Collective Impact with Equity in the Center

In 2021, 10 years after the original article on CI rocked the world, two champions and colleagues published another article as results of honest assessment and reflection on CI efforts around the globe.

Why Centering Equity is Crucial

Reflecting on the past decade, one thing has become crystal clear—collective impact efforts fall short when they don’t center equity. But what does it mean to “center equity,” and why is it so important?

Let’s start with a definition. Equity, as defined by the Urban Strategies Council, is “fairness and justice achieved through systematically assessing disparities in opportunities, outcomes, and representation, and redressing those disparities through targeted actions.” Essentially, it’s about making sure that everyone has a fair shot, especially those who have been historically marginalized.

In practical terms, centering equity means that when we’re working on a social issue, we need to understand who’s been left behind and why, and then take specific actions to address these inequities. This isn’t just about adding new programs or services—it’s about changing the systems that created these inequities in the first place.

How Does Equity Transform Collective Impact?

Let’s take a look at a real-world example—Chattanooga 2.0, an initiative that launched in Tennessee in 2016. Its goal was to ensure that all children and youth receive a quality education and have promising career opportunities. From the start, equity was a desired outcome, but it wasn’t until the recent national reckoning on racial justice that the group fully understood what that meant. They realized that they needed a new strategy, one that truly centered equity.

So, they revamped their approach. They restructured their leadership to include more racial and positional diversity, disaggregated data by race to reveal stark differences in the community, and focused on building empathy among leaders. This shift wasn’t just about adding new programs—it was about changing the underlying systems to create lasting impact.

Another example is the Maranguka Justice Reinvestment Project in Bourke, Australia. This initiative focused on redirecting funds from criminal justice to preventative and community development initiatives that address the root causes of crime. What’s powerful here is that the work was guided by the tribal council representing Aboriginal groups, shifting power from government institutions to the community. This change in power dynamics led to significant improvements in outcomes, showing that when communities lead, better results follow.

Five Strategies for Centering Equity

So, how do we make sure that equity is at the heart of our collective impact efforts? Here are five strategies that have emerged as crucial:

• Ground the Work in Data and Context: To effectively address inequities, you need to understand them. This means disaggregating data to see where disparities exist and understanding the historical and social context behind these numbers.
• Focus on Systems Change: It’s not enough to create new programs or services; we need to change the systems that perpetuate inequities. This could mean changing policies, practices, or even the way we think about social problems.
• Shift Power Within the Collaborative: Equity requires a shift in power. This means ensuring that those who are most affected by the issues have a real say in the decisions that impact them.
• Listen to and Act with Community: Communities are not just beneficiaries—they are assets. By working with communities, rather than doing things for them, we can create more effective and sustainable solutions.
• Build Equity Leadership and Accountability: Leadership needs to reflect the diversity of the communities being served, and there must be mechanisms in place to hold everyone accountable for centering equity in their work.

The North Star: Equity and Justice

Collective impact isn’t a rigid framework—it’s a flexible approach that needs to be adapted to each unique context. But if there’s one thing we’ve learned, it’s that centering equity is not optional; it’s essential. If our goal is to create a fair and just world, equity must be our guiding star.

As we move forward, it’s important to remember that this work isn’t easy. It requires a deep commitment to listening, learning, and changing the way we operate. But the potential rewards are immense. By centering equity, we can create more effective and sustainable solutions to the complex social problems we face today.

So, let’s take this challenge head-on. Let’s ensure that equity is at the core of everything we do in our collective impact efforts. Because when we do that, we’re not just solving problems—we’re building a better, more just world for everyone.