Collective Impact is working with faculty members of the University of Tennessee Knoxville, Center for Sustainable Business and Development, Department of Political Science, and Department of Retail, Hospitality, and Tourism Management to conduct a research project to better understand Appalachian tourism and identify opportunities to grow tourism activities and encourage business development throughout the region. The project is funded through a competitive grant from the Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC) - a federal economic development agency. The project is the largest and most comprehensive study of tourism ever conducted by the commission, which covers 205,000 square miles across 420 counties in 13 states. Results of the study will help us better understand the state of tourism of the region, new growth areas for tourism in Appalachian communities, and best practices and successful strategies to help the communities succeed. The project will use research, surveys, site visits, and focus groups as part of the research method. The project also will identify communities to use as case studies to illustrate local tourism success stories and best practices for tourism business development.

Collective Impact worked with the Hancock County, Marshall County and Wetzel/Tyler County Health Departments to develop three-year strategic plans to provide a road map for the future. Collective Impact also worked with the Marshall County and Wetzel /Tyler County Health Departments to update their Threat Preparedness community plans. For all projects, community stakeholders were engaged through community discussions. In general, the mission of the health departments in WV is to improve the wellbeing of communities by protecting against public health threats, preventing diseases, and promoting healthy living through education, regulation, and community partnerships.

“Collective Impact made it easy for us to share ideas and engage community partners which lead to a comprehensive product with well-defined deliverables and dates of completion.  I look forward to working with them again in the future.” ~ Ronda Francis, Administrator, Marshall County Health Department, Moundsville, WV

The Teachers College of Columbia University was the first and largest graduate school of education in the United States and is perennially ranked among the nation’s best. With financial support from the Wallace Foundation, the Teachers College engaged in research relating to collective engagement around education reform.  The report describes development in the new generation of cross-sector collaborations for education and presents findings from a scan of initiatives across the United States. In this report, Collective Impact, LLC is identified as the first entity to coin the term "Collective Impact" in the early 2000's (page 6, footnote 7). This is an instructive example of how cross-sector collaborations have been bubbling up for several decades. Read the article by clicking here!