Disrupting Systems as a Field Catalyst

The Tamarack Institute is a Field Catalyst, a unique type of organization that convenes multiple communities to learn together and scale transformational change.

Field catalysts ensure that fragmented, and sometime siloed, efforts are aligned as part of a broader change strategy that achieves greater impact. They are a bridge between the local and the global and are always looking for opportunities to nudge and disrupt systems. 

 In 2022, the Stanford Social Innovation Review published How Field Catalysts Accelerate Collective Impact, which made the case for this important role in community change efforts. Together, with Tamarack as a Field Catalyst, our diverse global network of over 47,000 changemakers is a connected force and powerful driver of transformational change. 

Driving Change: How Tamarack Supports Field Catalysts in Canada and Beyond

1. In the UK, Tamarack is a founding partner of a new initiative called Place Matters UK, which accelerates the practice and impact of change led by and with communities through supports such as a Place Incubator.

2. Tamarack is supporting the Canadian Institute for Social Prescribing in a co-design process with diverse stakeholders to develop a theory of change and strategies to support and expand the practice of Social Prescribing in Canada.

3. In New Zealand, Tamarack has provided coaching support to Collaborative Aotearoa, a Field Catalyst collaborative working with organizations and local communities to catalyze change opportunities to support government reform of primary and community care.

4. The Canadian Centre for Nonprofit Digital Resilience (CCNDR) officially launched in March 2022.  As a founder of CCNDR, Tamarack is partnering with other founders including Imagine Canada, NTEN, and Social Economy through Social Inclusion (SETSI) to build digital capacity for community-based organizations and collaboratives across Canada.   

Tamarack's unique role as a field catalyst has proven to be a powerful driver of transformational change. By convening communities to learn together and aligning fragmented efforts, Tamarack bridges the gap between the local and the global, while always looking for opportunities to disrupt and, above all, improve systems.