change and the 100-Day Challenge
• Palm Beach County 100-Day Dual Sector Challenge

More on Collective Impact

• 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? Contact us at: https://www.collectiveimpactforum.org/contact-us/

During the winter break, we're replaying some of our favorite past episodes.

This replay episode features a dynamic discussion from the 2021 Collective Impact Action Summit, and focuses on the importance of narrative in collective social change efforts. This discussion is led by Melody Barnes of the Aspen Institute Forum for Community Solutions, and features Crystal Echo Hawk from IllumiNative, Rashad Robinson from Color of Change, and Nayantara Sen from Real Food Real Stories. 

Resources and Footnotes: 

• Video and Transcript: The Role of Narrative Change in Collective Action (Collective Impact Forum)
• Building Narrative Power (Color of Change)
• IllumiNative Insights and Actions Guide (IllumiNative)
• Making Waves: A Guide to Cultural Strategy (The Culture Group)
• Cultural Strategy: An Introduction and Primer (Art/Work Practice and Power California)
• Stolen Land, Stolen Bodies, and Stolen Stories (Stanford Social Innovation Review)

More on Collective Impact

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? Contact us at: https://www.collectiveimpactforum.org/contact-us/

During the winter break, we're replaying some of our favorite past episodes.

In this episode from 2022, we hear from Rev. Dr. Starsky Wilson, who serves as President and CEO of the Children’s Defense Fund. Dr. Wilson reflects on the challenging times that many of us experienced earlier in the pandemic, and the ways we can reground ourselves and move forward, so that we can shift from states of languishing, disconnection, and numbness to a place where we can better connect to ourselves, our purpose, and our communities.

Introducing this keynote are Jennifer Splansky Juster, executive director of the Collective Impact Forum, and Sheri Brady, who is Vice President of Strategy and Programs at the Children’s Defense Fund. Longtime Forum fans wlll also know Sheri, since prior to CDF, she was our colleague at the Forum, and we were excited to have her back. This talk was the closing keynote at the 2022 Collective Impact Action Summit and was held on April 28, 2022.

Resources and Footnotes

• Video and Transcript of this talk
• Children's Defense Fund

More on Collective Impact

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? Contact us at: https://www.collectiveimpactforum.org/contact-us/

In a time when many cities across the United States are facing a growing housing crisis, one community has challenged the status quo, working across divides to bring partners together to raise millions of dollars - with a goal of building 10,000 housing units by 2028 in California’s Coachella Valley.

What sounds like success now, with 1,600 units already under production, didn’t start out that way. The region faced both a lack of funding and a lack of belief that significantly increasing housing in the valley was even possible. But through effective collaboration, steadfast commitment, and hard conversations, the region is seeing progress beyond their initial dreams.

We learn how that progress became a reality in our conversation with two leaders from this work, Omar Carrillo Tinajero (Center for Community Investment) and Heather Vaikona (Lift to Rise). They share the good, the hard, and the harder of how they went from a group of advocates to a successful movement, building an unprecedented number of new housing units and seeing real transformational change in the process.

Resources and Footnotes

• Lift to Rise
• Center for Community Investment

More on Collective Impact

• 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? Contact us at: https://www.collectiveimpactforum.org/contact-us/

To find out what contributes to an effective and sustainable backbone, the EdRedesign Lab at Harvard University interviewed backbone leaders and field-building organizations about their experiences. Earlier this year, they released a report on the most critical skills and competencies required for a backbone leadership team to succeed when doing collective impact work.

We talk with Tauheedah Jackson, Judy Touzin, and Rob Watson from the Harvard EdRedesign Lab to learn more about these essential backbone leadership competencies, and how these abilities can be spread across multiple team members to better support the work.

Resources and Footnotes

• Harvard EdRedesign Lab
• Report: Building Strong, Sustainable Backbone Leadership

More on Collective Impact

• 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? Contact us at: https://www.collectiveimpactforum.org/contact-us/