The Latest

3 Tools and 3 Tips for Assessing Your Operating Model

Sometimes, things just don't seem to be feeling right in collective impact initiatives. If you feel that way about your own initiative, it might be time for a checkup. Fortunately, collective impact initiatives don't need doctors ­ or even outside experts ­ to tell them how they're doing. Conducting a transparent, shared, and meaningful self­assessment is a powerful experience that can build even greater commitment and energy among your group.

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Re-­Imagining the Civic Commons

Civic Commons is a term that refers to the facilities and shared spaces where a city's residents "celebrate, learn, rest, play, make key decisions, express collective aspirations and provide for themselves and one another. "The civic commons is also increasingly being recognized as an important factor in the quality of life of citizens and the ability of cities to attract and retain the talent and investment needed to support their overall economic vitality.

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Frameworks for Measuring Community Health

The Canadian Council on Social Determinants of Health (CCSDH) has recently released a new paper, A Review of Frameworks on the Determinants of Health that reviews 36 frameworks from a variety of sectors on the determinants of health, from Canada and abroad, and provides an in­depth assessment of seven frameworks that are particularly relevant to the Canadian context.

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The Birth of a Movement

I became a collective impact evangelist in 2012. I saw and felt its possibility and what it might mean for the unacceptably high and stubbornly consistent number of Australians living in entrenched disadvantage, despite us being the 'lucky country', seemingly immune to impacts like the global financial crisis.

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The Little Red Hen and the Paradox of Community Engagement

Remember the story of the Little Red Hen who tried to engage her friends to help her to plant wheat and then harvest it, make flour and eventually bake bread? She could not engage them until, of course, the bread had come out of the oven and was ready to eat.

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Competition, Collaboration and the Tour de France

I admit it: I am a sports fan. I love the intrigue of competition. There is always at least one protagonist, a villain and many sub­characters. Of all the sports out there, cycling is my favourite, especially the 21 stage races or Grand Tours.

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