The July issue of The Philanthropist profiles the theory and practice of collective impact. The issue contains articles from a variety of perspectives and provides a great overview from Canadian and international thought leaders on how collective impact is evolving.
I had the opportunity to contribute two articles to this publication. One of them looked at the promise and peril of collective impact and the second was an interview that I conducted with John Kania and Fay Hanleybrown of FSG Social Impact Consultants just before a Backbone Workshop in Vancouver earlier this spring.
In reading through the other articles in this publication, I was struck by the consistent theme across all authors. Collective Impact provides a useful framework for community change efforts – particularly those focused on a complex and dynamic problem. In my article, I identified some of the challenges that collaboratives encounter when trying to move forward in the Collective Impact framework.
The other authors in The Philanthropist echo similar concerns and challenges. Throughout the articles, there are many useful suggestions for groups considering Collective Impact. There are also cautions, many cautions.
The Philanthropist has provided an amazing resource by bringing together this thinking about Collective Impact under a single publication. I encourage you to spend time with each article. Read them, return to them and share your wisdom about the practice of Collective Impact. Together, that is how we build this field (and encounter the bumps along the road).
