1. COLLECTIVE IMPACT
APRIL, 2015

2. Agenda 1
About FSG 2
Introduction to Collective Impact 3
How to Get Started 4
Evaluating Collective Impact 5
Q&A

3. FSG is a mission-driven consulting firm supporting leaders in creating large-scale, lasting social change
MISSION-DRIVEN
We are a nonprofit consulting firm specializing in strategy, evaluation and research, founded in 2000 as Foundation Strategy Group by Harvard Business School Professor Michael Porter and Mark Kramer
INTERDISCIPLINARY
We partner with foundations, corporations, nonprofits, and governments to reimagine social change in the areas of global development, health, education, environment, and community economic development
THOUGHT LEADER
Our cutting edge perspectives on philanthropy, corporate social responsibility and collective impact have been published in HBR, SSIR, Chronicle of Philanthropy, and the American Journal of Evaluation
GLOBAL
Our team of 150 works in Boston, Seattle, San Francisco, Washington DC, Geneva and Mumbai, bringing a combination of extensive on-the-ground experience in the social sector and world-class consulting skills

4. We work on Collective Impact in three mutually reinforcing ways
HANDS ON SUPPORT
THOUGHT LEADERSHIP
Education in the Rio Grande Valley
Childhood obesity in Dallas
Juvenile justice in NY State
Cradle to career in King County
Substance abuse on Staten Island
Pre-term birth in Fresno
LEARNING COMMUNITY
The Collective Impact Forum is a field-wide digital resource designed to help curate and disseminate knowledge, tools, and best practices that support effective collective impact

5. Agenda 1
About FSG 2
Introduction to Collective Impact 3
How to Get Started 4
Evaluating Collective Impact 5
Q&A

6. Juvenile Justice in New York
$286,000
89% recidivism rate =

7. New York State’s juvenile justice “system”

8. Tremendous progress across the state
Between 2010 and 2012:
Juvenile arrests were down by 24%
Juvenile admissions to state placement were down 28%
Between December 2010 and June 2013:
The number of youth in state custody declined by 45%
“Because we worked together on developing values and goals that everybody agreed to, people are now more inclined to act on those values. There is now a shared sense of why we’re doing things and, where we want to drive the system to be. The process of having sat at the same table and gotten to know one another has really changed our work and the level of trust we have in each other.”
Gladys Carrion, Commissioner Office of Children and Family Services
Source: NYJJ Progress Report, December 2013

9. We treat problems like juvenile justice as simple – but they’re not
Baking a Cake
Sending a Rocket to the Moon
Complicated
Complex
Raising a Child
Organizations, individuals, and agencies often treat social problems as simple or complicated
Source: Adapted from “Getting to Maybe”

10. Collective Impact presents a different approach to problem solving
Understand that social problems – and their solutions – arise from interaction of many organizations within larger system
Cross-sector alignment with government, nonprofit, philanthropic and corporate sectors as partners
Organizations actively coordinating their action and sharing lessons learned
All working toward the same goal and measuring the same things
Isolated Impact
Collective Impact

11. The are five conditions of Collective Impact1
Common agenda
All participants share a vision for change that includes a common understanding of the problem and a joint approach to solving the problem through agreed-upon actions 2
Shared measurement system
All participants agree on how to measure and report on progress, with a short list of common indicators identified and used to drive learning and improvement 3
A diverse set of stakeholders, typically across sectors, coordinate a set of differentiated activities through a mutually reinforcing plan of action
Mutually reinforcing activities 4
All players engage in frequent and structured open communication to build trust, assure mutual objectives, and create common motivation
Continuous communication 5
Backbone support
An independent, dedicated staff (with funding!) guides the initiative’s vision and strategy, supports aligned activities, establishes shared measurement practices, builds public will, advances policy, and mobilizes resources

12. Collective Impact is distinct from other forms of collaboration
Type
Definition
Collective Impact Initiatives
Long-term commitments by a group of important actors from different sectors to a common agenda for solving a specific social problem
Funder Collaboratives
Groups of funders interested in supporting the same issue who pool their resources
Public-Private Partnerships
Partnerships formed between government and private sector organizations to deliver specific services or benefits
Multi-Stakeholder Initiatives
Voluntary activities by stakeholders from different sectors around a common theme
Social Sector Networks
Groups of individuals or organizations fluidly connected through purposeful relationships, whether formal or informal

13. Collective Impact in action looks like this
Common agenda and shared metrics
strategic guidance and support
partner-driven action
= community partner (e.g., nonprofit, funder, business, public agency, parent)
Community partners working on strategies
Steering committee
Work group
Backbone support
Guides strategy
Supports aligned activities
Establishes shared measurement
Builds public will
Advances policy
Mobilizes resources
Chair
Chair
Chair
Chair
Work group
Chair
Chair
Work group
Chair
Chair
Work group
* Adapted from Listening to the Stars: The Constellation Model of Collaborative Social Change, by Tonya Surman and Mark Surman, 2008.

14. Collective Impact example: RGV Focus
In early 2012, FSG, together with Educate Texas, began working with a small group of district superintendents and college presidents in the Rio Grande Valley to form a cross-sector steering committee and launch a collective impact effort. This group of superintendents, presidents, funders, and community leaders met regularly to develop a common vision, align goals, and determine joint strategic priorities for increasing college readiness, access, persistence and success in the Valley. By the end of the 2012, the steering committee selected Educate Texas to serve as the long-term backbone of the initiative, and FSG began transitioning responsibilities to the Educate Texas team. Today, “RGV FOCUS” continues to thrive as a collective impact effort focus on ensuring that “all learners earn a degree a credential that leads to a meaningful career.” As a recent sign of the progress, RGV FOCUS facilitated a process for all 37 school districts to agree on a common definition and course for determining college readiness, that is now accepted by all five institutions of higher education in the region.

15. Agenda 1
About FSG 2
Introduction to Collective Impact 3
How to Get Started 4
Evaluating Collective Impact 5
Q&A

16. Preconditions for Collective Impact
Credible leaders who can inspire people from various organizations to work together
Focused on solving problem but willing to allow participants figure out answers for themselves
Influential Champions
Urgency for Change
Critical, complex problem in the community
Frustration with existing approaches
Availability of Resources
Committed, potential funding partners with sustained funding for at least 3 – 5 years
Basis for Collaboration
Trusted relationships among cross-sector actors
Presence of existing collaborative efforts
These preconditions create the opportunity and motivation to bring people together and hold them in place until the initiative's own momentum takes over

17. Phases of Collective Impact
Governance
and
Infrastructure
Strategic
Planning
Phases of Collective Impact
Community
Engagement
Time (in months)
1-3
2-4
3-6
4-8 4+
Phase I
Assess Readiness
Phase II
Initiate Action
Phase III
Organize for Impact
Phase IV
Begin Implementation
Phase V
Sustain Action
and Impact
Components for Success
Evaluation
And
Improvement
Convene community leaders
Identify champions and form cross-sector Steering Committee “SC” to guide the effort
Determine initial workgroups and plan backbone organization
Launch work groups “WGs” and select backbone organization
Building out the backbone organization; evolve WGs to meet emergent strategy
Hold dialogue about issue, community context, and available resources
Map the landscape and use data to make case
Create common agenda, clear problem definition, population level goal
Develop Blueprint for Implementation; identify quick wins
Refine strategies; mobilize for quick wins
Determine community readiness; Create a community engagement plan
Begin outreach to community leaders
Incorporate community voice - gain community perspective and input around issue
Engage community more broadly and build public will
Continue engagement and conduct advocacy
Determine if there is consensus/urgency to move forward
Analyze baseline data to ID key issues and gaps
Develop high level shared metrics and/or strategies at SC level
Establish shared measures (indicators and approach) at SC and WG levels
Collect, track, and report progress (process to learn and improve)

18. Program and service providers are critical to Collective Impact and can play any number of roles
Program and service providers can help catalyze a call to action for a more comprehensive, system-wide approach
A representative from the program or service provider serves as a member of a Collective Impact initiative’s steering committee
A representative from the program or service provider serves as a member of a Collective Impact initiative’s working group
Program and service providers align their activities and goals to the common agenda and shared measurement system
Program and service providers rarely serve as the backbone because backbones need to be neutral; however, this is not a hard and fast rule

19. Funding plays several roles in Collective Impact  
Catalyzing the Collective Impact process
Funding for data collection / research to make the case for Collective Impact
Funding for third party facilitator to create Collective Impact initiative before backbone can take over coordination
Building new infrastructure
Funding for the backbone infrastructure (circa 3 staff members)
Funding for shared measurement systems
Funding for trainings to increase stakeholder expertise in key skill sets
Supporting mutually reinforcing activities
Funding for research on evidence-based practices
Aligning funding with the common goals / measures of the effort
Funding for discrete initiatives identified through the effort (i.e. gaps, new interventions, scaling what works)

20. Collective Impact requires mindset shifts
Technical solutions to problems
Adaptive solutions to problems
Focus on evidence
Focus on evidence and relationships
Content Expertise
Content and context expertise
Silver bullet
Silver buckshot
Credit hoarded
Credit as shared currency
Source: Channeling Change: Making Collective Impact Work, 2012; Essential Mindset Shifts for Collective Impact; 2014.

21. Agenda 1
About FSG 2
Introduction to Collective Impact 3
How to Get Started 4
Evaluating Collective Impact 5
Q&A

22. Evaluating CI as a Complex Intervention
Evaluating Collective Impact requires a mindset shift for many practitioners
Typical Focus of
Program Evaluation
Evaluating CI as a Complex Intervention
Assessing the impact of a specific intervention
Assessing multiple parts of the system, including its components and connections
Evaluating effects and impact
according to a predetermined set of outcomes
Evaluating intended and unintended outcomes as they emerge over time
Using logic models that imply cause and effect, and linear relationships
Evaluating non-linear and non-directional relationships between the intervention and its outcomes
Embedding feedback and learning through the evaluation
Providing findings at the end of the evaluation

23. It’s important to use both shared measurement and evaluation to understand effectiveness and impact
Evaluation refers to a range of activities that involve the planned, purposeful, and systematic collection of information about the activities, characteristics, and outcomes of a CI initiative
Evaluation
Shared Measurement
Systems (SMS)
Shared measurement systems (SMS) use a common set of indicators to monitor an initiative’s performance and track its progress toward goals
SMS can be both an input to evaluation (by providing data and/or shaping evaluation questions) and an object of evaluation

24. Agenda 1
About FSG 2
Introduction to Collective Impact 3
How to Get Started 4
Evaluating Collective Impact 5
Q&A

25. Questions? Matt Wilka matthew.wilka@fsg.org Marcie Parkhurst

26. Additional resources
Foundational research on Collective Impact These articles are available at
Collective Impact (Winter, 2011) – Defines the five conditions and provides examples
Channeling Change: Making Collective Impact Work (January, 2012) – Offers advice on implementing the principles of collective impact
Understanding the Value of Backbone Organizations in Collective Impact (July, 2012) – Explores how six backbone organizations support collective impact
Embracing Emergence: How Collective Impact Addresses Complexity (January, 2013) – Explores the roles of reflection, learning, and adaptation in the context of collective impact
Recent research on the practice of Collective Impact
Collective Insights on Collective Impact (August, 2014)
A collection of thought pieces from 22 practitioners, funders, community organizers considering topics such as public policy, power, and community engagement
Guide to Evaluating Collective Impact (May, 2014)
Offers advice on performance measurement and evaluation in the context of collective impact. Includes mini-case studies as well as evaluation questions, outcomes, and indicators
Collective Impact for Opportunity Youth (2012)
Provides a framework for using collective impact as an approach to improving outcomes for Opportunity Youth (youth between the ages of who are neither enrolled in school nor participating in the labor market)