Creating a collaborative that moves the needle

I wanted to share a recent newsletter (below) from a Canadian site that I have been following for the past few years. It’s called Tamarack and the focus is on authentic community engagement. The Institute and its website draw lessons and provide tools and examples from across Canada, the US and elsewhere.  (It’s sometimes too easy for us to think we are the only ones wrestling with these issues!)

I was particularly interested in the second feature article about the White House Council on Community Solutions and the new whitepaper on Community Collaboratives. Based on an analysis of 12 “needle-moving” collaboratives, they highlight some core principles of collaboratives, characteristics of success, and supportive resources needed for collaboratives to thrive. There are important lessons about the need for sufficient planning time, dedicated staff support, and ownership by community members.  I don’t think the findings are surprising but it’s nice to see them together in one place!  For example, successful community collaboratives require:

• Long-term investment in success
• Cross-sector engagement
• The use of data to set the agenda over time
• Community members as partners and producers of impact
• Dedicated capacity and appropriate structure
• Sufficient resources

Finally, you may also be interested in this new report from the Bridgespan Group which reviewed more than 100 collaboratives and drew important lessons, including the promise and the risks associated with this kind of effort.

New Bridgespan Report on Community Revitalization Efforts
http://unca-acf.org/?p=4907

What do you find is needed to collaborate effectively? What lessons have you learned from other collaboratives that have moved the needle to improve community conditions?

Read Full Post »