Collective Impact: a systemic approach to social change

A focus on independent intervention can mean non-profit organisations work in isolation. In contrast, what has been termed 'Collective Impact' is based on the premise that organisations must coordinate their efforts and work together to create large scale sustainable social change.

Authored by John Kania and Mark Kramer from the Foundation Strategy Group (FSG) in the US, an article on Collective Impact introduces the philosophy as the "commitment of a group of actors from different sectors to a common agenda for solving a complex social problem" and discusses the potential in creating sustainable large scale social change.

Collective Impact works by establishing a "centralised infrastructure, a dedicated staff and a structured process" for participating organisations. Organisations adhere to the five conditions of collective success: (1) a common agenda, (2) shared measurement, (3) mutally reinforcing activities (4) continuous communication and (5) backbone organisation.

Kania and Kramer further explain, "Shifting from isolated impact to collective impact is not merely a matter of encouraging more collaboration or public-private partnerships. It requires a systemic approach to social impact that focuses on the relationships between organizations and the progress toward shared objectives. And it requires the creation of a new set of nonprofit management organizations that have the skills and resources to assemble and coordinate the specific elements necessary for collective action to succeed."

In New Zealand, resources on collective impact have been compiled on the Community Research website.

Tthe Clearinghouse published an Issues Paper on multi-agency collaboration and family violence in 2012. There is also an associated list of Tools to support multi-agency collaboration.

The Ministry of Social Development's Capability Investment Resource (Investing in Services for Outcomes) particularly focuses on collective impact initiatives and innovative collaborations. Applications for this funding are currently open. There is an Ideas Bank on MSD's website.

To learn more about Collective Impact visit the FSG website.

Image: Puzzle Pieces by Liza Licence: Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic (CC BY 2.0)