One of the biggest challenges facing community change leaders is impacting systems and policies to improve the well-being of citizens. Over the last twenty years, community change leaders have engaged in single and cross-sector collaboration to begin to uncover and address some of the largest challenges they are facing like poverty, homelessness, educational attainment and environmental impact. In 2011, FSG in the United States defined an approach to community change called Collective Impact.
The Collective Impact framework contains five core conditions including the development of a common agenda; using shared measurement to understand progress; building on mutually reinforcing activities; engaging in continuous communications and providing a backbone to move the work forward.
Since 2011, Tamarack has collaborated with colleagues in Canada, the United States and internationally as a co-catalyst in advancing Collective Impact as a framework for community change. Tamarack also recognizes that Collective Impact is one mechanism for community change and that collaboration takes many forms and approaches. The Collective Impact idea provides a useful framework for community change and is situated within the broad frame of collaborative efforts focused on systems and policy change. Tamarack actively works with collaborators including the Collective Impact Forum and the Harwood Institute in the United States; Inspiring Communities in New Zealand and Collaboration for Impact in Australia to intentionally build the field of practice in Collective Impact and collaborative community change efforts.
By Liz Weaver
Authentic community change moves at the speed of trust. And yet, we spend so little time and focus on intentionally building trust amongst partners. This paper explores the intricacies of trust, how to build it and what to do when trust is broken.
It includes stories, research, and a plethora of helpful tips to equip you and your colleagues to focus on building trust with each other and with your partners.
By Liz Weaver and Max Hardy
This paper was written by Liz Weaver, Tamarack and Max Hardy, Collaboration for Impact about the opportunities and challenges they face in supporting collective impact and community engagement efforts in Canada and Australia.
By Mark Cabaj & Liz Weaver
Mark Cabaj and Liz Weaver put forward fresh thinking around five ways to build the next iteration of the Collective Impact Framework with their publication Collective Impact 3.0 - An Evolving Framework for Community Change.
Image above by Elayne Greeley
By Tamarack Institute
This tool helps you consider the perspectives of those who your project serves or affects. It will help your team consider the many forces around your users that affect their experiences.
By Tamarack Institute
By Tamarack Institute
This framework provides you with an in depth look at what it is that you are trying to work on. The tool is comprised of questions that will help you to form your collective Impact initiative. You will use this framework to build your leadership team and to create an action plan.
By Tamarack Institute
This tool helps provide members with an overview of the key framework, decisions, and progress that has been made on Collective Impact initiatives.
The aim of this Collective Impact Community of Practice (CoP) is to bring together committed individuals who have a desire to work collaboratively to learn, share and build the capacity of its members.
Image on the left by Elayne Greeley
To help you make the most of your Collective Impact initiative, we've assembled a collection of compendiums with a vast array of tools, papers, and other resources to help you build your toolkit for specific areas of your Collective Impact work. From a focus on the five phases, to sustainability, to evaluation, the compendium series will provide you with links to the best resources from our network of Collective Impact thought-leaders.
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