Collective Impact, 10 Years Later

The year 2021 marks 10 years since the publication of the article “Collective Impact” in Stanford Social Innovation Review. Over the last decade, organizations working around the globe have applied the practice of collective impact to solving a broad range of social and environmental challenges, and the approach has been incorporated into the structure of national and local public programs in the United States and abroad.

We can attribute much of the growth, success, and sustained interest in collective impact to the learning and sharing of practitioners, funders, and many partners who have cultivated and worked to adapt the practice over time. Their experiences and feedback, as well as decades of collaborative work predating 2011, have contributed to the evolution of the approach, particularly around themes of equity, community ownership, power, data, and sustainability.

This series, sponsored by the Collective Impact Forum, a program of FSG and the Aspen Institute Forum for Community Solutions, will reflect on this evolution through articles, case studies, practitioner interviews, and roundtable conversations that highlight the range of ways this approach has taken root—and importantly, the impact it has had on improving outcomes for marginalized and oppressed communities. It will also present an adapted collective impact framework that centers equity and look ahead to how those working in social change can continue to support and strengthen collective impact work.

Ultimately, this series is a call to action for practitioners, funders, and social change leaders to design and implement cross-sector collaborations that focus on equity, community engagement, and power sharing in order to contribute to positive results and justice in their work. Indeed, during these times of ongoing crisis and intense polarization, it is critical that we work together to protect the most vulnerable in our communities, especially those most impacted by systemic racism, inequity, and poverty.

The Collective Impact Forum would like to thank the California Health Care Foundation for their direct support for this project. This project was also made possible in part by general support from The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation.

^{(Series illustrations by Hugo Herrera)}