promoting philanthropic leadership houston... · many people have responsibility ... •community...

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Workshop for:

Upskill Houston

July 1, 2015

Collective Impact

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Day 1 and 2 Workshop Agenda

Day 1, June 30th

12:30pm—5:30pm

• UpSkill Houston

• Collective Impact Overview

• Mindset Shifts in Collective

Impact

• Leadership in Collective

Impact

• Wrap-up

Day 2, July 1st

8:30am—12:30pm

• Implications of what we’ve

learned

• Key structures of collective

impact

• Readiness assessment

• Next steps and how to move

forward

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Reflection on Day 1

1. What is standing out to you from

yesterday’s discussion

2. What question would you most

like to see answered today?

Please discuss at your tables; we will

ask a few volunteers to share out

4

Key structures of collective impact

o Overall Organization

o Common Agenda

o Community Engagement

o Shared Measurement

o Backbone

Readiness assessment

Next steps and how to move forward

5

Collective Impact in action looks like this

partner-driven

action

strategic guidance

and support= community

partner (e.g.,

nonprofit, funder,

business, public

agency, parent)Community partners

working on strategies

Backbone

support

• Guides strategy

• Supports

aligned activities

• Establishes

shared

measurement

• Builds public will

• Advances policy

• Mobilizes

resources

Steering

committee

Work

group

Work

group

Work

groupWork

group

ChairChair

Chair

Chair

Chair

Chair

Chair

Chair

Common agenda and shared metrics

* Adapted from Listening to the Stars: The Constellation Model of Collaborative Social Change, by Tonya Surman and Mark Surman, 2008.

http://s.socialinnovation.ca/files/Constellation Paper - Surman - Jun 2008 SI Journal_0.pdf

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Many people have responsibility - yet no one single

person makes all decisions

Community

partner

Working Group

• Individual organizations and members of the community

(e.g, nonprofit, funder, business, public agency, student, parent,)

• Partners should have access to a variety of opportunities to

learn about and engage in the initiative, and will be key to

implementing strategies

• Ultimate “power” resides within the community at large

• Comprised of cross-sector community partners targeting

particular element of common agenda

• Designs and implements strategies, involving non-working group

members as needed

Steering

Committee

• Provides strategic direction for the initiative

• Champions the work

• Aligns own work to common agenda

• Some Steering Committee members serve on working groups

Backbone • Provides dedicated staff

• Supports the work of partners by assisting with strategic

guidance, supporting aligned activity, establishing shared

measurement, building public will, advancing policy, and

mobilizing resources

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CI efforts are structured and unfold over time with

identifiable stages of progress

Phase V

Sustain Action

and Impact

Components

for Success

Determine initial

workgroups and plan

backbone

organization

Launch work groups

“WGs” and select

backbone

organization

Identify champions

and form cross-

sector Steering

Committee “SC” to

guide the effort

Incorporate

community voice -

gain community

perspective and input

around issue

Engage community

more broadly and

build public will

Create common

agenda, clear

problem definition,

population level goal

Develop Blueprint

for Implementation;

identify quick wins

Map the landscape

and use data to

make case

Begin outreach to

community leaders

Develop high level

shared metrics and/or

strategies at SC level

Establish shared

measures

(indicators and

approach) at SC

and WG levels

Building out the

backbone

organization; evolve

WGs to meet

emergent strategy

Continue

engagement and

conduct advocacy

Refine strategies;

mobilize for quick

wins

Collect, track, and

report progress

(process to learn

and improve)

Analyze baseline

data to ID key

issues and gaps

Phase IV

Begin

Implementation

Phase III

Organize for

Impact

Phase II

Initiate Action

Governance

and

Infrastructure

Strategic

Planning

Community

Engagement

Evaluation

And

Improvement

Source: FSG Interviews and Analysis

Phase I

Assess

Readiness

Convene

community leaders

Hold dialogue about

issue, community

context, and

available resources

Determine

community

readiness; Create a

community

engagement plan

Determine if there is

consensus/urgency

to move forward

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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.

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o Common Agenda



o Backbone



1010

Common agendas must draw boundaries for the

work

• “What’s in” and “what’s out”: Establishing boundaries for what issues, players,

and systems to engage in the project is essential to its successful execution

• No set playbook: Determining boundaries is a situation-specific judgment call

• Loosely-defined and malleable: Boundaries change over time and subsequent

analysis or activity may draw in other issues, players, or systems

• Apply to geography: Discerning geographic boundaries requires same type of

judgment (e.g., city, state, national or global engagement)

Setting Boundaries Example: Teen Substance Abuse in Staten Island, New York

Youth Unemployment

Domestic Violence

Parental & Youth Social Norms

Prevention Activities

Treatment Activities

School Completion

Advocacy

State Level

Local Level

Alcohol

Mental Health

Parental Neglect & EndangermentAccess

Prescription Drugs

Methamphetamines

Tobacco

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All RGV learners will achieve a degree or credential that leads to a meaningful careerWe will achieve this by strengthening each step of the educational pathway; better connecting our

education system; and aligning community resources to provide the supports learners need to succeed throughout high school and postsecondary in order to pursue a meaningful career in the RGV and beyond.

OurVision

All RGV students graduate high school

college ready

All high school graduates transition

to postsecondary within a year

All postsecondary students can achieve a

degree or credential on time

OurGoals

Why This Work Will Succeed

The strategies we pursue are

transformational both for individual

institutions and the RGV at large

We collaborateacross institutions and sectors, and

invest the resources to ensure this

collaboration will be sustained

We are evidence driven in our

approach and use shared data and metrics to drive

constant improvement

across the region

Our work is community

centered and depends on the voices of many

organizations and individuals across

the RGV

All postsecondary graduates can be

employed within 6 months

We are focused on students

and their experiences,

strengths, challenges, and

aspirations

RGV FOCUSCommunities united for educational success

12Source: Channeling Change: Making Collective Impact Work, 2012

Shared Data and

Information Driven

Decisions and Policy

System Governance

and Coordination

Youth OutcomesCommunity Outcomes

• Community quality of life and safety are enhanced

because youth are held accountable in a fair and

just manner, and the system itself is held

accountable for positive outcomes

• Fewer delinquent acts are committed, both in initial

offenses and in reoffending

• Victims are given an opportunity to have a voice in

the process, and efforts are made to remedy harm

when possible

Effective Continuum of

Diversion, Supervision,

Treatment, and

Confinement

Accountability of

System and

Organizations Within

the System

Strategies for System Excellence1 2 3 4

Effectiveness Fairness Safety Accountability

Principles

• Youth are held accountable in a fair and just manner

that is consistent with adolescent development

• Youth are objectively assessed and receive timely,

effective services that build upon their strengths and

meet their needs

• Youth are successfully reintegrated into appropriate

education settings and the community when they

exit the system, supporting ongoing positive youth

development and reducing reoffending

Vision: Across New York State, the juvenile justice system promotes

youth success and ensures public safety

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o Common Agenda



o Backbone



FSG.ORG

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Community engagement – who is the “community”

we are engaging?

The person with the lived experience of the problem:

He or she wakes up each day in the midst of the problem,

and deals with its impact on his or her daily life,

and its impact on the lives of the people around him or her

Source: Adapted from Tamarack Institute

FSG.ORG

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Why engage those who have the lived experience

of the problem you are trying to solve?

1) Understand pressing systemic community challenges

o Begin a process of understanding the issue

o Clarify questions that arise during the process

1) Co-create solutions

o Spark innovative problem-solving rooted in the “lived-experience” of the community

o Identify and spread unique solutions that exist within the community

2) Verify the direction

o Get feedback on specific strategies and indicators from selected communities

3) Expand the reach of involvement

o Expand the reach of adoption of initiative strategies

o Evoke and sustain the will to take aligned action

1) Build community capacity to lead and sustain change

o Train stakeholders in skills of effective collaboration and strategy execution (e.g.,

shared measurement)

o Share resources, and learning across the community to support scaling best practices

1

2

3

4

5

Source: Adapted from Tamarack Institute: Community Engagement Continuum

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Design thinking can be a powerful way to engage

community

Design thinking is a deeply human process that

taps into abilities we all have but get overlooked by

more conventional problem-solving practices. It

relies on our ability to be intuitive, to recognize

patterns, to construct ideas that are emotionally

meaningful as well as functional, and to express

ourselves through means beyond words or

symbols.

- IDEO Website

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Key concepts of design

Empathy

Optimism

Experimentation

Demonstration (show, don’t tell)

Storytelling

Pattern recognition

FSG.ORG

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Community engagement can raise tricky questions

• Who in the community is particularly important to engage?

• How can we co-create solutions with stakeholders impacted

by the target issue as part of the Collective Impact process?

• How do we meaningfully engage new stakeholders in and on-

going initiative?

Balancing

Efficiency and

Effectiveness

Overcoming

Obstructive

Norms

Understanding

Who to Engage

and How

• How do we get historically isolated or combative sectors

speaking to each other?

• How do we overcome well entrenched, but misguided

(inconsistent with data) community perceptions that hinder

adaptive change?

• How do we balance speed of work with level of engagement?

• When are the right times to invest in broad-based

engagement?

• How can we ensure that community engagement is productive

for the initiative? How do we measure its success?

Source: Adapted from Tamarack Institute: Community Engagement Continuum

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o Common Agenda



o Backbone



FSG.ORG

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What is shared measurement?

Shared Measurement is not:

× Meant to measure the

impact of a single

organization or intervention

× Simple data collection

× Focused only (or mostly) on

programmatic measures

× Meant to be punitive

× Meant to foster competition

× A once-a-year report

× A retrospective evaluation

Shared Measurement asks

the questions:

WHAT progress are we

making?

HOW does this information

help us make better

decisions?

FSG.ORG

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Shared measurement is “tough but necessary”

“Shared measurement systems encourage local organizations to align their

efforts on shared outcomes, enable them to collectively track and evaluate their

collective progress (or lack of) and offer organizations opportunities to

benchmark their results against – and learn from – their peers”

But establishing a shared measurement system is easier said than done due to:

Agreement: getting diverse organizations tackling complex issues to agree

on a set of indicators that are shared and also reflect the nuances of their

work

Funder and policy silos: individual organizations have narrowly defined target

groups and guidelines for tracking and reporting data, driving inefficiencies

Cost: developing shared measurement systems is expensive – both in

terms of IT solutions and the data collection process

Qualitative data: many success measures cannot be quantified – proxies and

stories must be used to track shifts in systems change

Source: “Collective Impact and Shared Measurement: Tough but Necessary”. Mark Cabaj, The Tamarack Institute.

http://tamarackcci.ca/files/collective_impact_shared_measurement_-_m_cabaj.pdf

FSG.ORG

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The Road Map Project

Seattle

“The Road Map Project’s goal is to double

the number of students in South King

County and South Seattle who are on track

to graduate from college or earn a career

credential by 2020.

We are committed to nothing less than

closing the unacceptable achievement gaps

for low income students and children of

color, and increasing achievement for all

students from cradle to college and career.”

FSG.ORG

23

Groups were formed to just choose indicators

Identify

Indicators

Develop Work

GroupsTrack Progress and

Refine over Time

• Each group used criteria

to identify and prioritize

indicators

• Work group chairs met to

calibrate indicators

across cradle-to-college

continuum

• Short-list of top-level

indicators were selected

to set time-bound targets

• Additional supporting

indicators are also

tracked over time

• Four work groups

formed in early learning,

K-12 / in-school, K-12 /

out-of-school, post-

secondary)

• Groups were charged

with identifying

indicators of student

success for their part of

the cradle-to-college

continuum

• The Road Map

backbone (CCER)

issues baseline and

annual reports to track

progress on all indicators

where data is available

• A team of data experts

advises on indicators

over time so the list can

evolve as warranted

FSG.ORG

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Final indicators

Healthy and ready for

Kindergarten

Supported and successful in

school

Graduate from high school college and

career-ready

Earn a college degree or career

credential

• % of students proficient in:

- 3rd grade reading

- 4th grade math

- 5th grade science

- 6th grade reading

- 7th grade math

- 8th grade science

• % students triggering Early Warning indicators

• % of students who graduate high school on-time

• % of graduating high school students meeting minimum requirements to apply to a Washington State 4-year college

• % of students at community and technical colleges enrolling in pre-college coursework

• % of students who enroll in postsecondary education by age 24

• % of students continuing past the first year of postsecondary

• % students who earn a post-secondary credential by age 24

• % of children ready to succeed in school by kindergarten

Readiness AttainmentAchievement

Source: http://www.roadmapproject.org/

FSG.ORG

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Their baseline report helped them better

understand student success in the region

FSG.ORG

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The annual report revealed some surprises, and

illustrates how to use traditional data in new ways

Students Meeting Standards: 3rd Grade Reading

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o Common Agenda



o Backbone



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And now, the backbone...

Guide Vision and Strategy

Build Public Will

Support Aligned Activities

Mobilize Resources

Establish Shared Measurement Practices

Advance Policy


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It is not always easy to see the value of backbone

support work

The Role of Backbone Support Is Often Described with a Metaphor…

“(They are) kind of like the quarterback- doesn’t end up in the end zone,

but they’re the ones handing it off, making a pass or

calling a different play if the defense looks different.”

“I’m at a lot of events with people in the know who don’t understand what

these backbones do. But they are doing what they are supposed to do-

the work behind the scenes. They fill a role that, if it weren’t for them, no

one would be pushing certain items.”

“They are an umbrella that can say, ‘this is an

issue, let’s address it together.’”

“(The backbone) has also formed a bridge between

early childhood agencies, corporate leaders, and funders.”


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The backbone needs to fulfill the following functions


Admin Support• Schedule meetings, provide logistical support, manage overall timelines

• Set agendas for SC meeting

• Prepare presentation materials for SC meetings

• Run and facilitate SC meetings

• Communicate regularly with SC members

• Plan for SC leadership

• Support co-chairs in leading meetings

• Manage executive committee

• Data collection

• Analyze indicators to evaluate progress

• Manage process of defining and refining common

indicators

• Monitor and communicate baseline data

• Develop measurement capacity of partners

• Set agendas and prepare material

• Identify information needed to make decisions

• Conduct research to support decision making

• Connect WG to others in community

• Provide progress updates on shared indicators

to the WG

• Create WG reports to SC and identify areas of

overlap/coordination between WGs

• Create communications plan

• Develop communications collateral

• Support development of major progress reports

• Support SC and WG members in communicating

publically

• Support SC/WC community engagement plans

• Develop plan for furthering policy agenda

• Track all funding and potential funding sources

Steering Committee Leadership Shared Measurement

External Communications and

EngagementWorking Group Support

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Backbone leaders need the following major skillsets

Skillset Function

Strategic Skillset:

• Identify, research, and analyze information

needed to make decisions

• Recognize patterns and challenges to

achieving big-picture goals

• Find areas of coordination or gaps to fill

Servant Leadership Orientation:

• Seek to serve the community, not your

individual organization

• Perceived as neutral, listening, and

reflective

Community Organizing Mindset:

• Identify any and all partners and work with

all them to achieve goals

• Equip fellow partners with tools and

information

Steering Committee Leadership

Shared Measurement

Working Group Support


External Comm. and Engagement

Working Group Support


External Comm. and Engagement


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o Common Agenda



o Backbone



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Preconditions for Collective Impact

These preconditions create the opportunity and motivation to bring people together and

hold them in place until the initiative's own momentum takes over

Influential

Champions

• 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

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

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Form groups based on existing

collaborative efforts, and complete

the separate, “readiness

assessment” worksheet.

Discuss what key dimensions

need to be strengthened, and

which dimensions are strong

assets to build on.

We will return to the large group

and ask some groups to share

the results of their readiness

assessment.

FSG.ORG

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1. Where is momentum/readiness the highest?

2. What areas most need to be strengthened?

3. What is most needed to help accelerate UpSkill

Houston’s work?

4. What steps can you commit to for helping move the work

of Upskill Houston forward?

Full group discussion

An Initiative of FSG and Aspen Institute Forum for Community Solutions36

© 2014 FSG

Supporting the Growing Collective Impact

Movement at www.collectiveimpactforum.org

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