GLOSSARY

Practices

A practice is made up of mindsets and a repetition of activities, focusing on skill mastery in service of a particular goal.

The Collective Impact Forum defines collective impact as “a network of community members, organizations, and institutions who advance equity by learning together, aligning, and integrating their actions to achieve population and systems level change.” [1]

The Stanford Social Innovation Review goes further to outline how “collective impact initiatives involve a centralized infrastructure, a dedicated staff, and a structured process that leads to a common agenda, shared measurement, continuous communication, and mutually reinforcing activities among all participants.” [2]

Collective Impact

  • Create a common agenda—coming together to collectively define the problem and create a shared vision to solve it.

  • Establish shared measurement—tracking progress in the same way, allowing for continuous learning and accountability.

  • Foster mutually reinforcing activities—integrate the participants’ many different activities to maximize the end result.

  • Encourage continuous communication—this builds trust and strengthens relationships.

  • Support of a strong backbone—having a team dedicated to aligning and coordinating the work of the group. [1]

When to use Collective Impact

To address large-scale, complex issues experienced by a community—such as reducing incarceration rates or childhood hunger—that require multi-faceted and coordinated efforts.

What Collective Impact invites us to do

  • Place equity at the core of all social interventions

  • Seek out opportunities to partner with other organizations cooperatively instead of competitively

  • Think in terms of mutual benefit and shared measurement

  • Disavow quick-fix, independent action in favor of cross-sector coordination and emergence

References

[1] Collective Impact Forum
 https://collectiveimpactforum.org/what-is-collective-impact/

[2] Stanford Social Innovation Review
https://ssir.org/articles/entry/collective_impact#

Systems thinking (or systems innovation) is “a new approach to innovation that tries to tackle complex social and environmental challenges using more holistic approaches. It aims to change the underlying structure of a system, thus potentially enabling a more transformational kind of change—systems change—rather than incremental ‘innovation as usual.’” [3]

Michael Goodman explains that systems thinking is “also a sensitivity to the circular nature of the world we live in; an awareness of the role of structure in creating the conditions we face; a recognition that there are powerful laws of systems operating that we are unaware of; a realization that there are consequences to our actions that we are oblivious to.” [4]

Systems Thinking

When adopting a systems thinking approach, there are multiple layers of influence to explore, often represented as an iceberg.

Events—what is happening right now? What behaviors do we observe? If we focus on events, we’re reacting.

Patterns & Trends—what events have unfolded over time? What themes become apparent? If we identify patterns, we’re anticipating.

Underlying Structures—what has influenced these patterns and how are they interconnected? Where do we draw the line around this particular system? If we unpack structures, we’re designing.

Mental Models—what assumptions, beliefs, and values do people hold about the system? If we understand mental models, we’re transforming. [5]

Systems thinking and human-centered design are complementary, but start from fundamentally different positions. Human-centered design is “a bottom-up approach—looking in detail at a specific problem statement, empathizing with its users and developing solutions to target them.” Whereas systems thinking is “a top-down approach—understanding the bigger picture, from policy and economics to partnerships and revenue streams. Systems thinking unpacks the value chain within an organization and externally.” [5]

What Systems Thinking invites us to do

  • Visually document the shape and dynamics (i.e., Archetype) of a system in order to understand and engage it

  • Think big picture and look for patterns over time

  • Avoid too-simplistic, single-direction causal explanations for complex events

john a. powell, who coined the term targeted universalism, defines it as “setting universal goals pursued by targeted processes to achieve those goals. Within a targeted universalism framework, universal goals are established for all groups concerned. The strategies developed to achieve those goals are targeted, based upon how different groups are situated within structures, culture, and across geographies to obtain the universal goal.” [6]

Targeted Universalism

When to use Targeted Universalism

  • Building organizational or group culture aligned to values and vision

  • Planning and implementing solutions to a social issue (e.g., addressing food deserts)

What Targeted Universalism invites us to do

  • Seek opportunities to create belonging among diverse groups

  • Articulate shared goals that benefit whole organizations, communities, and systems

  • Craft inventive and specific interventions for individuals that align to the overall goal

References

[6] Othering & Belonging Institute
https://belonging.berkeley.edu/targeted-universalism

[7] Targeted Universalism Explainer (video)
https://belonging.berkeley.edu/targeted-universalism-animated-video