What does it mean to create a culture of “belonging” within your collective work? 

At the 2023 Collective Impact Action Summit, we explored this question and more in a keynote conversation with Ruchika Tulshyan, award-winning inclusion strategist, speaker, and author of the bestselling book, Inclusion on Purpose: An Intersectional Approach to Creating a Culture of Belonging at Work.

In this fireside chat, Ruchika Tulshyan and Melody Barnes (Aspen Institute Forum for Community Solutions) discussed practices that can support and operationalize inclusive, equity-centered collaborative cultures. They also shared about the importance of elevating the voices of women of color and those historically underestimated within collaborative work.

References and Footnotes

• Watch the video or read a transcript of this keynote conversation
• Read the blog post Creating Purposeful Spaces of Inclusion and Belonging by Ajai Scott for highlights and reflections from this keynote.
• Inclusion on Purpose: An Intersectional Approach to Creating a Culture of Belonging at Work by Ruchika Tulshyan
• Candour
• PRRI (Public Religion Research Institute)
• Stop Telling Women They Have Imposter Syndrome by Ruchika Tulshyan and Jodi-Ann Burey, Harvard Business Review
• The Curb-Cut Effect by Angela Glover Blackwell, 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/

Communities of practice are a valuable way of bringing partners together to connect and learn from each other to strengthen their collective work. It can also be very challenging to navigate the complexities that come with bringing a wide spectrum of partners together.

Founded in 2020, the Healthy Food Community of Practice has become a space for connection, learning, resource sharing, and action centered around the goal of helping to ensure that Black, Indigenous, and other people of color (BIPOC) and communities kept furthest from power, can access and consume healthy food. Since launching three years ago, the Healthy Food Community of Practice has learned a lot from their members about how to better connect with one another, support each other, and create opportunities for collective action and innovation.

To share about what they have learned so far, we hear from Taylor Thompson (Intertribal Agriculture Council), who is a member of the community of practice, and Carolina Ramirez and Kaylyn Williams (Community Wealth Partners), who support the facilitation of the Community of Practice. They share about the key elements that have helped connect a very diverse group of participants, as well as what has been most helpful to support building trust and stronger relationships across their membership. 

References and Footnotes

• Healthy Food Community of Practice – Contact [email protected] to learn more.
• Article: Secrets to Success in Engaging Broad, Diverse Stakeholders for Transformational Change: Insights from the Healthy Food Community of Practice
• Intertribal Agriculture Council – contact [email protected] to learn more.
• Community Wealth Partners
• Resource: Sharing Power with Communities: A Field Guide

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 this episode, we explore the topic of sharing power, which is a key component and strategy when advancing equity in collective impact work. But what can sharing power look like in practice? How are decisions made, and how is power distributed amongst a broad set of colleagues? 

To explore this topic, we learn about the work of Civic Canopy, a nonprofit that focuses on supporting collaborative efforts across Colorado. As part of their own commitments to supporting equity within their work, the Civic Canopy team took an intentional look within, and explored how they could share leadership and power across their organization. 

Joining us for this conversation to share about Civic Canopy’s journey so far, we hear from Bill Fulton, Kale McMonagle, and Alice Pugh. They discuss how organizational structures and processes have changed within their work, what challenges they’ve encountered, and what they have learned so far about sharing power across roles. 

References and Footnotes

Civic Canopy

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 this episode, we learn about how to build and strengthen partnerships with parent leaders so that the wide spectrum of parent voices and needs are kept at the center when supporting early relational health for families. 

To explore this topic and more, we learn from the national collective Nurture Connection and how their partnership with a diverse group of parent leaders has helped evolve and advance their work to support early relational health for all families. Joining us for this conversation are Claudia Aristy, Bryn Fortune, Mia Halthon, and Becky Jaques Hasak. They discuss how centering parent voices has been key to the work as well as what challenges they have encountered and worked through along the way.

Resources and Footnotes

• Nurture Connection
• Gradients of Agreement

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 this episode, we talk about building “collective power,” including what it means to build collective power and what factors can contribute to building it. 

To explore those questions and more, we learn about the Child Care NEXT coalition and how through advocacy work, they have developed a culture of collective power amongst their wide spectrum of partners and advocates. Joining us for this conversation is Alissa Marchant from Innovation Network and Jacy Montoya Price from Alliance for Early Success. They discuss several of the factors that have been most helpful in supporting a culture of collective power, and what challenges they have faced along the way.

References and Footnotes

• Child Care NEXT
• Alliance for Early Success
• Innovation Network

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/

This episode is the second part of a two-part discussion that explores what practices can help a collaborative be more sustainable and resilient. For part 2, we welcome back our colleagues from the Tamarack Institute, Liz Weaver and Mike Des Jardins, who recently authored a new, free-to-access resource called “10: A Guide for Building a Sustainable and Resilient Collaboration.” In this second part, we discuss the practices and resources that can help support resiliency for collective impact efforts. Interviewing Liz and Mike for this conversation is Collective Impact Forum executive director Jennifer Splansky Juster.

Resources and Footnotes

Part 1 of this discussion

10: A Guide for Building a Sustainable and Resilient Collaboration

Sustainability Self-Assessment

Webinar: How to Support a Sustainable and Resilient Collaboration

How Field Catalysts Accelerate Collective Impact

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/

This episode is the first of a two-part discussion that explores what practices can help a collaborative be more sustainable and resilient. For this conversation, we welcome our colleagues from the Tamarack Institute, Liz Weaver and Mike Des Jardins, who recently authored a new, free-to-access resource called “10: A Guide for Building a Sustainable and Resilient Collaboration.” In this first part, we discuss tips, stories, and resources that support sustainability practices for collective impact efforts. Interviewing Liz and Mike for this conversation is Collective Impact Forum executive director Jennifer Splansky Juster.

Resources and Footnotes

10: A Guide for Building a Sustainable and Resilient Collaboration

Sustainability Self-Assessment

Webinar: How to Support a Sustainable and Resilient Collaboration

How Field Catalysts Accelerate Collective Impact

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 this episode, we talk about “trusting the messiness,” and how one can balance navigating partnerships and managing expectations while participating in a long-term complex collaboration. 

To explore those questions and more, we learn about the collective impact work supported by Sagesse Domestic Violence Prevention Society which is based in Calgary, Canada. Joining us from Sagesse are Carrie McManus and Andrea Silverstone who share how organizational values help them navigate through complex work, conversations, and decision-making. They also explore what to consider when expectations and experiences may differ between partners, and how to work through these situations.

References and Footnotes

• Sagesse
• Open Space Technology
• Fierce Conversations

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/

We have a deep dive discussion about a new resource called the Racial Equity Toolkit that’s free to download and available now in the Collective Impact Forum library. The Racial Equity Toolkit is designed to support backbone staff and partners to operationalize racial equity throughout their collective impact work. We talk with toolkit authors Dominique Samari and Paul Schmitz about what’s in the toolkit and the ways that teams can explore it to advance their own equity work.

References and Footnotes

• Racial Equity Toolkit
• Targeted Universalism
• Community Engagement Toolkit
• Kin Universe

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 this episode, we share a discussion from this spring’s 2022 Collective Impact Action Summit. This discussion explored ways to better collaborate across differences, including different experiences and ideologies, and specifically, how funders could support grantees and partners when bridging across divides, especially in times of deep polarization and turmoil. 

Joining this discussion is Kristen Cambell (Philanthropy for Active Civic Engagement - PACE), Wendy Feliz (American Immigration Council), Andrew Hanauer (One America Movement), and Ted Johnson (Brennan Center for Justice). Introducing this discussion is Cindy Santos, (Aspen Institute Forum for Community Solutions.)

Resources and Footnotes

• Video and Transcript of this discussion
• Philanthropy for Active Civic Engagement - PACE
• American Immigration Council
• One America Movement
• Brennan Center for Justice
• Bridging Civic Divides essay series by Decker Ngongang for PACE
• Complicating the Narrative, a discussion series from CEP and PACE
• Philanthropy Needs to Own Up to its Role in Fueling Polarization, Suzette Brooks Masters, The Chronicle of Philanthropy
• Ted Johnson’s book When the Stars Begin to Fall and this interview he did with Daniel Stid
• Ukrainian Leaders Show the Power of a Story to Move Policy. Immigration Advocates Should Take Note, Wendy Feliz in the Chronicle of Philanthropy
• New Power: How Power Works in Our Hyperconnected World–and How to Make It Work for You by Jeremy Heimans and Henry Timms
• Amanda Ripley’s book: High Conflict and this conversation she did with PACE
• The Other Divide by Yanna Krupnikov and John Barry Ryan
• The works of Danielle S. Allen
• Uncivil Agreement: How Politics Became Our Identity by Lilliana Mason

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/