Collective Impact Forum

How does a collaborative effort start planting the foundation for sustainability early on? 

In this podcast episode, we learn about the work of Child Safety Forward, a four-year demonstration initiative that engaged five sites across the U.S. in research, planning, and implementation around place-based strategies aimed at reducing child injury and fatality from abuse and neglect. The initiative, funded by the Department of Justice (...

We’re excited to share with you an episode of another podcast that we think you’ll find very valuable for your social change work. System Catalysts is a show that shares compelling stories from philanthropists and change-makers who are promoting systems change in their communities. They just concluded their first season of stories and we wanted to give them a shout-out and share with you one of their most recent episodes that we th...

In this episode, Director of Programs and Partnerships Courtney W. Robertson talks with Jamilica Burke and Melody Freeman from Seeding Success, an organization focused on supporting the wellbeing of children and families in Memphis, Tennessee.

In this conversation, they discuss how Seeding Success continues to keep equity at the center of their work, even as they navigate uncertainty and turmoil following the rise of opposition agai...

Local governments can play a critical and necessary role in advancing system and policy changes to support communities, but it can be challenging to understand the complexities within local government and how best to work together. 

In this episode, Forum Director of Programs and Partnerships, Courtney W. Robertson explores how to partner with local and city governments to advance collaborative work in a conversation with Anthony Sm...

Complex issues like homelessness can feel unsolvable or intractable, but that does not have to be the case. Through a commitment to a collective approach and strategies, communities can end homelessness.

We take a deep dive into this collective approach required to solve homelessness with Community Solutions, a nonprofit that is dedicated to ending homelessness. As part of their mission, Community Solutions leads Built for Zero, a m...

In this episode, we discuss the practice of community-led monitoring, and how this practice can help inform and influence collaborative change efforts.

To learn more about community-led monitoring, we talk with the International Treatment Preparedness Coalition (ITPC), a global network that works to achieve universal access to HIV treatment and other life-saving medicines. One of ITPC’s core strategies is to "watch what matters," wh...

In this episode, we discuss the power of community partnerships, and how necessary they are when working to support better outcomes for the whole community. 

In this discussion, we learn about the community partnership work of JumpStart, a service organization that focuses on supporting folks re-entering society after incarceration. Partnerships are a critical factor to support JumpStart’s participants in finding what they need so t...

What can it look like to build capacity to support authentic community listening?

In this podcast discussion, we learn about the community listening work supported by Foundation for a Healthy St. Petersburg, based in St. Petersburg, Florida. We hear from a group of partners that worked together to establish community listening to support the South St. Petersburg CRA (Community Redevelopment Area), and what they learned along the way...

How can you imagine and create a world for everyone?

In this new podcast episode, we’re sharing our conversation with Krista Tippett, which was the closing keynote conversation from the 2023 Collective Impact Action. Krista is a journalist, a National Humanities Medalist, a bestselling author, and founder of the On Being Project—a groundbreaking media and public life initiative that uplifts and celebrates deep thinking and conversat...

What does it mean to create truly accessible spaces within your collective work? 

At the 2023 Collective Impact Action Summit, we explored this question and more in a keynote conversation with Imani Barbarin (Crutches and Spice), who is a disability and inclusion activist, speaker and content creator.

In this fireside chat, Imani Barbarin and Miya Cain (FSG) discuss what components can create a truly accessible culture of Belonging, ...

What does it mean to create a culture of “belonging” within your collective work? 

At the 2023 Collective Impact Action Summit, we explored this question and more in a keynote conversation with Ruchika Tulshyan, award-winning inclusion strategist, speaker, and author of the bestselling book, Inclusion on Purpose: An Intersectional Approach to Creating a Culture of Belonging at Work.

In this fireside chat, Ruchika Tulshyan and Melody ...

Communities of practice are a valuable way of bringing partners together to connect and learn from each other to strengthen their collective work. It can also be very challenging to navigate the complexities that come with bringing a wide spectrum of partners together.

Founded in 2020, the Healthy Food Community of Practice has become a space for connection, learning, resource sharing, and action centered around the goal of helping ...

In this episode, we explore the topic of sharing power, which is a key component and strategy when advancing equity in collective impact work. But what can sharing power look like in practice? How are decisions made, and how is power distributed amongst a broad set of colleagues? 

To explore this topic, we learn about the work of Civic Canopy, a nonprofit that focuses on supporting collaborative efforts across Colorado. As part of t...

In this episode, we learn about how to build and strengthen partnerships with parent leaders so that the wide spectrum of parent voices and needs are kept at the center when supporting early relational health for families. 

To explore this topic and more, we learn from the national collective Nurture Connection and how their partnership with a diverse group of parent leaders has helped evolve and advance their work to support early ...

In this episode, we talk about building “collective power,” including what it means to build collective power and what factors can contribute to building it. 

To explore those questions and more, we learn about the Child Care NEXT coalition and how through advocacy work, they have developed a culture of collective power amongst their wide spectrum of partners and advocates. Joining us for this conversation is Alissa Marchant from In...

This episode is the second part of a two-part discussion that explores what practices can help a collaborative be more sustainable and resilient. For part 2, we welcome back our colleagues from the Tamarack Institute, Liz Weaver and Mike Des Jardins, who recently authored a new, free-to-access resource called “10: A Guide for Building a Sustainable and Resilient Collaboration.” In this second part, we discuss the practices and reso...

This episode is the first of a two-part discussion that explores what practices can help a collaborative be more sustainable and resilient. For this conversation, we welcome our colleagues from the Tamarack Institute, Liz Weaver and Mike Des Jardins, who recently authored a new, free-to-access resource called “10: A Guide for Building a Sustainable and Resilient Collaboration.” In this first part, we discuss tips, stories, and reso...

In this episode, we talk about “trusting the messiness,” and how one can balance navigating partnerships and managing expectations while participating in a long-term complex collaboration. 

To explore those questions and more, we learn about the collective impact work supported by Sagesse Domestic Violence Prevention Society which is based in Calgary, Canada. Joining us from Sagesse are Carrie McManus and Andrea Silverstone who shar...

We have a deep dive discussion about a new resource called the Racial Equity Toolkit that’s free to download and available now in the Collective Impact Forum library. The Racial Equity Toolkit is designed to support backbone staff and partners to operationalize racial equity throughout their collective impact work. We talk with toolkit authors Dominique Samari and Paul Schmitz about what’s in the toolkit and the ways that teams can...