Top things to consider when launching a new collective impact effort

Jen, Robert, and Tracy go into the topics of getting ready to launch a collective impact effort, including exploring the question of “How do I know if the collective impact approach is the right approach to take for my collaborative?”

Episode Contents:

2:35: Robert and Jen share a few of the conditions that can be helpful to have in place when deciding whether or not to use this approach on a social change issue.

7:48: Jen and Robert discuss what it means to bring in a variety of “interventions,” both relating to single programs and also the overarching system the programs are working in.

11:56: Jen dives into how and when population size matters when planning collaborative work.

14:10: How does collective impact work across issues?

15:59: Does geography play a big role when doing collaborative work?

19:20: Robert and Jen dive into four “readiness factors,” how they affect a collaborative effort, and what happens when some of these factors are hard to put in place.

21:05: Bringing in influential Champions (and how you find them)

25:17: Galvanizing urgency (and what happens when your partners don’t feel that same urgency that you do?)

28:35: Building resources to get started- does that just mean money or does it mean something else? And do you need the resources to get started or can you start in order to get resources?

31:45: Having a history of collaboration- why it can help and what to think about if past collaborations in your community have not worked out well (and what does that mean for future collaborative efforts.)

Footnotes and Resources:

Blog: Is Collective Impact the Right Approach?

Tool: Collective Impact Feasibility Framework

Webinar Video: Building Readiness Through the Collective Impact Feasibility Framework 

More on Collective Impact approach to collaborate for social change:

Infographic: What is Collective Impact?  

Resource List: Getting Started in Collective Impact  

The 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? You can send it to us at info@collectiveimpactforum.org.