This is a great post. Cross-sector collaboration is too often neglected or used as a catchphrase by initiatives that are really just focused on bringing one sector to the table without properly understanding the intricacies of a given challenge. Bringing together people from different fields can allow people to see what will actually work in practice and keeps projects better focused on changing larger parts of the system. It seems like Living Cities is doing great work, and I had a couple of questions about The Integration Initiative:
1. How is TII engaging local community members to get their input and feedback? In other words, how is TII identifying community needs?
2. Working with the public sector is highly commendable, but how has Living Cities had to adapt when the public sector (or some entrenched interest group) blocks reform on “Essential systems, such as education and transportation?”
3. How can TII work to empower social entrepreneurs in the community who lack financial capital or face other resource constraints?
Kudos to Ben Hecht for a thoughtful commentary on the evolution of his thinking about social innovation and his recognition of the importance of dynamic collaboration. In today’s environment, collaboration is the onlly way to address long term economic and social challenges. The lessons from the Integration Initiative are well stated. I must reinforce the importance of actively engaging business leaders in the collaborative process. While it necessarsy to gain support from funders, nonprofits and the public sector, without business engagement the “challenge of capital” identified in this post cannot be effectively meet. Business civic entrepreneurs need to be involved based on their enlighted self-interest in helping to create a better community for their employees as well as the neighorhoods where they live. The “one table” described here must have many seats where each participant has an equal commitment and a clear understanding of why they need each other.
Great Article and work… and this may be somewhat redundant given Nabal’s post…
A decade or so ago I was working with another agency here in Southwest Michigan and we were involved in a pilot program for moving people from public assistance dependency to work, we were the only site selected (of 19) that met (exceeded) the goals of the program… the difference came at the beginning when 2 very smart ladies held a focus group and posed the question to the targeted population - “Why don’t you work?” After re-phrasing the question 3 or 4 times because they were getting no responses an elderly lady said quietly, “Ma’am we are not stupid, we understand the question… it’s just we have never been asked before.”
Many times I think noble attempts are made, with many good people representing a wide variety of disciplines to improve conditions of a particular group without consulting the members of the group we’re attempting to assist… something I may have missed here is the involvement and input of the individuals who comprise that targeted population. Perhaps their perspective would be beneficial in identification of cost effective and long term change.
That said, I do commend the on-going effort to revitalize the “lives” of those in these cities.
Superb work, the result of trying many things, before coming up with a solution.
We have just launched a website that allows people to sell their surplus items, and their expertise, with the seller/giver choosing the charity, from a number of charities, with 100% of the funds going to charity .
.(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
Huge fan of the work Living Cities is doing. Recently attended a National League of Cities’ Building Cities Building Futures forum here in chicago, where collaboration was evident on several distinct levels.
As a newly minted director at Habitat for Humanity Chicago South Suburbs, my charge (besides raising money and awareness) is to show how seemingly unrelated entities do in fact relate. That in order to help struggling cities (and suburbs) in an authentic and meaningful way, the boundary lines of municipal governments, public and private sectors must overlap in a way never before seen.
This is great stuff and representative of what we’re accomplishing just south of Chicago. See link below. Keep up the great work!
Ben Hecht and Living Cities are two of the best things going for the social change movement right now. Kudos to SSIR for helping to bring their work and thinking to more people in the field.
COMMENTS
BY Nabil Hashmi, Compass Partners
ON August 22, 2011 03:39 PM
This is a great post. Cross-sector collaboration is too often neglected or used as a catchphrase by initiatives that are really just focused on bringing one sector to the table without properly understanding the intricacies of a given challenge. Bringing together people from different fields can allow people to see what will actually work in practice and keeps projects better focused on changing larger parts of the system. It seems like Living Cities is doing great work, and I had a couple of questions about The Integration Initiative:
1. How is TII engaging local community members to get their input and feedback? In other words, how is TII identifying community needs?
2. Working with the public sector is highly commendable, but how has Living Cities had to adapt when the public sector (or some entrenched interest group) blocks reform on “Essential systems, such as education and transportation?”
3. How can TII work to empower social entrepreneurs in the community who lack financial capital or face other resource constraints?
Thanks, and keep up the great work!
BY Doug Henton , CEO Collaborative Economics
ON September 8, 2011 02:59 PM
Kudos to Ben Hecht for a thoughtful commentary on the evolution of his thinking about social innovation and his recognition of the importance of dynamic collaboration. In today’s environment, collaboration is the onlly way to address long term economic and social challenges. The lessons from the Integration Initiative are well stated. I must reinforce the importance of actively engaging business leaders in the collaborative process. While it necessarsy to gain support from funders, nonprofits and the public sector, without business engagement the “challenge of capital” identified in this post cannot be effectively meet. Business civic entrepreneurs need to be involved based on their enlighted self-interest in helping to create a better community for their employees as well as the neighorhoods where they live. The “one table” described here must have many seats where each participant has an equal commitment and a clear understanding of why they need each other.
BY Tom McNally
ON October 6, 2011 02:22 PM
Great Article and work… and this may be somewhat redundant given Nabal’s post…
A decade or so ago I was working with another agency here in Southwest Michigan and we were involved in a pilot program for moving people from public assistance dependency to work, we were the only site selected (of 19) that met (exceeded) the goals of the program… the difference came at the beginning when 2 very smart ladies held a focus group and posed the question to the targeted population - “Why don’t you work?” After re-phrasing the question 3 or 4 times because they were getting no responses an elderly lady said quietly, “Ma’am we are not stupid, we understand the question… it’s just we have never been asked before.”
Many times I think noble attempts are made, with many good people representing a wide variety of disciplines to improve conditions of a particular group without consulting the members of the group we’re attempting to assist… something I may have missed here is the involvement and input of the individuals who comprise that targeted population. Perhaps their perspective would be beneficial in identification of cost effective and long term change.
That said, I do commend the on-going effort to revitalize the “lives” of those in these cities.
BY Aidan Corless
ON October 7, 2011 06:07 AM
Superb work, the result of trying many things, before coming up with a solution.
We have just launched a website that allows people to sell their surplus items, and their expertise, with the seller/giver choosing the charity, from a number of charities, with 100% of the funds going to charity .
.(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)
BY Melvin Thompson
ON October 7, 2011 09:03 AM
Huge fan of the work Living Cities is doing. Recently attended a National League of Cities’ Building Cities Building Futures forum here in chicago, where collaboration was evident on several distinct levels.
As a newly minted director at Habitat for Humanity Chicago South Suburbs, my charge (besides raising money and awareness) is to show how seemingly unrelated entities do in fact relate. That in order to help struggling cities (and suburbs) in an authentic and meaningful way, the boundary lines of municipal governments, public and private sectors must overlap in a way never before seen.
This is great stuff and representative of what we’re accomplishing just south of Chicago. See link below. Keep up the great work!
http://www.metroplanning.org/news-events/blog-post/6249
BY Aaron Hurst, Founder of Taproot Foundation
ON October 8, 2011 04:41 PM
Ben Hecht and Living Cities are two of the best things going for the social change movement right now. Kudos to SSIR for helping to bring their work and thinking to more people in the field.