Collective Impact:Creating Large Scale Change

Transforming Philanthropy ForumCartagena, Colombia

May, 2011

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Corporate

Post

Secondary

Materials developed by Strive, a subsidiary of KnowledgeWorks. For more information, see www.strivetogether.org

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IsolatedImpact

Collective Impact

When individual organizations

demonstrate a successful intervention and then encourage others to

replicate

When organizations have the vision, leadership and resources to engage the

relevant stakeholders in a structured process to

address a specific social problem

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There Are Five Conditions for Collective Success

Collective Impact

Common Agenda

Shared measurement

Mutually reinforcing activities

Continuous communication

Backbone organizations

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The Collective Impact Approach to Solving Complex Social Issues Is Occurring Across Many Sectors

Collective Impact

Education

Environment

Healthcare

Economic Development

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Mindset Shifts

• Adaptive vs. Technical Solutions

• Silver Buckshot vs. Silver Bullets

• Credibility vs. Credit

Collective Impact

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Why Now? Why Colombia?

• An era of scarce resources

• Sector lines are blurring

• The web is making information sharing free and ubiquitous

• Recognition of tremendous inequalities

Collective Impact

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What Does it Mean for Funders?

• Be bold

• Be patient

• Be willing to fund the un-sexy

• Be leaders

Collective Impact

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‘There is nothing more difficult to take in hand, more perilous to conduct, or more uncertain in its success than to take the lead in the introduction of a

new order to things.’ — Niccolo Machiavelli