Challenge 2025 Collective Impact Toolkit

Understanding Collective Impact

What is Collective Impact?

Collective Impact is a structured commitment between community partners from different levels of government, non-profit and private sector organizations who are invested in creating community change. Collective Impact strategies create places for Intersectoral partners to come together to solve problems in meaningful ways through systems change, resulting in sustainable impacts for the community.

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Collective Impact Forum
The Value of Backbone Organizations in Collective Impact
Tamarack Institute
Planning Your Backbone Support

Collective Impact of Challenge 2025

For a Collective Impact strategy to gain momentum, there needs to be an organization who has the infrastructure to commit dedicated human resources and backbone support to organize and mobilize partners involved in collective impact. For Challenge 2025, Mohawk College provided backbone support for the initiative through the Secretariat, a dedicated staff team with expertise in partnership building, project management and administrative communication. The Secretariat was also able to leverage Mohawk College resources to access marketing, financial, administrative and legal expertise. 

Understanding Systems Change

What is Systems Change?

Collective Impact strategies acknowledge the complex and dynamic networks and systems that comprise and shape communities and seek to engage the various agents and stakeholders who are a part of these systems. For widespread sustainable impact, shifts have to happen in the systems themselves. It is important to recognize that change in complex, dynamic systems cannot be imposed or forced; however, by understanding points of alignment, leverage, and opportunity, change agents can work together to influence change. This change requires transparent and reflective conversations across various Intersectoral partners who are willing to explore their role in existing systems and be open to creating change. 

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Moving from Vision to Implementation: Strategies for Systems Change in Collective Impact
Thinking Like a System and Leading with Humility
Shared Measurement

Systems Change of Challenge 2025

Members of the Mohawk College City School team spent time to understand the Ontario Works (OW) income support program policies and procedures with key local OW staff members, with the goal of identifying service gaps, intersections, and opportunities to build efficiencies and better serve shared participants through collaboration. Through this shared learning we came to better understand our respective systems’ parameters and limitations, and developed a shared language to support staff on both teams in the referral and support process. 

Building a Network

To support systems change, the network of a collective impact strategy needs to be comprised of the following:

• Members of the community whom the systems change will impact (including service recipients and those with lived experience);
• Service providers and organizations who understand the needs of the community; and,
• Decision makers and leaders from organizations who have access to resources and the authority to make a change in policy or practice.

Continuous work must be undertaken to ensure network members are engaged in meaningful ways and that there are ongoing efforts to ensure fulsome representation of populations, organizations, and sectors and systems impacted. 

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How to Partner for Impact: The Nuts and Bolts of Aligning Collective Impact Efforts
Turf, Trust, Co-Creation & Collective Impact
Stakeholder Engagement Wheel
Network Mapping 

The Challenge 2025 Network

The Challenge 2025 Stewardship table consists of various levels of municipal and provincial government, local non-profit organizations and human service providers, industry/sector representatives and private enterprises, and persons with lived experience (i.e., persons who have experienced un- or under-employment and/or poverty). In the Hamilton context it has been important to have an awareness of other existing tables discussing education and employment in the city and to not duplicate those conversations but instead for Challenge 2025 to serve as a larger hub with a focus on strategic conversations supporting systems change.

Building Community

Building community leads to a deepened understanding of shared goals and creates cohesion among the priorities and activities of the initiative to ensure they align with that of the community it serves. Building relationships requires dedicated efforts of the backbone support team to facilitate conversations and engagement and to build interest by ensuring stakeholders feel they are represented in the work of the collective impact and systems change initiative. 

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Empathy Map
How to Lead Collective Impact Working Groups: A Comprehensive Toolkit
Bringing an Equity Lens to Collective Impact
Collaborative Leadership

The Challenge 2025 Community

As the Challenge 2025 initiative has evolved there has been a great interest in Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) among all members. In response, the Secretariat has taken steps to support EDI awareness-raising activities. It is important to align activities with the interests of the Stewardship to build community amongst members. Critically, these activities must be done in a genuine and not token way. Opportunities for shared leadership, open discussion and authentic engagement with the collective must be created to build community among those involved in the initiative.