A précis of the Collective Impact approach presented by John Kania and Mark Kramer
Prepared by Dr Lydia Kilcullen and Ande Roestenburg from the University of Western Australia
The Collective Impact approach starts at the end – what is the desired change in the community - and
then works back, creating what Paul Schmitz (2012) calls ecosystems of not-for-profits, government
agencies, businesses, philanthropists, neighbourhood groups, and community leaders. These ecosystems
work collaboratively to create the strategies and activities needed to achieve the desired change and
success is measured by how much each player contributes to the common goal.
In 2011, John Kania and Mark Kramer, in the Social Innovation section of Stanford Review, published an
article where they articulated a way of solving social problems through collaboration:
"Collective impact: the commitment of a group of important actors from different sectors to a common
agenda for solving a specific social problem. 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 most collaborations, collective impact initiatives involve a centralised
infrastructure, a dedicated staff, and a structured process that leads to a common agenda, shared
measurement, continuous communication, and mutually reinforcing activities among all participants."
Kania and Kramer (2011)
In later articles, Kania and Kramer join with Fay Hanleybrown (2012) to present Collective Impact as an
alternative to what they term the Isolated Impact approach, where businesses, government and not-forprofit organisations work independently towards providing a solution to a social problem in a competitive
environment, isolated from each other.
In their original article, Kania and Kramer reflect on collaborations that have adopted a Collective Impact
approach and identify five conditions typically present:
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Common agenda: All participants have a shared vision for change including a common
understanding of the problem and a joint approach to solving it through agreed upon actions
Shared measurement: A common set of measures is developed to monitor performance, track
progress towards outcomes and learn what is and is not working in the group's collective
approach. Collecting data and measuring results consistently across all participants ensures
efforts remain aligned and participants hold each other accountable
Mutually reinforcing activities: Participant activities are differentiated while still being
coordinated through a mutually reinforcing plan of action
Continuous communication: Consistent and open communication is developed across the many
players to build trust, assure mutual objectives, and appreciate common motivation
Backbone organisation: A separate organisation(s) is created - with staff and a specific set of
skills - to serve as the backbone for the entire initiative and coordinate participating
organisations and agencies. This organisation provides overall strategic direction, facilitates
dialogue between partners, manages data collection and analysis, handles communications,
coordinates community outreach, and mobilises funding
Hanleybrown, Kania and Kramer identify three preconditions that should be in place before the
commencement of a Collective Impact initiative:
1. an influential champion (or small group of champions) who commands the respect necessary to
bring CEO-level cross sector leaders together and keep their active engagement over time
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2. adequate financial resources to last for at least two to three years, generally in the form of
at least one anchor funder who is engaged from the beginning and can support and mobilize
other resources to pay for the needed infrastructure and planning processes
3. the urgency for change around an issue. Examples of this are:
 crisis that has created a breaking point sufficient to convince people that an entirely new
approach is needed
 potential for substantial funding that might entice people to work together
 a fundamentally new approach to the problem
Based on their experience both as observers and contributors to Collective Impact initiatives, they also
suggest four distinct phases within a Collective Impact approach. The following table presents those
phases and the components for success within each:
In a thought provoking article, Marty Jacobs (2012) suggests the following questions should be asked
when considering whether the Collective Impact approach is appropriate:
Is this a complex problem, that is, one that can only be solved by involving multiple stakeholders?
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do we have the capacity to create the five conditions of Collective Impact?
do we have community support on this issue? Will we be able to engage stakeholders
successfully in this effort?
can we find backing for the backbone support organisation?
The Collective Impact approach is not without its critics, with some challenging the extent to which
funders lose control, the potential for the initiative to lose direction over time, and the inevitability of
conflict arising when those providing the solution have divergent or competing approaches.
Others identify critical sticking points including:
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the challenges or reaching agreement on shared measurements
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the need to develop of trust and honesty between the actors in the collaboration so that
the required engagement, deliberation, debate and conflict is constructive
the trap of placing a higher value on the things that can be more easily measured rather than
those that should be measured
that collaboration to solve a social problem must be done with communities and not to
communities and the need to engage community members as leaders and providers
Is Collective Impact a fad? The repackaging of an old idea? Or a paradigm shift? The Collective Impact
approach is certainly gaining traction in Canada and the United States with large-scale initiatives such as
Vibrant Communities and Strive achieving benefits for large numbers of people in poverty reduction and
education.
Some key links for further reading:
The original article by Kania and Kramer can be found here:
http://www.ssireview.org/articles/entry/collective_impact from that link you can follow the
development of their thinking.
Kania and Kramer are from FSG, a nonprofit consulting firm specialising in strategy, evaluation, and
research based in the U.S. Their website has an informative portal on Collective impact:
http://www.fsg.org/KnowledgeExchange.aspx
Hear about Dawn O'Neil and Kerry Graham were funded by the Centre for Social Impact to undertake a
US study tour on Collective Impact. Read about their learnings at: http://collectiveimpactaustralia.com/
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