The Need for Collaboration and Collective Impact in Solving Social Issues

As we’ve seen, social problems are racing ahead, far outpacing the solutions we’ve got. Traditional systems—markets, governments, and social sectors—have their limits.

While business and entrepreneurship have been suggested as heroes to save the day, they can’t tackle every issue on their own. That’s where collaboration comes in, offering the promise of collective impact, as Kania and Kramer have outlined. And speaking of Kramer, he’s the mastermind behind the Creating Shared Value (CSV) concept with Michael Porter.

Take the “Shape Up Somerville” program, for example. Christina Economos, a nutrition professor at Tufts University, kicked off this initiative to tackle childhood obesity. The program rallied a diverse crew from Somerville, Massachusetts—schools, local businesses, NGOs, government officials, and community members—to set goals and craft action plans together. Schools dished out healthy meals and nutrition education, local eateries served up low-fat, nutritious fare, and Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts footed the bill. The city chipped in with a farmers’ market and healthy lifestyle perks, like gym membership discounts. They even jazzed up sidewalks and crosswalks to encourage more walking among kids. Result? A notable drop in body mass index (BMI) among the little ones.

Another fun example comes from Mars—the candy giant behind M&M’s, Snickers, and Dove. Mars teamed up with NGOs, local governments, and even their competitors to improve the lives of over half a million cocoa farmers in Côte d’Ivoire. By enhancing farming practices and plant stocks, they aimed to boost productivity and farmers’ incomes, making their supply chain more sustainable. The local government supported farmers, the World Bank invested in new roads, and NGOs stepped in to upgrade health care, nutrition, and education.

These examples show that tackling big, complex social issues requires more than just individual efforts. It’s all about cross-sector collaboration—bringing together private, public, and social sectors to create massive, meaningful change. According to Kania and Kramer, five key ingredients make collective impact work: a common agenda, shared measurement systems, mutually reinforcing activities, continuous communication, and strong backbone support organizations.