At the end of my accreditation as a partnership broker, we were required to agree to a contract of professional best practices. On the surface they might seem simple and straightforward but the truth is that they capture the true complexity of partnering across sectors.
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Recently the Collective Impact Forum featured a terrific piece by Sheri Brady and Jennifer Splansky Juster on the Collective Impact Principles of Practice. These eight principles to guide efforts to put Collective Impact into practice are long overdue.
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With no place to hide from change, the next decade will bring unprecedented transformation to Canada's non-profits. This metamorphosis will be driven by metrics unleashed by open data; new behavioural insights; deepening new technology penetration; demographic shifts (e.g. aging population's service demands, millennials assuming workplace leadership; generative partnership approaches; and, revamped government commissioning of contracted services (Gs+Cs).
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I have never thought of myself as courageous. I would use many other words to describe me - thoughtful, reflective, smart, sometimes judgemental but never courageous. That is why the statement...the most courageous thing I have ever done ...is so perplexing.
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"Collaboration is nothing new. The social sector is filled with examples of partnerships, networks, and other types of joint efforts. But collective impact initiatives are distinctly different. Unlike most collaborations, collective impact initiatives involve a centralized infrastructure, a dedicated staff, and a structured process that leads to a common agenda, shared measurement, continuous communication, and mutually reinforcing activities among all participants." - John Kania & Mark Kramer
Collective Impact initiatives require a new way of thinking about and approaching collaboration.
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There is an old but relatively famous set of videos by John Cleese and others called 'Meetings Bloody Meetings' in which John is brought to trial for hosting meetings that actually serve very little purpose. We have all been in those types of meetings!
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