Weekly Briefing, June 13 – 17

blogimage_dailybriefingEvery week, there are new intersector collaborations surfacing across the United States and new, fascinating research and commentary that provides insight into the intersector — the space where collaboration among government, business, and non-profit sectors enables leaders to share expertise, resources, and authority to address society’s most pressing problems. To keep our readers, practitioners and researchers alike, in the know, we compile a weekly briefing that captures these insights, and we publish it here, on our blog, every Friday. If you like this briefing, you should sign up for our newsletter for more in depth coverage of the intersector.

NCPPP announces winners of 2016 National Public-Private Partnership Awards
The National Council for Public-Private Partnerships announced the winners of the National P3 Awards last week. “NCPPP recognizes those organizations and individuals that advance the concept and implementation of public-private partnerships across the country,” said NCPPP President Sandra Sullivan. For a full list of winners, see this press release.

How “pay for success” investing programs can help fix social mobility in the U.S.
This Quartz article comes from staff at Urban Institute and the Kresge Foundation as part of a series addressing the question: How can we accelerate social mobility in America? “The structure of these deals can help getting and keeping the needed partners at the table,” they explained. “But arriving at such deals isn’t easy. Like all impact investing, the strategy depends on effective collaboration.”

NPS@100: Money woes force agency to hold a ‘bake sale for everything’
This discussion of the funding woes of the National Park Service as it celebrates its 100th anniversary comes from Environment and Energy Publishing. Facing insufficient funding from Congress, an inability to hire additional staff, and other issues, the NPS has turned to the private and philanthropic sectors for support. “‘National parks for the first time will depend on outside gifts to support their base budgets,’ said Jeff Ruch, Executive Director of Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility. The risk is that corporate donors will exert too much influence over park managers’ decisions, compromising the service’s mandate to keep parks ‘unimpaired,’ Rush said.”

Cengage Learning recognized at Clinton Global Initiative America for workforce training efforts in Detroit
Cengage Learning’s collective impact education efforts, which bring together McDonald’s, Michigan Virtual University, Matrix Human Services, and Kinexus, were recently recognized by the Clinton Global Initiative. “This program and others around the country are a testament to the positive impact education can have on an individual and a community. We hope to inspire even more creative public-private collaborations that will open access to workforce training programs for people in need,” said Ron Stefanski, Executive Director of Strategic Alliances, Cengage Learning. For more from Ron Stefanski on the program, see his guest post on our blog: Developing Detroit’s talent through collective impact.

With Success Boston, college completion rises, gaps persist
“With Success Boston’s first cohort having graduated last year and a White House grant currently funding a threefold expansion of the program, members of the education community gathered at The Boston Foundation on Monday to reflect on its effects thus far,” reports the Bay City Banner. “Speakers also praised what they said was a rare level of cross-sector collaboration driving Success Boston.”