Collective Impact Blog

by Chris Thompson, director of regional engagement for the Fund for Our Economic Future

FSG, the Strive Network, Tamarack, and the Aspen Forum for Community Solutions recently hosted a three-day workshop for leaders from backbone organizations of mature collective impact initiatives. This blog is part of a series sharing learning and reflection from the workshop.

By: Karen J. Pittman, President and CEO of the Forum for Youth Investment

I knew something was up last winter when I received more than 20 e-mails in a span of 48 hours asking if I had read this new article in the Stanford Social Innovation Review. Kramer and Kania’s article on collective impact clearly struck a chord. It only took reading a few paragraphs to figure out why: They hit the “innovation” trifecta. Having chosen a topic we all care about and believe in – building partnerships and collaborations – they:

1. stated that most partnerships have limited impact (something we all know but don’t often say),
2. declared strong partnerships essential, because complex problems require collective impact strategies, and
3.  told us what we have to do to build collaborations that are up to the task.