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 used our signature Community Design Innovations model to work with National Healthy Start Association in Washington, DC. The specific focus of this work was on preparing national Healthy Start grantees to assume a greater role in functioning as the “backbone organization” (as described in the Collective Impact model) in their respective communities across the nation. The project consisted of an environmental assessment of the current landscape and identification of strategies for organizational transformation. The mission of the National Healthy Start Association is to be the nation's voice in providing leadership and advocacy for health equity, services, and interventions that improve birth outcomes and family wellbeing.
"Working with Collective Impact was wonderful. The facilitators were skilled, organized and had great vision of what our project needed in order to be successful. We still receive so many compliments on our finished product, and even better, it is still a relevant piece of information that our organization and our community rely on to proceed with accomplishing our goals." ~ Amanda Moore – Executive Director, Clay County Business Development Authority, Clay, WV
