Collective Impact is working with the Joint Commission on Sports Medicine and Science (JCSMS) to engage its membership in the Collective Impact approach. JCSMS serves as a convener and catalyst for cooperative ventures. The Collective Impact approach is a commitment of a group of individuals from different sectors to a common agenda for solving a specific social problem, using a structured form of collaboration. The concept of collective impact hinges on the idea that organizations need to coordinate their efforts and work together around a clearly defined goal if they are to create lasting solutions to social problems on a large-scale. This approach was highlighted in a Stanford Social Innovation Review article titled “Collective Impact”. More recently, with financial support from the Wallace Foundation, the Teachers College of Columbia University engaged in research relating to collective engagement around education reform. Their report (Collective Impact and the New Generation of Cross-Sector Collaborations for Education) describes the development of cross-sector collaborations and presents findings from a scan of initiatives across the United States. With assistance from Collective Impact, JCSMS membership is exploring how the model might be used to address relevant issues facing their member organizations.

Collective Impact worked with the West Virginia Affordable Housing Trust Fund (WVAHTF) to conduct an analysis of the affordable housing system in West Virginia in order to identify internal and external challenges/barriers related to accessing necessary funding for affordable housing development projects in the state. A planning team was convened and primary and secondary research was conducted to inform the creation of a state-wide action plan that includes specific strategies to address capacity within local housing agencies/organizations and to work toward systemic changes in the affordable housing system at the state and federal levels. Many new state initiatives have launched from the recommended strategies identified in this plan (i.e., Volunteer Housing Program, Nonprofit Capacity Building Initiative, West Virginia Housing Policy Group, etc.). The mission of the WVAHTF is to assist West Virginia communities in meeting affordable housing needs through financial resources, partnerships, and planning.

“My personal experience with Bruce Decker and Collective Impact has actually saved my hometown by meeting, talking about the problems, working on issues, and collectively coming up with solutions by creating a plan to alleviate substandard housing and provide quality homes for all of Wayne County.  We have actively started a Neighborhood Association that is over 100 members strong and are continuously working to make not only our town, but every town in Wayne County a better place.” ~ Rose Meredith - Executive Director, Wayne County Community Services Organization, Inc., Huntington, WV