Yes, we can.

“Large-scale social change requires broad cross-sector coordination, yet the social sector remains focused on the isolated intervention of individual organizations.” John Kania & Mark Kramer

The term Rust Belt hints at some of the pervasive problems of our great region. Here, we don’t need to be reminded of the need for innovative solutions to inner city foreclosure, neighborhood vacancy and blight, homelessness, unemployment, the achievement gap in education, fresh water contamination, health disparities, and much more.

And yet, despite widespread knowledge of the complexity of these challenges, many of us—including funders, social enterprises, governments and non-profits—continue to seek solutions in individual programs or organizations. It took much more than a single or even a few organizations to create these problems, and it’s going to take more to solve them.

Scaling up single, albeit innovative, programs and replicating them won’t be enough. Neither will short-term public-private partnerships or collaborations. What we need is something more powerful, adaptive, and sustained.

Collective Impact is a meme that began spreading with an article by John Kania and Mark Kramer in the Winter 2011 issue of the Stanford Social Innovation Review. David Bornstein covered the topic shortly after in several New York Times articles. It is a method through which a group of key players from different sectors commit to a common agenda in order to solve a specific social problem. But it is no ordinary collaboration.

Collective Impact initiatives are long-term commitments marked by:

• A common agenda
• A shared measurement system
• Mutually reinforcing activities
• Ongoing communication
• An independent backbone organization

In short, it is a method by which the whole can become more than the sum of its parts. Best practices of Collective Impact include:

• Strive, an initiative that has brought together 300 education-related organizations in the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky region to develop common goals, evidence-based strategies, and shared metrics for regional impact,
• The 100,000 Homes Campaign, which coordinates efforts to place the chronically homeless in permanent supportive housing,
• Shape Up Somerville, a community-wide effort to reduce weight gain among children in Somerville, MA,
• The Elizabeth River Project, a cross-sector initiative to restore the Elizabeth River in Portsmouth, VA, and
• The Conservation Alliance for Seafood Solutions, which connects 16 conservation organizations in the U.S. and Canada to build a sustainable seafood industry.

The idea of Collective Impact has taken off to the degree that is the theme of the upcoming United Front conference on October 6^th in St. Paul, Minnesota:

Despite the clear benefits of strengthening the efficiency, knowledge, and effectiveness of an entire system that affects complex social issues—including the possibility of building viable and lasting solutions—the task remains daunting for some. In response to a reader who asked how to get top-level leaders to agree to volunteer time and resources, Bornstein wrote simply, “By getting the right people together.”

Another reader cited problems with measurement systems—notably their apparent objectivity despite value judgments involved in data inclusion and analysis. It is also worth noting that some things are not readily quantifiable. FSG, the nonprofit consulting firm that helps communities develop collective impact efforts (and where Kania and Kramer work), suggests Shared, Comparative Performance, and Adaptive Learning measurement systems in its whitepaper, Breakthroughs in Shared Measurement. All of these measurement systems use online databases for managing and sharing results, with Shared Measurement Systems simply using the same database, Comparative Performance using the same metrics, and Adaptive Learning being an ongoing process of sharing and learning from cross-sector results.

Its poster child for Adaptive Learning is Strive, which has adopted the Six Sigma process for data management. Six Sigma has received criticism, however, for being too data driven. Perhaps a more balanced approach would include the techniques employed throughout the Global Reporting Initiative—in which organizations report both quantitative and qualitative results along indicators that are relevant to their goals.

Whatever the issues related to measurement are, aligning efforts and tracking performance toward common goals is necessary for positive change. In their report Breakthroughs in Shared Measurement, FSG wrote, “We believe that shared measurement systems can help move the sector beyond the fragmented and disconnected efforts of more than a million nonprofits and tens of thousands of funders by creating a new degree of coordination and learning that can magnify the impact of funders and grantees alike.”

Shared measurement systems allow organizations to compare results along common indicators, identify regional trends, coordinate efforts, learn from one another, and gradually improve over time. As an added bonus, they increase accountability and incentivize greater impact for every organization involved.

I believe that we can use the methods of Collective Impact in our post-industrial Great Lakes cities to great effect. A key to success will be funding and, in some cases, starting organizations that can serve as the independent facilitators and data gatherers of these processes. As Bornstein put it, “few funders invest in the connective tissue that is necessary to foster meaningful collaborations,” but that connective tissue is exactly what we need to instigate lasting change.

Further reading:

“Collective Impact” by John Kania and Mark Kramer, Stanford Social Innovation Review, Winter 2011

Breakthroughs in Shared Measurement by FSG

“The Power of Partnerships” by David Bornstein, New York Times, 10 March 2011

“Collective Impact: A Compelling Cause and Compact for Growth” by Diana Aviv, Independent Sector, 7 September 2011

“Leadership for Collective Impact” by United Front, 15 September 2011

The Urban Lumberjacks are deconstructing houses and using the materials to build greenhouses.

The Central Community Cooperative is especially interesting to me because of its connection to Cuyahoga Community College’s Metropolitan Campus (Tri-C Metro) and Dr. Michael Scope, who also started the Collaborative Campus. The Collaborative Campus Project is an effort to build upon the strengths of the area surrounding Tri-C Metro, making it a safer, more prosperous and sustainable community for all. Tri-C’s efforts to reach out to their surrounding community are truly inspiring and I’m looking forward to seeing how these new projects are implemented, creating results for the neighborhoods within the Campus District.

Click here to watch some more of Brad Masi’s videos!

In 2010, the leaders* of the initiative decided to tackle more vacancy than could be done on the individual lot level.  Re-imagining a More Sustainable Cleveland 2.0 is a study to identify large-scale catalytic projects in the following categories that could create lasting change in Cleveland: agriculture, alternative energy, contamination remediation, land assembly, neighborhood stabilization, sustainable pattern of development, and stormwater retention.

To learn more about Re-imagining a More Sustainable Cleveland 2.0, take a look at this presentation that was given by Freddy Collier Jr., Citywide Plan Project Manager of the Cleveland City Planning Commission:

Update – There are currently two Re-Imagining Cleveland 2.0 projects: the Urban Agriculture Innovation Zone in Cleveland’s “Forgotten Triangle”, which is in the process of creating a development plan; and the Vacant Land Stabilization program, which is currently seeking funding.

You can now download the most recent publications of the Re-Imagining Cleveland initiative:

2008 Reimagining Cleveland Plan

2008 Reimagining Cleveland Patternbook

Ideas to Action Resource Book (new!)

8 Ideas For Vacant Land Reuse in Cleveland (new!)
*Leaders of Re-imagining a More Sustainable Cleveland include: Neighborhood Progress Inc., the City of Cleveland, the Cleveland Urban Design Collaborative and 30 other partner organizations.  Funding for the initiative came from the Surdna Foundation and the City of Cleveland NSP funds.

Without further ado, I present…

The Notable Nine

9.  Sustainable Cleveland 2019 Action and Resources Guide: In the second year of its decade-long endeavor, this mayor-led initiative has published a report on how to move forward.

8.  The Restoring Prosperity Report: A collaborative effort between the Greater Ohio Policy Center and the Brookings Institute, this report offers policy recommendations for improving Ohio’s long-term prosperity.

7.  The Northeast Ohio Green Map: You can add sustainable organizations, initiatives and infrastructure to it too!

6.  Water|Craft Urban-Infill Vol. 3: This book by the Cleveland Urban Design Collaborative’s PopUp City is jam-packed with ideas on regional water issues and new urban design approaches to tackle them.

5.  NEORSD Project Clean Lake:  No one likes Combined Sewer Overflows (CSOs), including the US EPA.  CSOs allow untreated sewage to go into our otherwise beautiful watershed and Great Lake.  The NEORSD is now going to do something about it.

4.  Trust for Public Land: Taking the reigns for completing the Towpath Trail and connecting it to Lake Erie, the Trust for Public Land is making it possible to build a greenway through downtown Cleveland.

3.  Flats East Bank Loan Guarantee from HUD: The redevelopment of the Flats East Bank is perhaps not so far off after all.

2.  Reimagining Greater Cleveland: The Cleveland Botanical Garden is using the $167,000 grant they received from the Great Lakes Protection Fund to help transform vacant land in Northeast Ohio into ‘green’ infrastructure.

1.  Northeast Ohio Sustainable Communities Regional Planning Grant and the Regional Prosperity Initiative: There’s nothing quite like getting federal dollars for sustainable community building in Northeast Ohio!

(Continue reading for Honorable Mentions and Maybe Next Times)

Honorable Mentions (these guys have been keeping it real for a while and deserve a shout out): GreenCityBlueLake Institute, Cleveland EcoVillage, Environmental Health Watch, Bioneers Cleveland, Downtown Cleveland Alliance, E4S, Evergreen Cooperatives, Building Cleveland by Design, ParkWorks, EcoWatch Journal, Reimagining a More Sustainable Cleveland, Great Lakes Urban Exchange, Cleveland State University’s Maxine Goodman Levin College of Urban Affairs …

Maybe Next Time (although our hopes and dreams might not have come through for these, there’s always tomorrow): high-speed rail, fixing our education system, more complete streets (with pedestrian and bike access), getting the money to build a park in Public Square, more jobs and affordable housing, less foreclosures, redeveloping Cleveland’s waterfront…

What’s missing? Leave a comment noting a project, organization or initiative that belongs in any of these categories.

To make it up to you, here’s some mind candy, and don’t worry, there’s more to come…

More from Detroit Lives!

More from Lost Detroit

Peace and catch you later,

{marianne}

U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Choice Neighborhood Pre-Notice
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development posted the Choice Neighborhood FY 2010 Notice of Funding Availability Pre-Notice to give potential applicants guidance prior to the actual Choice Neighborhoods funding notice that will be published this summer. The guidance offers advance details regarding the application process to compete for funds through this pilot program.  More here.

Tiger II Discretionary Grants Program: Deadline August 23
The Department of Transportation is soliciting applications for the “TIGER II” discretionary grant program, a $600 million competitive transportation grant program for surface transportation projects. More here.

Sustainable Communities Grants: Deadline August 23
The U.S. Departments of Transportation and Housing and Urban Development have joined together to award up to $75 million in funding–$35 million in TIGER II Planning Grants and $40 million in Sustainable Community Challenge Grants–for localized planning activities that ultimately lead to projects that integrate transportation, housing, and economic development. More here.

HUD Sustainable Regional Planning Grant: Deadline August 23
The U.S Department of Housing and Urban Development is seeking applicants for their $100 million Sustainable Communities Regional Planning Grant program. The program is designed to create stronger, more sustainable communities by connecting housing to jobs, fostering local innovation, and building a clean energy economy. The grant is part of the DOT, HUD, EPA partnership. More here.

EDA Innovation in Economic Development Competition: Deadline August 27
The Economic Development Administration announced funding for projects that advance innovation, boost competitiveness, and create jobs. Grants will be given to innovations in commercialization, regional innovation clusters, global export promotion, and green technology. More here.

The note, the turnout and the feedback at the launch party made me feel as though what we are working on here is, in fact, needed and rejoiced as a tool for community asset mapping in Northeast Ohio. What an extraordinary feeling to have after working on something that you believe in.

During the event, the back room of the Treehouse shrank as people continued to pour in during the presentation, and I was relieved that the bar didn’t have as limited a supply of beer as we had of Edison’s pizza.

Click to view the presentation

We planned to help people map after the presentation, but when we noticed that very few people brought laptops with them, we decided to have a group discussion about the Green Map instead. Quite a few thought-provoking questions and answers came up during the discussion—click here to read about some of them.

The goal of the event was to increase people’s awareness of and excitement about the Northeast Ohio Green Map and to teach them how to use it as a tool for community and regional asset mapping, which I think we accomplished.

Overall conclusion: beer—and a new way of thinking about and participating in asset mapping and sustainability—made the event a hit.

To view and get involved in the Northeast Ohio Green Map, visit GreenCityBlueLake’s Green Map Page. To stay current on green map events, and to connect with other local green mappers, visit and join the new Northeast Ohio Green Map Facebook Group.

We believe that the Northeast Ohio Green Map can become a great tool for regional sustainability asset mapping with your help. Please continue to stay involved in the growth of this map by using it, adding to it, and sending it to your friends and neighbors!

Please feel free to email info@gcbl.org if you have any questions.

*Note: this post was originally published on the GreenCityBlueLake website.

This is an open-sourced asset map (read: inventory of our communities’ strengths) of all the sustainability organizations, initiatives and infrastructure in Northeast Ohio, and we need your knowledge and participation in order to make this map the rich community tool that it has the potential to become.

Join us for the launch of the Northeast Ohio Green Map!

5:30-8pm at The Treehouse, 820 College Ave., Tremont

Join us for this Mapping Party to celebrate the launch of the Northeast Ohio Green Map. The Treehouse will supply the beer, we’ll supply the food, and you supply the knowledge of our communities’ assets and opportunities!  Bring your laptop and we’ll start mapping Northeast Ohio’s sustainability organizations, initiatives, and infrastructure together.

Asset mapping could help organizations and individuals of all kinds—including non-profit, for-profit, governmental, academic and public—to find one another, connect and collaborate around regional sustainability.

Using the Open Green Map technology available on www.greenmap.org, the Northeast Ohio Green Map is joining over 600 green maps created in 55 countries around the world that identify the social, environmental, and economic assets and opportunities of their locales.

The Open Green Map technology is an award-winning combination of the easy-to-use Google Map interface and 170 universal icons for “green” sites, areas, and routes.  When icons are clicked, photos, descriptions, website links, videos, site relationships, impacts, and contact information can be displayed on these interactive maps.

With this open-source technology (also available as an iPhone App), anyone can search for and suggest sites on the map, adding to the civic participation and ‘live’ communal knowledge of this collaborative project.  The map can be housed on any number of different websites, including the Green Maps website—which could improve our region’s reputation nationally and internationally as a place dedicated to sustainability.

Knowing, mapping, and utilizing the many assets within our communities and region will provide a foundation for effective strategic planning and investment, policy change that facilitates a more sustainable future, and action.

By collectively identifying our communities’ strengths and assets, we can move forward with a positive vision of who we are as a region and who we can become.

Join us on the Northeast Ohio Green Map: http://www.opengreenmap.org/greenmap/northeast-ohio-green-map

Photo by Mark Duluk

Eleven months ago, over seven hundred people from diverse sectors and industries came together for three days to talk about making Cleveland a more environmentally, socially, and economically sustainable city over the course of the next ten years.  Those three days were named the Sustainable Cleveland 2019 Summit.

During the summit, participants divided into over twenty-one working groups in which they would address vacant land, transportation, local food systems, education, healthcare, renewable energy, business innovation and much more.  One of those working groups came to be known as the Collaborative Campus.

Although almost a year has passed since the original summit, many groups have struggled to find the resources necessary to move toward immediate action.  The Collaborative Campus Project, however, is underway.

The Collaborative Campus Project

The Collaborative Campus Project is a partnership between Cuyahoga Community College (Tri-C), Cleveland State University (CSU), Cleveland Institute of Art (CIA), and Cleveland Metropolitan School District (CMSD) to link the pursuit of “world class sustainability education” to the context of a sustainable neighborhood.  They came to the realization that healthy neighborhoods strengthen institutions as much as institutions strengthen their surrounding communities.

To implement the project, professional consultants, planners, designers, engineers and community developers are working with local college and high school students to reach out to the community surrounding the Tri-C Metropolitan Campus to find out residents’ needs and wants, to asset map strengths and opportunities in the area, and to develop projects that build on the assets to help revitalize the community.

Local students are a key component to the project because they can glean information from neighborhood residents in a way that professional consultants cannot.  To keep participants of varying levels and experience on the same page, so to speak, the Collaborative Campus Project is following the curriculum of the City Works textbook.

After the race of seven weeks this summer, the final deliverable of the Project will be a comprehensive neighborhood plan for the newly dubbed Campus District (formerly known as the Quadrangle).

Where this is Going

One of the primary catalysts of this project is that the Cuyahoga Metropolitan Housing Authority (CMHA) plans to redevelop the Cedar Extension housing units at 30th and Community College Avenue in the Campus District.

By designing and proposing recommendations based on community outreach and asset mapping in the same area, this diverse group has the opportunity to influence the future plans of the Campus District.

Regardless of the outcome, the local students and professionals involved in the Collaborative Campus Project will have the ability over the course of the next 6 weeks to both learn and teach in the schoolroom of this neighborhood.

*Note: I originally wrote this article for the Collaborative Campus Project.