Collective Impact “an approach to large-scale social change requiring broad cross-sector coordination”

The Five Conditions of Collective Impact A Common Agenda/Shared Vision You have to bring together public sector and nonprofits partners that share a vision for a better outcome – whether it is in education, homelessness, economic development or whatever. This is essential.

The Five Conditions of Collective Impact Shared Measurement Systems Collecting data and measuring results consistently using specific indicators ensures accountability.

The Five Conditions of Collective Impact Mutually Reinforcing Activities It’s not about the number of partners. And it’s about not about requiring all the participants to do the same thing. It’s about coordination of activities that are based on an overarching plan. This ties back to the common agenda and the shared measurement of result.

The Five Conditions of Collective Impact Continuous Communication Here we’re talking about trust, a common vocabulary, and a lot of meetings.

The Five Conditions of Collective Impact Backbone Support Organizations Collective Impact, as defined by Kania and Kramer, requires a separate organization with the appropriate infrastructure and staff to manage and facilitate everything — including data collection, reporting and communication.

The Five Conditions of Collective Impact 1.A Common Agenda/Shared Vision 2.Shared Measurement Systems 3.Mutually Reinforcing Activities 4.Continuous Communication 5.Backbone Support Organizations

Haven’t We Tried This Before? Organizations have attempted to solve social problems by collaboration for decades without producing many results. The vast majority of these efforts lack the elements of success that enable collective impact initiatives to achieve a sustained alignment of efforts. Funder Collaboratives are groups of funders interested in supporting the same issue who pool their resources. Generally, participants do not adopt an overarching evidence-based plan of action or a shared measurement system, nor do they engage in differentiated activities beyond check writing or engage stakeholders from other sectors. Public-Private Partnerships are partnerships formed between government and private sector organizations to deliver specific services or benefits. They are often targeted narrowly, such as developing a particular drug to fight a single disease, and usually don’t engage the full set of stakeholders that affect the issue, such as the potential drug’s distribution system. Multi-Stakeholder Initiatives are voluntary activities by stakeholders from different sectors around a common theme. Typically, these initiatives lack any shared measurement of impact and the supporting infrastructure to forge any true alignment of efforts or accountability for results. Social Sector Networks are groups of individuals or organizations fluidly connected through purposeful relationships, whether formal or informal. Collaboration is generally ad hoc, and most often the emphasis is placed on information sharing and targeted short term actions, rather than a sustained and structured initiative. Collective Impact Initiatives are long-term commitments by a group of important actors from different sectors to a common agenda for solving a specific social problem. Their actions are supported by a shared measurement system, mutually reinforcing activities, and ongoing communication, and are staffed by an independent backbone organization.

Initiatives in our Region Will it work here? 68% nonprofits “yes” 90% grantmakers “yes” 24-1 ASAP Beacon (AIDS) College Access Pipeline (CAP) East/West Gateway Sustainable Neighborhoods Great Rivers Greenway District Healthy Youth Partnership (HYP) Interchange (arts) Lead Coalition Marketplace of Ideas (63106/63107) RCGA (Adult Education) St. Louis Catholic Schools Collaborative St. Louis Children’s Initiative (Grace Hill: 63106/63107) St. Louis City Continuum of Care (mental health) St. Louis Regional Early Childhood Council St. Louis Regional Health Commission St. Louis “STAR” (LEED certification for cities) STAR (St. Louis Alliance for Reentry) STEM (science, technology, engineering, math) Stryve (youth violence prevention) BUT WAIT….THERE’S MORE…AND SOME ISSUES ARE MISSING!

Next Steps: Gather Information and Resources The St. Louis Social Compact Drill Down to provide better demographics to underserved communities with a goal of improving access to healthy food, access for unbanked and under-banked and affordable housing. Intermediaries in the St. Louis Region The Center has identified 30 intermediaries working within the St. Louis region with a specific focus on the areas of the arts, culture, and health. The key findings of this report include different perspectives about intermediary work from both funders and direct service providers. Collective Impact “an approach to large-scale social change requiring broad cross-sector coordination” — John Kania and Mark Kramer