Collective Impact Forum

Collective Impact Forum

The Collective Impact Forum is here to share resources, tools, and stories to support social change makers working in cross-sector collaboration. read less
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Episodes

Shifting from Competition to Partnership in Private Sector Collaboration
Mar 6 2024
Shifting from Competition to Partnership in Private Sector Collaboration
The Millers for Nutrition coalition is working with 100+ millers and other partners to achieve an ambitious goal—getting nutritious, fortified food to 1 billion people by 2026.One of the critical questions that Millers for Nutrition has grappled with is how to get private-sector partners, many of whom may be in competition with each other, to find common ground, build sustained, trusting relationships, and ultimately work together to support healthy food access for millions of people.To learn what has worked to support private-sector collaboration, we talk with backbone team member Christian Pirzer from Endeva, and Yvonne Bakken from dsm-firmenich, a founding coalition partner. We explore what has been most helpful in developing these partnerships, and how they balanced the needs and considerations of the millers and other partners.Resources and FootnotesMillers for NutritionEndevadsm-firmenichMore on Collective ImpactInfographic: What is Collective Impact?Resource List: Getting Started in Collective ImpactThe Intro music, entitled “Running,” was composed by Rafael Krux, and can be found here and is licensed under CC: By 4.0.The outro music, entitled “Deliberate Thought,” was composed by Kevin Macleod. Licensed under CC: By.Have a question related to collaborative work that you'd like to have discussed on the podcast? Contact us at: https://www.collectiveimpactforum.org/contact-us/
How Community Leads the Way with Participatory Action Research (PAR)
Jan 22 2024
How Community Leads the Way with Participatory Action Research (PAR)
Communities can be “researched,” engaged, and surveyed to explore a variety of questions such as what barriers are preventing students from graduating? What are the local economic and health impacts of having only a few grocery stores in the area? It’s important to rigorously explore these types of questions, but there can be danger in taking data and stories from a community for the purpose of research. You can fall into the trap of “community extraction” if the research is not deeply connected to how that community progresses.Participatory Action Research, otherwise known as PAR, is a methodology that engages those closest to the issues and positions them as the leading experts in research on and about their community.To learn about PAR, and what it looks like when community members are the researchers, we hear about the work of NoLa CARES, a collaborative of childcare organizations that focuses on creating access, resources, and equity for the success of Black and Latine women in New Orleans, Louisiana. We talk with Dr. Nnenna Odim (Beloved Community) and community researchers Peggy Patterson and Lisa Williams about how NoLa CARES practices PAR to further their goals -  embedding it into their initiative to uplift community leadership, voice, and expertise, and support community members to take the lead in the changes they want to see.References and FootnotesNoLa CARESBeloved CommunityMore on Collective ImpactInfographic: What is Collective Impact?Resource List: Getting Started in Collective ImpactThe Intro music, entitled “Running,” was composed by Rafael Krux, and can be found here and is licensed under CC: By 4.0.The outro music, entitled “Deliberate Thought,” was composed by Kevin Macleod. Licensed under CC: By.Have a question related to collaborative work that you'd like to have discussed on the podcast? Contact us at: https://www.collectiveimpactforum.org/contact-us/
What Collective Change Can You Make in 100 Days?
Jan 8 2024
What Collective Change Can You Make in 100 Days?
Addressing homelessness in rural areas has multiple complexities  including scarcity of funding, support services, and shelter options, as well as facing a common misconception that rural homelessness does not exist.To better understand how homelessness was affecting their community, partners working in Mercer County, IL came together to participate in their own “100-day challenge,” an organized collaborative event that supports communities in kick-starting complex change efforts. As part of their 100 days, they mapped out the broader system that contributes to getting people rapidly housed and stress-tested their support infrastructure to see what was working and what was not.In this discussion, we talk with several leaders from this work to learn about how folks came together for these 100 days. Joining us to share their experiences is Cathy Jordan (Project Now) and Sean Whitten, Sara Robens, and Peter Muse (RE!NSTITUTE). They share how they worked through challenging times to uncover how homelessness was hidden in their community, and what they did to support people moving into housing. Resources and FootnotesProject NowRE!NSTITUTESystems Change and the 100-Day ChallengePalm Beach County 100-Day Dual Sector ChallengeMore on Collective ImpactInfographic: What is Collective Impact?Resource List: Getting Started in Collective ImpactThe Intro music, entitled “Running,” was composed by Rafael Krux, and can be found here and is licensed under CC: By 4.0.The outro music, entitled “Deliberate Thought,” was composed by Kevin Macleod. Licensed under CC: By.Have a question related to collaborative work that you'd like to have discussed on the podcast? Contact us at: https://www.collectiveimpactforum.org/contact-us/
(Replay) The Role of Narrative Change in Collective Action
Jan 1 2024
(Replay) The Role of Narrative Change in Collective Action
During the winter break, we're replaying some of our favorite past episodes.This replay episode features a dynamic discussion from the 2021 Collective Impact Action Summit, and focuses on the importance of narrative in collective social change efforts. This discussion is led by Melody Barnes of the Aspen Institute Forum for Community Solutions, and features Crystal Echo Hawk from IllumiNative, Rashad Robinson from Color of Change, and Nayantara Sen from Real Food Real Stories. Resources and Footnotes: Video and Transcript: The Role of Narrative Change in Collective Action (Collective Impact Forum)Building Narrative Power (Color of Change)IllumiNative Insights and Actions Guide (IllumiNative)Making Waves: A Guide to Cultural Strategy (The Culture Group)Cultural Strategy: An Introduction and Primer (Art/Work Practice and Power California)Stolen Land, Stolen Bodies, and Stolen Stories (Stanford Social Innovation Review)More on Collective ImpactInfographic: What is Collective Impact?Resource List: Getting Started in Collective ImpactThe Intro music, entitled “Running,” was composed by Rafael Krux, and can be found here and is licensed under CC: By 4.0.The outro music, entitled “Deliberate Thought,” was composed by Kevin Macleod. Licensed under CC: By.Have a question related to collaborative work that you'd like to have discussed on the podcast? Contact us at: https://www.collectiveimpactforum.org/contact-us/
(Replay) Leading From ‘Languishing’ to Beloved Community with Rev. Dr. Starsky Wilson
Dec 26 2023
(Replay) Leading From ‘Languishing’ to Beloved Community with Rev. Dr. Starsky Wilson
During the winter break, we're replaying some of our favorite past episodes.In this episode from 2022, we hear from Rev. Dr. Starsky Wilson, who serves as President and CEO of the Children’s Defense Fund. Dr. Wilson reflects on the challenging times that many of us experienced earlier in the pandemic, and the ways we can reground ourselves and move forward, so that we can shift from states of languishing, disconnection, and numbness to a place where we can better connect to ourselves, our purpose, and our communities.Introducing this keynote are Jennifer Splansky Juster, executive director of the Collective Impact Forum, and Sheri Brady, who is Vice President of Strategy and Programs at the Children’s Defense Fund. Longtime Forum fans wlll also know Sheri, since prior to CDF, she was our colleague at the Forum, and we were excited to have her back. This talk was the closing keynote at the 2022 Collective Impact Action Summit and was held on April 28, 2022.Resources and FootnotesVideo and Transcript of this talkChildren's Defense FundMore on Collective ImpactInfographic: What is Collective Impact?Resource List: Getting Started in Collective ImpactThe Intro music, entitled “Running,” was composed by Rafael Krux, and can be found here and is licensed under CC: By 4.0.The outro music, entitled “Deliberate Thought,” was composed by Kevin Macleod. Licensed under CC: By.Have a question related to collaborative work that you'd like to have discussed on the podcast? Contact us at: https://www.collectiveimpactforum.org/contact-us/
Achieving Transformational Results in Housing Through Partnerships
Dec 18 2023
Achieving Transformational Results in Housing Through Partnerships
In a time when many cities across the United States are facing a growing housing crisis, one community has challenged the status quo, working across divides to bring partners together to raise millions of dollars - with a goal of building 10,000 housing units by 2028 in California’s Coachella Valley.What sounds like success now, with 1,600 units already under production, didn’t start out that way. The region faced both a lack of funding and a lack of belief that significantly increasing housing in the valley was even possible. But through effective collaboration, steadfast commitment, and hard conversations, the region is seeing progress beyond their initial dreams.We learn how that progress became a reality in our conversation with two leaders from this work, Omar Carrillo Tinajero (Center for Community Investment) and Heather Vaikona (Lift to Rise). They share the good, the hard, and the harder of how they went from a group of advocates to a successful movement, building an unprecedented number of new housing units and seeing real transformational change in the process.Resources and FootnotesLift to RiseCenter for Community InvestmentMore on Collective ImpactInfographic: What is Collective Impact?Resource List: Getting Started in Collective ImpactThe Intro music, entitled “Running,” was composed by Rafael Krux, and can be found here and is licensed under CC: By 4.0.The outro music, entitled “Deliberate Thought,” was composed by Kevin Macleod. Licensed under CC: By.Have a question related to collaborative work that you'd like to have discussed on the podcast? Contact us at: https://www.collectiveimpactforum.org/contact-us/
(Replay) The Power of Parent Engagement
Nov 21 2023
(Replay) The Power of Parent Engagement
During this holiday week, we're replaying one of our favorite episodes from last year that focused on the power of parent engagement.In this 2022 podcast conversation, we learned about the parent engagement work of Child Safety Forward in Hartford, CT - one of five demonstration sites for the federal demonstration initiative Child Safety Forward. In the discussion, we learned about how the Hartford project has worked with parents to become more comfortable owning and exercising their power – all in service of building a Child and Family Wellbeing System where child protection agencies, community partners, neighbors, and families share a responsibility to ensure children thrive. Joining this discussion to share what they’ve learned were Chavon Campbell and Regina Dyton (Child Safety Forward) and parent advocates Georgina Fuentes and Kayla Waters.Resources and FootnotesChild Safety ForwardSustaining Impact for the Long-Term with Child Safety ForwardChild Safety Forward Implementation Study Final ReportUtilizing Collective Impact to Reduce Child Abuse and Neglect FatalitiesMore on Collective ImpactInfographic: What is Collective Impact?Resource List: Getting Started in Collective ImpactThe Intro music, entitled “Running,” was composed by Rafael Krux, and can be found here and is licensed under CC: By 4.0.The outro music, entitled “Deliberate Thought,” was composed by Kevin Macleod. Licensed under CC: By.Have a question related to collaborative work that you'd like to have discussed on the podcast? Contact us at: https://www.collectiveimpactforum.org/contact-us/
Sustaining Impact for the Long-Term with Child Safety Forward
Nov 16 2023
Sustaining Impact for the Long-Term with Child Safety Forward
How does a collaborative effort start planting the foundation for sustainability early on? In this podcast episode, we learn about the work of Child Safety Forward, a four-year demonstration initiative that engaged five sites across the U.S. in research, planning, and implementation around place-based strategies aimed at reducing child injury and fatality from abuse and neglect. The initiative, funded by the Department of Justice (DOJ) was launched in October 2019 by the DOJ’s Office for Victims of Crime.With the project now closing, we talk with folks from Child Safety Forward to learn what factors were most helpful in building their initial collaborative efforts, and what set the demonstration sites up to continue the work after this funding ended. Joining this discussion are:Jasmine Brosnan, Evaluation Program Manager, The Child Abuse Prevention CenterRomero Davis, Director of Practice Excellence, Social CurrentStacy Phillips, Victim Justice Program Manager, Office for Victims of Crime – United States Department of JusticeReferences and FootnotesChild Safety ForwardChild Safety Forward Implementation Study Final ReportUtilizing Collective Impact to Reduce Child Abuse and Neglect FatalitiesThe Child Abuse Prevention Center|Social CurrentPodcast: The Power of Parent EngagementMore on Collective ImpactInfographic: What is Collective Impact?Resource List: Getting Started in Collective ImpactThe Intro music, entitled “Running,” was composed by Rafael Krux, and can be found here and is licensed under CC: By 4.0.The outro music, entitled “Deliberate Thought,” was composed by Kevin Macleod. Licensed under CC: By.Have a question related to collaborative work that you'd like to have discussed on the podcast? Contact us at: https://www.collectiveimpactforum.org/contact-us/
System Catalysts - The Moth: Storytelling Leads to Change
Nov 6 2023
System Catalysts - The Moth: Storytelling Leads to Change
We’re excited to share with you an episode of another podcast that we think you’ll find very valuable for your social change work. System Catalysts is a show that shares compelling stories from philanthropists and change-makers who are promoting systems change in their communities. They just concluded their first season of stories and we wanted to give them a shout-out and share with you one of their most recent episodes that we think Collective Impact Forum listeners might appreciate.In this episode of System Catalysts, we hear from Sarah Austin Jenness and Brandon Grant-Walker, who both are part of The Moth. You may have heard of The Moth in your listening travels. It’s an organization and platform devoted to sharing true stories and supporting storytellers, both new and seasoned, on sharing their stories out to the world. As storytelling and narrative are key to collective change work, we thought this might be a good listen. This episode is narrated by Tulaine Montgomery and hosted by Jeff Walker. And if you like what you hear, we hope you subscribe and check out more episodes of System Catalysts. Now let’s tune, and hear more about the power of storytelling at the Moth.Resources and Footnotes:System CatalystsInspiring Systems Change Through Stories With System Catalysts PodcastThe MothThe Moth Radio Hour Episode: 25 Years of Stories: Critical CrashMore on Collective ImpactInfographic: What is Collective Impact?Resource List: Getting Started in Collective ImpactThe Intro music, entitled “Running,” was composed by Rafael Krux, and can be found here and is licensed under CC: By 4.0.Have a question related to collaborative work that you'd like to have discussed on the podcast? Contact us at: https://www.collectiveimpactforum.org/contact-us/
Partnering with Local Governments to Advance Collective Goals
Sep 25 2023
Partnering with Local Governments to Advance Collective Goals
Local governments can play a critical and necessary role in advancing system and policy changes to support communities, but it can be challenging to understand the complexities within local government and how best to work together. In this episode, Forum Director of Programs and Partnerships, Courtney W. Robertson explores how to partner with local and city governments to advance collaborative work in a conversation with Anthony Smith, Executive Director of Cities United. Cities United is an organization that advocates for a holistic approach to reducing gun violence and supporting public safety, and does so through building movements within cities, connecting local government stakeholders with community partners and youth to create safe, healthy, and hopeful communities.Anthony shares what Cities United has learned from over a decade of work partnering with cities across the United States, including what to think about when engaging with local government, what readiness factors to consider before launching a partnership, what capacity and knowledge building may be necessary to understand how your local government and its branches work, and what connections and levers may be needed to strengthen your partnership efforts.Resources and FootnotesCities UnitedCVI EcosystemMore on Collective ImpactInfographic: What is Collective Impact?Resource List: Getting Started in Collective ImpactThe Intro music, entitled “Running,” was composed by Rafael Krux, and can be found here and is licensed under CC: By 4.0.The outro music, entitled “Deliberate Thought,” was composed by Kevin Macleod. Licensed under CC: By.Have a question related to collaborative work that you'd like to have discussed on the podcast? Contact us at: https://www.collectiveimpactforum.org/contact-us/
How Homelessness is Solvable with a Collective Approach
Sep 18 2023
How Homelessness is Solvable with a Collective Approach
Complex issues like homelessness can feel unsolvable or intractable, but that does not have to be the case. Through a commitment to a collective approach and strategies, communities can end homelessness.We take a deep dive into this collective approach required to solve homelessness with Community Solutions, a nonprofit that is dedicated to ending homelessness. As part of their mission, Community Solutions leads Built for Zero, a movement of more than 100 cities and counties that are applying this approach so that homelessness can be rare or brief in their regions.Sharing about what they learned from supporting the Built for Zero network, we talk with Community Solutions’ president Rosanne Haggerty. She details the strategies that have contributed to progress, the mindset changes that happen when you realize even the hardest problems can have a solution, and what it means when a community says, "Enough is enough. Let’s solve this."References and FootnotesCommunity SolutionsBuilt for ZeroRockford, Illinois: Functional Zero Case StudyMore on Collective ImpactInfographic: What is Collective Impact?Resource List: Getting Started in Collective ImpactThe Intro music, entitled “Running,” was composed by Rafael Krux, and can be found here and is licensed under CC: By 4.0.The outro music, entitled “Deliberate Thought,” was composed by Kevin Macleod. Licensed under CC: By.Have a question related to collaborative work that you'd like to have discussed on the podcast? Contact us at: https://www.collectiveimpactforum.org/contact-us/
Measuring What Matters With Community-Led Monitoring
Sep 11 2023
Measuring What Matters With Community-Led Monitoring
In this episode, we discuss the practice of community-led monitoring, and how this practice can help inform and influence collaborative change efforts.To learn more about community-led monitoring, we talk with the International Treatment Preparedness Coalition (ITPC), a global network that works to achieve universal access to HIV treatment and other life-saving medicines. One of ITPC’s core strategies is to "watch what matters," which includes supporting data gathering and analysis that’s centered on and led by community members, and reflects the issues and questions that are most important to people living with and affected by HIV.To share about what they’ve learned from their community-led monitoring work, we hear from ITPC’s Executive Director Solange Baptiste and Citizen Science Lead Krista Lauer. They share how data practices like community-led monitoring can unearth community access barriers and pain points within a system, and how that information can be gathered to inform advocacy efforts and policy change.References and FootnotesITPC – International Treatment Preparedness CoalitionCLMhub.orgVideo: What is Community-Led Monitoring (CLM)?More on Collective ImpactInfographic: What is Collective Impact?Resource List: Getting Started in Collective ImpactThe Intro music, entitled “Running,” was composed by Rafael Krux, and can be found here and is licensed under CC: By 4.0.The outro music, entitled “Deliberate Thought,” was composed by Kevin Macleod. Licensed under CC: By.Have a question related to collaborative work that you'd like to have discussed on the podcast? Contact us at: https://www.collectiveimpactforum.org/contact-us/
Heeding the Call for Community Partnerships
Aug 28 2023
Heeding the Call for Community Partnerships
In this episode, we discuss the power of community partnerships, and how necessary they are when working to support better outcomes for the whole community. In this discussion, we learn about the community partnership work of JumpStart, a service organization that focuses on supporting folks re-entering society after incarceration. Partnerships are a critical factor to support JumpStart’s participants in finding what they need so they can more fully rejoin their communities, including employment, housing, and healthcare. To share about their partnership journey and what they’ve learned so far, we hear from Don Williams, who is a co-founder of JumpStart and Director of Community Relations. Don shares about the long road JumpStart has traveled to provide a whole eco-system of partners to support their participants, and how important it was that even when they faced negative biases, they never gave up trying. References and FootnotesJumpStartThe Water of Systems ChangeMore on Collective ImpactInfographic: What is Collective Impact?Resource List: Getting Started in Collective ImpactThe Intro music, entitled “Running,” was composed by Rafael Krux, and can be found here and is licensed under CC: By 4.0.The outro music, entitled “Deliberate Thought,” was composed by Kevin Macleod. Licensed under CC: By.Have a question related to collaborative work that you'd like to have discussed on the podcast? Contact us at: https://www.collectiveimpactforum.org/contact-us/
Krista Tippett: Collectively Remaking Our World
Aug 14 2023
Krista Tippett: Collectively Remaking Our World
How can you imagine and create a world for everyone?In this new podcast episode, we’re sharing our conversation with Krista Tippett, which was the closing keynote conversation from the 2023 Collective Impact Action. Krista is a journalist, a National Humanities Medalist, a bestselling author, and founder of the On Being Project—a groundbreaking media and public life initiative that uplifts and celebrates deep thinking and conversations around what it means to be here together in this world.In this fireside chat, Krista joins Cindy Santos (Aspen Institute Forum for Community Solutions) for a conversation about what it means to create new spaces—spaces that nurture Belonging, center relationships, and value healing, joy, and connection.References and FootnotesReflections on this keynote talk by Deb HallidayOn BeingWhat is the On Being Project to read the “Enough of us…” poem/statementJohn Paul LederachWhere Life is Precious, life is precious, with Ruth Wilson GilmorePleasure Activism by adrienne maree brownTending Joy and Practicing Delight, with Ross Gay“Joy Is the Justice We Give Ourselves.” A Poem by J. Drew LanhamPathfinding Through the Improbable with J. Drew LanhamWhere does it hurt, with Ruby SalesCollective Change LabThe Relational Work of Systems Change, Stanford Social Innovation ReviewLeading from Languishing to Beloved Community, with Rev. Dr. Starsky WilsonTo be a Healer, with Vivek MurthyRest is Resistance, by Tricia HerseyMore on Collective ImpactInfographic: What is Collective Impact?Resource List: Getting Started in Collective ImpactThe Intro music, entitled “Running,” was composed by Rafael Krux, and can be found here and is licensed under CC: By 4.0.The outro music, entitled “Deliberate Thought,” was composed by Kevin Macleod. Licensed under CC: By.Have a question related to collaborative work that you'd like to have discussed on the podcast? Contact us at: https://www.collectiveimpactforum.org/contact-us/
Imani Barbarin: Creating Accessible Spaces for Belonging
Jul 24 2023
Imani Barbarin: Creating Accessible Spaces for Belonging
What does it mean to create truly accessible spaces within your collective work? At the 2023 Collective Impact Action Summit, we explored this question and more in a keynote conversation with Imani Barbarin (Crutches and Spice), who is a disability and inclusion activist, speaker and content creator.In this fireside chat, Imani Barbarin and Miya Cain (FSG) discuss what components can create a truly accessible culture of Belonging, including how directly addressing the inequities experienced by disabled people is necessary to reach broader societal change. They also explore the long impact of the Covid pandemic, and how the intersection of multiple identities is important to understand when building accessible spaces.Preceding this discussion, we’re delighted to share a spoken word performance by artist and facilitator Kayla Brooks, titled 'You Belong Here'. Introducing both Kayla’s performance and the following keynote discussion is Cindy Santos, Senior Associate at the Aspen Institute Forum for Community Solutions.Footnotes and ReferencesCrutches and Spice website and on TikTok, Crutches_and_spiceRead Reflections from the Action Summit on Accessibility and Belonging by Ajai Scott (FSG) for highlights and reflections from this keynote.Podcast: Narrative Change and Disability with Imani BarbarinBlog: Navigating Consent and Allyship by Tracy Timmons-Gray, Collective Impact ForumThe Curb-Cut Effect by Angela Glover Blackwell, Stanford Social Innovation ReviewDisability Visibility Project–an online community dedicated to creating, sharing, and amplifying disability media and culture, founded by Alice WongAutistic Self Advocacy Network–an advocacy organization run by and for people on the autism spectrum, founded by Ari Ne’emanSins Invalid: a disability justice performance projectDisability Scoop: the largest news organization in the nation covering developmental disabilities, founded by Michelle Diament and Shaun HeasleyA Disability History of the United States, by Kim E. NielsenBlack Disability Politics, by Dr. Sami SchalkBeing Heumann: An Unrepentant Memoir of a Disability Rights Activist, by Judith HeumannMore on Collective ImpactInfographic: What is Collective Impact?Resource List: Getting Started in Collective ImpactThe Intro music, entitled “Running,” was composed by Rafael Krux, and can be found here and is licensed under CC: By 4.0.The outro music, entitled “Deliberate Thought,” was composed by Kevin Macleod. Licensed under CC: By.Have a question related to collaborative work that you'd like to have discussed on the podcast? Contact us at: https://www.collectiveimpactforum.org/contact-us/