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.
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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 January 2010, Living Cities launched The Integration Initiative (TII) to support ‘bold, promising approaches that have the potential to transform the lives of low-income people and the communities in which they live.’ … This report is a culmination of the first three years of…
“A hallmark of the contemporary international system is the complexity of problems facing actors today. Yet creative facilitators can build bridges between a wide array of actors to address these most difficult challenges. Multi-stakeholder collaboration (MSC) is a complex process often necessarily involving parties with…
“This document is a summary of the C&E Corporate-NGO Partnerships Barometer 2014. It is the fifth in a series of annual surveys of current practice, drivers, and key trends in cross-sector partnerships. The Barometer is based mainly on an online survey of 130 leading companies…
“STEM learning ecosystems harness unique contributions of educators, policymakers, families, and others in symbiosis toward a comprehensive vision of science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) education for all children. This paper describes the attributes and strategies of 15 leading ecosystem efforts throughout the country with…
“Collaboration: generally seen as a preferred method of attaining goals or outcomes, organizations and individuals often claim they engage in collaboration without either evidencing the claim or even fully understanding what collaboration really means or how to break down barriers to collaboration. This research is…
“Using a collective impact approach, cross-sector partnerships across the country are working hard to tackle challenges in education, crime, health, poverty, unemployment, and many other areas. … Public policymakers have been important participants in these … efforts and support the goals of collaboration nationwide. Too…
“This paper offers detailed suggestions for leaders of multi-sector initiatives working to generate collective impact on local community issues. It focuses on the critical early phases of the work and tackling issues such as poverty, education, and workforce preparation. Topics such as cultivating leaders, creating…
✴︎ Available only with purchase from publisher “Reliance on market forces can lead to underinvestment in social welfare enhancing innovation. The lack of new medical products in the area of neglected diseases is a case in point. [Research and development (R&D)] for neglected diseases has increased…
✴︎ Available only with purchase from publisher “Corporate social responsibility (CSR) literature suggests CSR initiatives extend beyond meeting the immediate interests of stakeholders of for-profit enterprises, offering the potential to also enhance performance. Growing disillusionment of for-profit business models has drawn attention to social entrepreneurship and…
This guide from Collaboration for Impact recommends, “Before you and your core collaborators consider starting a Collective Impact initiative, there are a few questions you should get clear in your collective minds.” The guide includes discussion of those questions: What type of social problem are…