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Collective Impact: Theory Versus Reality

By Melinda Mechur Karp & Valerie Lundy-Wagner
Collective impact is an increasingly popular approach to addressing persistent social problems, but such strategic, cross-sector collaboration is challenging. This brief draws on the experiences of five committed collective impact communities participating in the Ford Foundation’s Corridors to College Success initiative to expose some of the practical obstacles to translating the theory of collective impact into action. The authors highlight three major challenges faced by Corridors stakeholders: developing a shared understanding of collective impact work, maintaining organizational competencies in a coordinated system, and using data to support collective impact work. They also consider whether the incentives for collective impact are sufficient to drive the work despite the funding and capacity constraints faced by participating organizations. Thus, the brief provides a lens for understanding why well-intentioned collective impact efforts may not take root.
Download CCRC Brief No. 61
February 2016
  • Corridors of College Success

Related Publications

June 2016

Postsecondary Partnerships in Collective Impact

February 2016

Establishing the Backbone: An Underexplored Facet of Collective Impact Efforts

October 2015

Lessons From the Corridors of College Success Initiative: An Introduction

Additional Resources

For more policy briefs and fact sheets, visit CCRC’s Policy Resources page.

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