Whether you’re working on a local collective impact initiative or a national public-private partnership; whether you’re a practitioner or a researcher; whether you’re looking for basics or a detailed look at a particular topic, our Resource Library can help you find the information and tools you need for your cross-sector thinking and practice. The Library — which includes resources from research organizations, advisory groups, training organizations, academic centers and journals, and other sources — spans issue areas, sectors, and partnership types.
Learn More
There are a number of academic courses, programs, and certificates offered in the United States in which cross-sector collaboration is a major theme. We hope this list will be useful for educators who are interested in how this topic is being taught at universities across the country…
In this paper, Living Cities offers “a strategic framework for cross-sector partnerships including describing and defining the traits that make up a strong foundation, factors that influence success, and behaviors of high-impact efforts. In addition to the theory, the paper steeps these ideas in four…
This landmark SSIR article introduced the concept of collective impact and its five conditions of collective success. “Collaboration is nothing new. The social sector is filled with examples of partnerships, networks, and other types of joint efforts. But collective impact initiatives are distinctly different. Unlike…
✴︎ Available only with purchase from publisher “Theoretical and empirical work on collaboration has proliferated in the last decade. The authors’ 2006 article on designing and implementing cross-sector collaborations was a part of, and helped stimulate, this growth. This article reviews the authors’ and others’…
“This report focuses specifically on a cross-sector collaborative effort to significantly reduce traffic congestion in the Twin Cities metropolitan area of Minnesota. The organizers of the program concluded that a collaborative, multi-modal approach was crucial to making real headway on a longstanding, costly, nearly intractable…
“In Boston, Massachusetts, the Boston Housing Authority, Boston Public Health Commission, the city’s Inspectional Services Department, the Boston Foundation, and local universities and medical institutions have come together over the last decade-plus to address the intersection of health and housing. Motivated by a desire to…
“This case study summarizes recent efforts to revitalize downtown Buffalo and its neighboring waterfront. Like many Rust Belt cities, Buffalo suffered significant economic downturn and population loss in the latter decades of the twentieth century. Now, policymakers are attempting to bring new life to their…
“A county government, regional water authority, sovereign Indian tribe, and church come together to develop a sewer facility. While the initial success solved an immediate problem, longer-term implementation faces significant obstacles, demonstrating how challenging collaboration is beyond initial agreement.”
“The Santa Cruz Mountains Stewardship Network is a collaboration of nineteen federal, state, and county agencies, land trusts, nonprofits, special districts, research institutes, a Native American tribal band, and a timber company, formed in 2014 to improve land stewardship in the Santa Cruz Mountains region…
✴︎ Available only with purchase from publisher “Given the complexity of today’s social and political dilemmas, a common method of program and policy implementation is surfacing in the form of interorganizational, cross-sector goal-directed networks. This article applies the ‘Core Dimensions of Connectivity’ framework to analyze…
“Public–private partnerships (PPPs), revenue sharing agreements, and pay-for-performance arrangements are examples of resourceful new approaches to funding and financing smart cities. Investment vehicles like these go beyond traditional debt instruments to ensure less risk and more reward for all stakeholders.” This Deloitte report looks at…
“Homelessness among military veterans has long been an endemic problem at the intersection of multiple public-health disciplines,” writes William D. Eggers in this Governing article. “Issues from substance abuse to housing prices to mental health care to re-training workers to disability access all contribute to…
“Transportation, social support networks, employment, education, housing, and income contribute to up to 40 percent of a person’s overall health, and county policies can significantly impact these social determinants. Many counties have fostered collaboration across the numerous sectors that affect social determinants in order to…
In this contribution to Governing, Don Kettl argues, “There just isn’t an easy way to solve the infrastructure problem we’ve allowed to grow and fester for a generation. To get the money it needs, government is going to have to attract substantial private investment. That,…
✴︎ Available only with purchase from publisher In this contribution to SSIR, urban planner Elwood M. Hopkins discusses how “Detroit’s experiences hint at a model where philanthropy and business routinely supplement and complement government.” He writes, “prior to Detroit’s bankruptcy, the city had already established…