Collective Impact: Diving Deeper Liz Weaver Vice President, Tamarack – An Institute for Community Engagement -

My Biography

Themes for This Afternoon Diving Deeper in Collective Impact Tools for building a collective impact approach Final Reflections

Think Pair Share How can a collective impact approach improve our collaborative effectiveness in Auckland?

Collective Impact

From Isolated Impact to Collective Impact Isolated Impact Funders select individual grantees Organizations work separately Evaluation attempts to isolate a particular organization’s impact Large scale change is assumed to depend on scaling organizations Corporate and government sectors are often disconnected from foundations and non-profits. Collective Impact Funders understand that social problems – and their solutions – arise from multiple interacting factors Cross-sector alignment with government, nonprofit, philanthropic and corporate sectors as partners Organizations actively coordinating their actions and sharing lessons learned All working toward the same goal and measuring the same things 6

Preconditions for Collective Impact Influential Champion(s) Urgency of issue Adequate Resources

Five Conditions for Collective Impact Specialized Agendas Fragmented Measurements Independent Activities Sporadic Communication Unsupported Efforts Common Agenda Shared Measurement Mutually Reinforcing Activities Continuous Communication Backbone Organization

Common Agenda Define the challenge to be addressed. Acknowledge that a collective impact approach is required. Establish clear and shared goal(s) for change. Identify principles to guide joint work together.

Building a Common Agenda Prior HistoryPositive or negative impact Pressing IssueGalvanize leaders across sectors DataDetermine what you need to understand impact of the issue on community Community ContextIs there community buy in? Determine community leverage opportunities Core GroupDetermine who needs to be involved in core group ConvenerTrusted leadership to facilitate collaborative efforts Community Engagement Determine how to engage the broader community in the effort

Table Exercise Using the Common Agenda worksheet, work through a common agenda problem What reflections do you have using this tool?

StrategiesAssumptions Influential FactorsProblem or IssueDesired results (outputs, outcomes and impact) Community needs/assets Source: Kellogg Foundation, 2004 Common Agenda Worksheet

Shared Measurement Identify key measures that capture critical outcomes. Establish systems for gathering and analyzing measures. Create opportunities for “making-sense” of changes in indicators.

Shared Measurement Is a Critical Piece of Pursuing a Collective Impact Approach Identifying common metrics for tracking progress toward a common agenda across organizations, and providing scalable platforms to share data, discuss learnings, and improve strategy and action  Improved Data Quality  Tracking Progress Toward a Shared Goal  Enabling Coordination and Collaboration  Learning and Course Correction  Catalyzing Action Definition Benefits of Using Shared Measurement Source: Breakthroughs in Shared Measurement and Social Impact, FSG, 2009 Overview of Shared Measurement

Road Map Project – Seattle The Road Map Project is a community-wide effort aimed at improving education to drive dramatic improvement in student achievement from cradle to college and career in South King County and South Seattle. The project builds off of the belief that collective effort is necessary to make large-scale change and has created a common goal and shared vision in order to facilitate coordinated action, both inside and outside school.

Thinking About Shared Measurement Process: # of people/orgs at table, # of community presentations, articles, etc Progress: # of programs, # of new initiatives, etc Policy: policy changes in own or other organizations, new investments, gov. policy changes Population : # of people moved out of poverty, # of high school graduates, # of low birth weight babies Shared Measurement

Table Discussion What measures do we need for our issue? Who is already collecting measures that might be helpful to us?

Shared Measurement Who is collecting the data? Will they share the data? How effective is the data source? What data do we have to collect? What resources will we need? Does this measure actually move us on our collective impact agenda?

Developing Shared Measurement Systems Requires Funding, Broad Engagement, Infrastructure and a Commitment to Learning Source: Breakthroughs in Shared Measurement and Social Impact, FSG, 2009 Effective Relationship with Funders Strong leadership and substantial funding (multi-year) Independence from funders in devising indicators, managing system Broad engagement during design by organizations, with clear expectations about confidentiality/transparency Voluntary participation open to all organizations Broad and Open Engagement Effective use of web-based technology Ongoing staffing for training, facilitation, reviewing data accuracy Testing and continually improving through feedback Facilitated process for participants to share data and results, learn, and better coordinate efforts Infrastructure for Deployment Pathways for Learning and Improvement Overview of Shared Measurement

There Are a Number of “Tips and Tricks” to Bear in Mind When Developing Shared Measures Overview of Shared Measurement Collecting and Presenting Data Set specific and time-bound goals and report progress relative to targets Include data on whole populations (vs. a sample) where possible Use numbers as well as percentages to make goals more tangible Identifying Indicators Limit “top-level” indicators to a manageable number (~15), with additional contributing indicators if needed Establish a set of criteria to guide the identification and prioritization of potential indicators Leveraging Existing Efforts and Expertise Form a voluntary team of data experts to advise on the design, development, and deployment of a shared measurement system Develop a crosswalk of what partners are already measuring Consider leveraging existing indicators adopted by relevant efforts at the local, provincial, or federal level

Data as Learning What tools have you used to learn from data?

Mutually Reinforcing Activities Agreement on key outcomes. Orchestration and specialization. Complementary – sometimes “joined up” - strategies to achieve outcomes.

A city-wide collective impact initiative

Memphis Fast Forward

Mutually Reinforcing Activities Table Discussion: What is the picture you would draw for your collaborative or collective impact initiative?

Continuous Communication Create formal and informal measures for keeping people informed Communication is open and reflect a diversity of styles Difficult issues are surfaced, discussed and addressed

Communication If I wanted to talk to my colleagues about using collective impact as a framework for our work, what would I say to them?

Backbone Organization(s) Guide vision & strategy Support aligned activities Established shared measurements Build public will Advance policy Mobilize funding Like a manager at a construction site who attends to the whole building while carpenters, plumbers and electricians come and go, the support staff keep the collaborative process moving along, even as the participants may change. Jay Conner Community Visions, Community Solutions: Grantmaking for Comprehensive Impact

Common Misperceptions about the Role of Backbone Organizations The backbone organization sets the agenda for the group The backbone organization drives the solutions The backbone organization receives all the funding The role of backbone can be self appointed rather than selected by the community The role of backbone isn’t fundamentally different from “business as usual” in terms of staffing, time, and resources Common Misperceptions Backbone Organizations Source: FSG Interviews and Analysis

Build a common understanding of the problem Provide strategic guidance to develop a common agenda Ensure mutually reinforcing activities take place: – Coordinate and facilitate communication and collaboration – Convene partners and key external stakeholders – Catalyze or incubate new initiatives or collaborations – Provide technical assistance – Create paths for, and recruit, new partners – Seek opportunities for alignment with other efforts Collect, analyze, interpret, and report data Catalyze or develop shared measurement systems Provide technical assistance for building partners’ data capacity Build public will, consensus and commitment: – Create a sense of urgency and articulate a call to action – Support community member engagement activities – Produce and manage external communications Advocate for an aligned policy agenda Mobilize and align public and private funding to support goals Six Key Functions for the Backbone Infrastructure Guide Vision and Strategy Support Aligned Activities Establish Shared Measurement Practices Build Public Will Advance Policy Mobilize Funding

Six Roles for Backbones How do the 6 roles presented align with the work that you are doing? How would you modify or add to these roles to make them more relevant to describing your work? What do you think are the most important roles in creating change in your community? Which roles are the most difficult?

Effective Backbone Leaders Share Common Characteristics Source: FSG interviews Stakeholders describe backbone organization leaders as: Visionary Results-Oriented Collaborative, Relationship Builder Focused, but Adaptive Charismatic and Influential Communicator Politic Humble “Someone who has a big picture perspective—[who] understands how the pieces fit together, is sensitive to the dynamics, and is energetic and passionate.” Source: FSG Interviews and Analysis Backbone Organizations

Critical Functions in Collective Impact Community Ownership Convener Fiscal Sponsor Backbone Working Groups Steering Committee Leadership Table

Leadership Functions in CI Organizational Leadership Credibility to convene partners Commitment to issue Capacity and resources Convener Fiduciary responsibility Host and supervise staff May provide additional resources as an investor Alignment with mission of sponsor Fiscal Sponsor Staff Leadership Servant leadership to collaborative table Focus on collective impact conditions Continuous communications to build community will Backbone

Leadership Functions in CI …/2 Multi-sector partners with Spheres of Influence Commit their organizations to the change outcomes May be advisory in nature Leadership Table Composed of a smaller sub-set of Leadership Table and Work / Action Team leadership Action-Oriented, stewards effort Steering Committee Composed of members of Leadership Table and external community Drive forward sub-sets of the collective effort Work / Action Teams

Other Roles in Collective Impact Collective Impact Champion Research and Data Provider Early Investor Advocate to other levels of government Community Knowledge and Linkages Marketing and Media Other ?

Strategic Roles for Municipal Government and Funders Invest in Capacity Building Invest in Access & Use of Data Support Shared Measures Practice Document Change as it Happens

Collective Impact Use collective impact as a framing tool Assess whether everyone in the collaborative is working on the same agenda Developing success measures (process and outcome indicators) Identify those conditions that are working well and improve on those that are not Learn about what’s working and let go of those things that are not making an impact

Diving Deeper on Collective Impact Think – Pair – Share What opportunities does Collective Impact present? What other questions do I have?

Additional Resources Follow my blog: weaverhttp://vibrantcanada.ca/blogs/liz- weaver Regular updates about Collaboration and Collective Impact are posted on Tamarack Learning Communities Sites: Stanford Social Innovation Review articles on Collective Impact: FSG Social Impact Consultants:

Additional Collective Impact Resources Canadian Index of Well Being - index-wellbeing/ index-wellbeing/ Calgary Homeless Foundation - Poverty Matrix Resource - pdf pdf Constellation Model pdf 2.pdf Peel Collective Impact Institute – Results Based Accountability + Collective Impact collective-impact.php– collective-impact.php Why Targets and Timelines Matter - targets-and-timelines/ targets-and-timelines/

Additional Resources on Collective Impact FSG – collective impact resources - roach/CollectiveImpact.aspx roach/CollectiveImpact.aspx Youth Teen outcomes initiative - ult.aspx?srpush=true ult.aspx?srpush=true Resources for Backbones - cheuy/champions-change-leading-backbone- organization-collective-impact cheuy/champions-change-leading-backbone- organization-collective-impact