Champions of Change San Francisco Backbone Workshop: Phases Activity Analysis | March 2014

Contents Summary of Activity Phase I – Idea Phase Phase II – Idea to Formation Phase III – Growth Phase Phase IV – Mature Phase

Phases of Collective Impact Around 250 Participants Broke Up By Phase to Discuss “The Effective Backbone Organization” Activity Summary Workshop participants broke into four groups based on the stage of development of their collective impact projects Phases of Collective Impact Phase I Idea Phase Phase II Idea to Formation Phase III Growth Phase Phase IV Mature Phase (Pre Start-Up) (Start-Up to 1 Year) (2 – 3 Years) (4 Years or More) Each group discussed the following questions: What is going well? What is challenging? What tools are you using to break through?

Participants Identified the Following High Level Themes as “Going Well” in Each of Their Phases Phase I Idea Phase Phase II Idea to Formation Phase III Growth Phase Phase IV Mature Phase Alignment with existing collaboratives The initiative has a clear and compelling goal Shared measurement leading to more cohesion and engagement Groups speak with a common voice All community stakeholders are engaged in some way Diverse group of key leaders at the table Data is beginning to be linked to governance and action Influence on policies and policy makers Data has been streamlined and linked to accountability There is a inspiration and momentum around solving the problem Diverse partnerships and stakeholder engagement Reflecting and building on earlier successes Group is structured for action and to take advantage of quick wins

Participants Identified the Following High Level Themes as Areas That Are “Challenging” in Each of Their Phases Phase I Idea Phase Phase II Idea to Formation Phase III Growth Phase Phase IV Mature Phase Shifting leaders’ mindsets to focus on systems change Identifying quick wins while avoiding distractions Meeting fatigue Educating funders on the power of the work Effectively capturing and utilizing data for action Clashing egos from those unused to this type of collaboration Moving from planning to action Managing changes in leadership over time Balancing funding needs to reach financial sustainability Finding and attracting funders Ability to evolve the initiative to changing circumstances and scale Unequal progress Sharing power and credit

Contents Summary of Activity Phase I – Idea Phase Phase II – Idea to Formation Phase III – Growth Phase Phase IV – Mature Phase

Phase I – Idea Phase: What is Going Well? Themes Examples from Exercise Alignment with existing collaboratives Alignment with other local, state, and federal initiatives Building on and acknowledging previous work Diverse group of key leaders at the table Loaned executives to lead initiative Multiple, diverse partners identified with instrumental resources Key leaders have signed-on There is inspiration and momentum around solving the problem Examples from successes in other communities for inspiration Kania / Kramer article resonates Sense of urgency and need Opportunity / hope

Phase I – Idea Phase: What is Challenging? Themes Examples from Exercise Shifting leaders’ mindsets to focus on systems change Asking community to accept/support/buy into a cultural shift Seeing the forest instead of the trees (big picture thinking) Understanding the "language" of collective impact Clashing egos from those not accustomed to this type of collaboration Ensuring equal voice / everyone is heard Competing agendas and priorities (i.e., focus on sustaining "my" organization vs. collective impact) Moving/helping partners move beyond their own mission/interests/issues Finding and attracting funders Developing a plan for sustainable funding Move beyond competing for funding to having seed funding / startup $ Engage funders effectively

Phase I – Idea Phase: What Tools Are You Using to Break Through? Tools Suggested By Participants Regular meetings Piggybacking collective impact meetings on existing meetings already attended by some partners Clear definitions around the problem the initiative is seeking to solve, the roles of the partners, and the responsibility of the steering committee and backbone organization File sharing, calendar sharing, etc. Asset mapping techniques Partnership tools

Contents Summary of Activity Phase I – Idea Phase Phase II – Idea to Formation Phase III – Growth Phase Phase IV – Mature Phase

Phase II – Idea to Formation: What Is Going Well? Themes Examples from Exercise Cohesion linked to clear goal Carefully negotiated common agenda and goal Focus of the initiative is narrowing and moving toward action The initiative has a clear and compelling goal Data is beginning to be linked to governance and action Data is being visualized Data is being to governance Strong data supports are creating a focused agenda & affect all other aspects of the initiative Diverse partnerships and stakeholder engagement Diverse partnerships (funders, public, private, non-public) Regular public engagement Peer to peer engagement

Phase II – Idea to Formation: What Is Challenging Themes Examples from Exercise Identifying quick wins while avoiding distractions Avoiding distractions Assessing opportunities for early wins vs. distractions Effectively capturing and using data for action Creating a culture that responds to data, not just to look at Finding data / info that is not easily captured (ex: on undocumented individuals) Balancing funding needs to reach financial sustainability Achieving financial sustainability Balancing funding needs for infrastructure and partners Sharing power and credit Culture of territoriality Reducing competition and increasing power sharing amongst partners at the table Switch thinking from how does it benefit me

Tools Suggested By Participants Phase II – Idea to Formation: What Tools Are You Using to Break Through? Tools Suggested By Participants Memorandums of Understanding Building capacity through outside technical assistance providers Identifying best practices among initiative members and then scaling them across the entire group Identifying and achieving quick wins in order to maintain momentum

Contents Summary of Activity Phase I – Idea Phase Phase II – Idea to Formation Phase III – Growth Phase Phase IV – Mature Phase

Phase III – Growth Phase: What Is Going Well? Themes Examples from Exercise Shared measurement leading to more cohesion and engagement Common data indicators Deeping engagement because of shard learning and successes Broader importance of research and data in work than before Influence on policies and policy makers Connecting the dots for politicians and funders Identified policy changes that politicians can champion Reflecting and building on earlier successes Making a link between process and past outcomes / successes Taking time to celebrate successes Process that acknowledges success along the way

Phase III – Growth Phase: What Is Challenging Themes Examples from Exercise Meeting fatigue Too much process Partners exhausted after long planning process Moving from planning to action Getting partners to work in-between meetings Capacity issues of partners Individuals changing the way they work to better align with the collaborative Unequal progress Unequal engagement across different stakeholder groups Hard to balance focus on building structure with focus on making progress on strategies

Phase III – Growth Phase: What Tools Are You Using to Break Through? Tools Suggested By Participants Online report card around shared metrics Utilizing prototyping to test new projects Map efforts to determine who is doing what and reinforce activities Proactively reach out to those still “not getting it” to bring them in Create a “brain-trust” of advisors to help think about next steps Create a brand for the collaborative

Contents Summary of Activity Phase I – Idea Phase Phase II – Idea to Formation Phase III – Growth Phase Phase IV – Mature Phase

Phase IV – Mature Phase: What Is Going Well? Themes Examples from Exercise Groups speaks with a common voice Authentic buy-in from being together a long time Collective voice has been established that is powerful and adds credibility All community stakeholders are engaged in some way Have right decision makers & systems in place Have gained stakeholder buy-in All cross-sector stakeholders are at the table (funders, those with lived experience, etc.) Data has been streamlined and linked to accountability Data has been streamlined Using indicators / results based accountability gives common language for framing strategies Sharing data, resources = transparency Group is structured for action and to take advantage of quick wins Group is open to what energizes Don't let the perfect get in the way of the good Prepared to take advantage of quick wins and scale them up

Phase IV – Mature Phase: What Is Challenging Themes Examples from Exercise Educating funders to transition their types of funding Long term tension between funders of specific causes and the collective impact funders Educating funders on the power of the work Managing changes in leadership over time Educating new leaders joining the initiative, especially from new sectors or organizations "Leadership churn" - managing change around the table Ability to evolve the initiative to changing circumstances and scale Growth of initiative has made it hard to sustain consistent messaging Resilience - ability to evolve Creating "organizational flexibility" to use the "collective impact" to address any challenge

Phase IV – Mature Phase: What Tools Are You Using to Break Through? Tools Suggested By Participants Joint fundraising by partners to support the initiative's activities and backbone infrastructure Strong use of diverse marketing tools to build awareness and develop common narrative around issue (blogs, newsletters, e-blasts, website, editorials, billboards, etc.) Making time for reflection as individual partners and as a group Landscape mapping to identify changing realities Written theory of change or strategic action plan

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