Mark Kramer spoke at the Points of Light Conference on Volunteering and Service. I have been a fan of Mark, and his colleague Michael Porter, for many years. Together they launched the Shared Value concept that I am a faithful believer. Mark spoke about Collective Impact, another important concept that really has the power to make change if people spend the time necessary, as well as putting turf wars aside, to really solve a problem.
“Collective Impact is the commitment of a group of actors from different sectors to a common agenda for solving a complex social problem. In order to create lasting solutions to social problems on a large-scale, organizations — including those in government, civil society, and the business sector — need to coordinate their efforts and work together around a clearly defined goal.”
There are Five Conditions of Collective Impact Success: Common Agenda, Shared Measurement, Mutually Reinforcing Activities, Continuous Communication and Backbone Organization. An example Mark used was the cradle to career approach for a child. If all of the organizations that touch a child’s life, in school, after school, etc. were to coordinate the “care and feeding” of that child, along with the parents of course, “it would actually make it easier as each member of the team knew that their backs were covered and they can focus on the task they are responsible for. This versus the “one class at a time” approach.
His talk really made an impression and “collective impact” became the buzz words of the corporate track at the conference. It’s hard work to do, but the outcomes appear to be well worth the effort.