Elements of Effective Networks and Coalitions Travis Merrigan Jenee Myers Twitchell March 28, 2012 WCAN State Conference

Who are we? Travis Merrigan Jenee Myers Twitchell Eastern WA WCAN 7 years in college admissions Jenee Myers Twitchell University of Washington Dream Project PhD Student; dissertation work on postsecondary success coalitions

Who are you? Region K-12, Post-secondary, Non-profit, Gov’t Length of CAN engagement

What this presentation and isn’t What we know and don’t know about networks in general Discussion of why this is complex work Challenges for networks Hunches about best practices Is NOT: A handbook for how to create the perfect network A set of Dos and Don’ts for networks

What we know about networks Types of local coalitions and networks Promise Neighborhoods/Strive Networks Wohlstetter (et al), Social Science Quarterly, 2004 Collective impact work Kania & Kramer, Stanford, 2011 School-community partnerships, school-university partnerships Honig & McDonald, “From Promise to Participation” (White Paper), 2005 Jenee = most bullets Travis = practitioner perspective

What makes CANs special Less known about CANs Fewer formal policy levers Working under conditions of ambiguity Roles and timelines Promising new research Domina, Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis, 2009

Contexts Organizations represented Urban vs. Rural Multi- and Single-district Leadership capacity

Organizations represented: Volunteer, ad-hoc, range of formality Representatives: CBOs/College Access Intervention Programs School staff District leaders City leaders State education organization leaders Funders University, college, and CC representatives Backbone organizations

Urban & Rural Contexts in WA Proximity to colleges/universities Number of districts/schools served Number of community partners Ways of gaining legitimacy Turf wars

Multi- vs. Single-District One main contact for K-12 school change vs. multiple One set of policies vs. multiple Flood of resources vs. a lack of resources

Leadership Capacity Attendees’ ability to affect change in home organization Is CAN work part of ‘day job’? Example

What we’ve learned in the field and from our research… Networks are hard work Collaboration ≠ easier work True collaborations reorient organizations, not just surface-level meetings and conversations Coalitions impact postsecondary success more than individual organizations alone

Common, Promising Strategies Right leaders at the table for every meeting Boundary spanners (specialized knowledge) Overcome ambiguity through ‘low-hanging fruit’ College Bound Scholarship & FAFSA Building trust across organizations Scripts and stereotypes Vocabulary matters

Questions What rang true for you? Is there anything that you would add to “what is promising” or “what is challenging” about this work? Shut up 10