Ad Hoc Workgroup - A path forward for exploring collective impact opportunities

My understanding is that the following information has been reviewed by meeting participants and is open to the public. Its purpose seems to be to clarify the purpose of the "ad hoc" committee and to allay some of the concerns expressed on social media and the public media about the ad hoc committee. 

Though not its detail, I myself have known superficially about the effort of attempting to encourage more collaboration among public/private (ie: government, social, commerce) sectors from the Facebook Coffee with Local Leaders bi-weekly meetings.

I also believe we need more collaboration and less competition. And having an "ad hoc committee" is a small and informal attempt toward encouraging dialog and collaboration.

Seeing now the reaction such well intentioned effort could stir, I will suggest that such community effort in order to gain trust and legitimacy and have traction should adopt a more formal structure and process.

What we need is a systems approach to collaboration. And the Collective Impact model is as good as any. According to Wikipedia, the CI model requires the following 5 elements:

• Common Agenda: All participating organizations (government agencies, non-profits, community members, etc.) have a shared vision for social change that includes a common understanding of the problem and a joint approach to solving the problem through agreed upon actions.
• Shared Measurement System: Agreement on the ways success will be measured and reported with a short list of key indicators across all participating organizations.
• Mutually Reinforcing Activities: Engagement of a diverse set of stakeholders, typically across sectors, coordinating a set of differentiated activities through a mutually reinforcing plan of action.
• Continuous Communication: Frequent communications over a long period of time among key players within and across organizations, to build trust and inform ongoing learning and adaptation of strategy.
• Backbone Organization: Ongoing support provided by an independent staff dedicated to the initiative. The backbone staff tends to play six roles to move the initiative forward:^[1] Guide Vision and Strategy; Support Aligned Activity; Establish Shared Measurement Practices; Build Public Will; Advance Policy; and Mobilize Funding.^[6]

April Suitor had presented the Collective Impact model in March 2013 to CNG.

Given the scope of change that is occurring in our community and the lack of trust that exists, the time is ripe for a leader to step up to sponsor a systems approach to enable collaboration.