NONPROFIT MANAGEMENT

Channeling Change: Making Collective Impact

Work

WHAT IS COLLECTIVE IMPACT?

Collective impact is the social change Collective impact is the social change which can occur when communities, which can occur when communities, organizations, corporations, organizations, corporations, governments and all parts of global governments and all parts of global society society work together.work together. For collective For collective impact to work impact to work everyone needs to share everyone needs to share a common goal a common goal and have a and have a shared shared understanding understanding of the systems they are of the systems they are operating and the operating and the principles agreed onprinciples agreed on..

AGENDA• Isolated VS Collective Impact

• Preconditions• Five conditions

• Five conditions in greater detail• Backbone organizations

• Backbone types• Backbone purposes• Case study: GAIN

• Case study: Communities That Care

ISOLATED VS COLLECTIVE

• Funders select individual grantees that offer the most

promising solutions.

• Nonprofits work separately and compete to produce the

greatest independent impact.

• Evaluation attempts to isolate a particular

organization’s impact. 

• Large scale change is assumed to depends on

scaling a single organization

• Corporate and government sectors are often

disconnected from the efforts of foundations and

nonprofits.

• Funders and implementers understand that social problems, and

their solutions, arise from the interaction of many organizations

within a larger system.

• Progress depends on working towards the same goal and measuring the same things.

•  Large scale impact depends on increasing cross-sector alignment

and learning among many organizations.

• Corporate and government sectors are essential partners

• Organizations actively coordinate their action and share lessons

learned.

PRECONDITIONS

 AN INFLUENTIAL CHAMPIONAN INFLUENTIAL CHAMPION

ADEQUATE FINANCIAL ADEQUATE FINANCIAL RESOURCESRESOURCES

A SENSE OF URGENCY FOR CHANGEA SENSE OF URGENCY FOR CHANGE

FIVE CONIDITONS OF COLLECTIVE IMPACT

COMMON AGENDACOMMON AGENDAAll participants have a shared vision for All participants have a shared vision for change including a common change including a common understanding of the problem & a joint understanding of the problem & a joint approach to solving it through agreed approach to solving it through agreed upon actions.upon actions.

Collecting data and measuring results Collecting data and measuring results consistently across all participants ensures consistently across all participants ensures efforts remain aligned and participants hold efforts remain aligned and participants hold each other accountable.each other accountable.

Participant activities must be differentiated Participant activities must be differentiated while still being coordinated through a while still being coordinated through a mutually reinforcing plan of action.mutually reinforcing plan of action.

Consistent and open communication is Consistent and open communication is needed across the many players to build needed across the many players to build trust, assure mutual objectives, &create trust, assure mutual objectives, &create common motivation.common motivation.

Creating and managing collective impact Creating and managing collective impact requires a separate organization(s) with requires a separate organization(s) with staff and a specific set of skills to serve as staff and a specific set of skills to serve as the backbone for the entire initiative the backbone for the entire initiative &coordinate participating organizations &coordinate participating organizations &agencies.&agencies.

SHARED MEASURESSHARED MEASURES

BACKBONE BACKBONE SUPPORTSUPPORT

MUTUALLY MUTUALLY REINFORCING ACTIVITES REINFORCING ACTIVITES

CONTINUOUS CONTINUOUS COMMUNICATIONCOMMUNICATION

IN GREATER DETAIL

COMMON AGENDACOMMON AGENDA

SHARED SHARED MEASUREMENTMEASUREMENT

BACKBONE BACKBONE SUPPORT SUPPORT

COMMON AGENDA

Creating Boundaries

Developing a Strategic Action

FrameworkDescription of problem

with solid research

A clear goal regarding change

A portfolio of key strategies for change

& for larger scale change in the future

A guide for behaviour

Evaluation

KEY

CO

MPO

NEN

TS

SHARED MEASURE SYSTEMS

A COMMON SET OF MEASURES BETWEEN ALL STAKEHOLDERS TO MONITOR PERFORMANCE + TRACK PROGRESS.

DIFFICULT because… BENEFICTIAL because…

Competing purposes+ fear of being under

performing

Hard to agree

Helps mutually reinforcing activities run

+ contributes to collaborative problem

solving

PROVIDING OVERALL PROVIDING OVERALL STRATEGIC DIRECTIONSTRATEGIC DIRECTION

FACILITATING DIALOGUE FACILITATING DIALOGUE BETWEEN PARTNERSBETWEEN PARTNERS

MANAGING DATA MANAGING DATA COLLECTION AND COLLECTION AND

ANALYSISANALYSISHANDLING HANDLING

COMMUNICATIONCOMMUNICATION

COORDINATING COORDINATING COMMUNITY COMMUNITY OUTREACHOUTREACH

MOBILIZING FUNDINGMOBILIZING FUNDING

BACKBONE ORGANIZATIONS SERVE BACKBONE ORGANIZATIONS SERVE 6 6 ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS:ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS:

BACKBONE ORGANIZATIONSBACKBONE ORGANIZATIONS

FUNDER BASED NEW NON PROFIT

EXISITING NON PROFIT

GOVERNMENT

SHARED ACROSS MUTIPLE ORGANIZATIONS

STEERING COMMITTEE DRIVEN

COMMON AGENDA

SHARED MEASURES

MUTUALLY REINFORCING ACTIVITIES

CONTINUOUS COMMUNICATION

BACKBONE SUPPORT

EWBEWB

CASE STUDIES

GLOBAL ALLIANCESFOR IMPROVED

NURITION

(GAIN)

COMMUNITIES THAT CARE COALITION OF FRANKLIN COUNTY AND THE NORTH QUABBIN

(COMMUNITIES THAT CARE)

+

GAIN

WHO + WHAT IS GAIN?

Created in 2002 at a special session of the United Nations General Assembly

Focused on the goal of reducing malnutrition by improving the health and

nutrition of nearly 1 billion at risk people in the developing world.

GAINEXAMPLES OF COLLECTIVE IMPACT EXAMPLES OF COLLECTIVE IMPACT

PRINCPLES PRINCPLES “GAIN has created and

coordinated the activity of 36 large-scale collaborations that include governments, NGOs, multilateral organizations,

universities, and more than 600 companies in over 30

countries.”

“GAIN has built in a robust feedback loop and over the

past eight years has incorporated best practices

and lessons learned as a fundamental component of its fourth annual strategic

action framework.”

““Influential Champions: four individuals with deep experience in the development field came together• Bill Foege, the former director of the US Centers for Disease Control•Kul Gautam, a senior official at UNICEF•Duff Gillespie, head of the Office of Population and Nutrition at USAID•Sally Stansfield, one of the original directors at The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation””

1 2

3

PROOF OF SUCCESS

GAIN

“GAIN’s work has enabled more than 530 million people

worldwide to obtain nutritionally enhanced food

and significantly reduced the prevalence of micronutrient deficiencies in a number of

countries.”

“Micronutrient deficiencies dropped between 11 and 30

percent among those who consumed GAIN’s

fortified products.”

“GAIN has also raised $322 million in new financial commitments from its

partners and leveraged many times more from its private sector and government

partners.”

COMMUNITIES THAT CARE

WHO + WHAT IS CTC?

Founded in 2002 after a regional meeting involving then a surprising 60 people to discuss teen drug and

alcohol abuse

Now it includes more than 200 representatives from human service agencies, district attorney’s

offices, schools, police departments, youth serving agencies, faith-based organizations, local elected

officials, local businesses, media, parents, and youth.

“Communities That Care has revised its community action plan three times in the last

eight years.”

COMMUNITIES THAT CARE

EXAMPLES OF COLLECTIVE IMPACT EXAMPLES OF COLLECTIVE IMPACT PRINCPLES PRINCPLES

“Boundaries can and do change over time. After nearly a decade of addressing teen

substance abuse prevention, Communities That Care is launching a second initiative to address youth nutrition and physical activity,

applying the existing structure and stakeholders to a closely related but new

topic area within their mission of improving youth health in their region.”

PROOF OF SUCCESS

COMMUNTIES THAT CARE

“Over an eight-year time frame, Communities That

Care has resulted not only in reducing binge drinking, but

also in reducing teen cigarette smoking by 32

percent and teen marijuana use by 18 percent.”

“Communities That Care has made impressive

progress toward its more local goals, reducing

teenage binge drinking by 31 percent.”

“The coalition has also raised more than $5 million of new public money in

support of their efforts.”

SO SO WHATWHAT??

HOW EWB BENEFIT FROM COLLECTIVE IMPACT?

• What are your first impressions of these ideas? What is intriguing?

• Is there potential in these ideas to change or influence your strategies?

• How well are you doing on the conditions within your venture/program (if you think of staff as the backbone, and members/chapters being the network)?

• How well is the sector doing with regards to these conditions? For example, is there strong communication between the venture and other parties?

• What questions come to mind when listening to this?