Community Impact Southern Tier Kids on Track and the Collective - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Collaborating for Community Impact

Southern Tier Kids on Track and the Collective Impact Model

The science of impact

• “Doing nice things for nice people”

vs.

• Understanding the problem and rationale for change
• Aligning methodologies for change to program goals
• Turning general goals into specific, measureable outcomes
• Assessing strategies against outcomes
• Continually learning and adjusting course for change

Large-scale social change

Why early childhood?

• Critical brain development occurs within the first 3 years.
• There is a direct link between academic performance at

third grade and the amount of words spoken in the home from ages 0-3.

• Research quantifies the correlations between poverty,

failure to read proficiently and failure to graduate

• As early as 18 months, income disparities begin to impact

language development.

Source: “The Early Catastrophe: The 30 Million Word Gap.” B. Hart and T. Risley; 2003.

Connection to the workforce

• Children who are unprepared to start kindergarten
• ften fall behind by third grade; it is nearly

impossible to catch up.

• Academic struggles in school are often indicators
• f life struggles in adulthood.
• Those who struggle in school

and in life will be challenged in the workforce.

Southern Tier Kids on Track

Getting kids ready

• Universal home visits, beginning at birth
• Build parent/caregiver capacity
• Developmental screening and intervention
• Optimal environments for learning
• Shared responsibility for success

Operating framework

Common agenda

Theory of change

Putting the pieces together

Evolution of the science

“Collective Impact”

By John Kania & Mark Kramer, Winter 2011

How different is it?

• Isolated intervention that alters conditions for participants of

individual programs - (program/initiative-level change) vs.

• Tenacious application of an evidence-based framework for

guiding community-wide efforts toward a common goal

• Broad-sector coordination that alters conditions at a global,

population level - (community/rate-based change)

Levels of change

The Five Key Conditions

Essential to success in large-scale social change efforts:

• Common agenda
• Shared measurement
• Mutually reinforcing activities
• Continuous communication
• Backbone support

(Version 2.0)

Common Agenda

All participants share a vision for change that includes

• A common understanding of the problem
• A joint approach to solving it through agreed-upon actions

(Community Aspiration)

Shared Measurement

(Strategic Learning) All participants agree on the ways success will be measured and reported – what will be measured and why.

• A short list of common indicators
• A reliable system for data collection and reporting

Mutually Reinforcing Activities

(High Leverage Activities) A diverse set of stakeholders engages in a set of complementary activities that magnify the shared results.

• Cross-sector planning and coordination
• Differentiated activities proven to contribute to the goal

Continuous Communication

(Inclusive Community Engagement) Players engage in frequent and structured, open communication.

• Builds trust and focus
• Assures mutual objectives
• Creates common motivation and accountability

Backbone Support

(Containers for Change) Funded staff with the appropriate skill set is dedicated to the initiative to provide ongoing support.

• Guiding the vision, strategy and mobilization of resources
• Supporting aligned activities and measurement practices
• Building public will and advancing public policy

Maintaining the Integrity

“Collective Impact” cannot be just a buzz word. It must be

• Consistently employing the five conditions of CI
• A data-driven, cross sector approach
• Intentional about building structures and relationships
• Empowering emergent, continuous learning.

Essential Mindset Shifts

Think differently…

• Who is involved?
• How do people work

together?

• How does progress happen?

A culture of learning

Rather than using evaluation to determine success or failure, use that information to adapt and improve!

• Ask WHAT
• Ask HOW
• Ask WHY
• and Ask OFTEN

The Equity Imperative

The missing dimension – EQUITY

• The 5 conditions alone are not enough.
• Without attention to equity, negative patterns can be

reinforced.

• Look closer at the data

Timelines for Change

Lessons Learned

Key lessons…

• This is long-term, HARD work!!
• It requires patience.
• Complexity does not require miracles.
• Success requires capacity.
• We must engage the community.
• The perspective of the funders must shift.
• It cannot be pass or fail.

A learning environment

• NOT success vs. failure
• Feedback loops that openly evaluate for what works

and what doesn’t, without fear of reprisal

• Use data as a means for changing course, where

needed

• Essential to continuous, forward progress

Early wins

• Common home visiting intake and referral process
• Guthrie Corning Hospital participation; conversations

for western expansion with U of R, Noyes, Jones

• Common kindergarten assessment tool in Steuben
• COMET shared database platform
• Family Resource Centers

And Dolly!

Is Collective Impact for you?

Readiness Assessment

Resources

Tamarack Institute http://tamarackcci.ca FSG - Collective Impact Forum http://www.collectiveimpactforum.org Center for the Developing Child, Harvard University http://developingchild.harvard.edu The Campaign for Grade Level Reading http://gradelevelreading.net Attendance Works http://attendanceworks.org National Summer Learning Association http://summerlearning.org

Stay in touch!

United Way of the Southern Tier

300 Nasser Civic Center Plaza, Suite 220 Corning, NY 14830 (607) 936-3753

Barbara Hubbell

Senior Director of Strategic Initiatives (607) 377-5833 bhubbell@uwst.org

THANK YOU!