Effective Convening

One critical element of a transformative change approach is effective convening. Effective convening involves effective leadership, an inclusive culture, effective communication, and shared value within the community (Foster-Fishman et al., 2018)

Effective convening involves putting the following elements in place over time (Foster-Fishman et al., 2018):
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Effective convening is often supported by a Backbone Organization (BBO) that involves staff with specific skills to support collaborative problem-solving (Turner, Merchant, Kania, & Martin, 2012). The BBO staff support the local change initiative/health partnership through ongoing facilitation, communication, data management, and administrative roles needed for effective collaborative problem-solving and action (Kania and Kramer, 2011).

Why is this important?
The expectation that collaboration can occur without intentional convening and infrastructure supports, such as from a BBO, is one of the most frequent reasons why collaboration fails (Kania and Kramer, 2011; ORS Impact & Spark Policy Institute, 2018). BBO staff coordinate the activities of the coalition and, if effective, provide the structure and approach for success.

Image of three people meeting around a wall covered in post it notes.

Effective change initiatives often engage backbone agencies and local leaders to serve as neutral conveners for local community systems transformation efforts (Collective Impact Forum, 2014).

A backbone organization/agency is a separate organization providing staff with a specific skill set to support collaborative change initiatives (Kania & Kramar, 2011). Working both “behind the scenes” and “onstage,” backbone staff can facilitate meaningful connections and processes among coalitions, organizations, and residents to ensure forward momentum and action (Turner et al., 2012). BBO staff often carry out the following types of roles and responsibilities:
- Provide administrative support: Provide administrative support for collaborative activities, such as preparing agendas, sending reminder emails, facilitating or co-facilitating meetings, managing technology, ensuring effective communication, and planning events.
- Promote diverse engagement: Help diverse stakeholders - including both organization representatives and local residents - to effectively engage in the collaborative efforts.
- Support use of data: Support local data collection, sense-making, and collaborative reporting processes.
- Foster collective problem-solving: Summarize and organize ideas and information generated during meetings and collaborative processes to support collective problem-solving.
- Facilitate collective action: Support stakeholders in initiating actions to support problem-solving and community systems change, including tracking progress over time.
- Share information across partners: Weave critical questions, information, and feedback across local groups and community partners to inform decision-making and action.
Above list adapted from Collective Impact Forum, 2014; Foster-Fishman & Watson, 2011; & Turner, Merchant, Kania, & Martin, 2012

Neutral and trusted convening also includes strong leaders within the collaborative effort who can run effective meetings and bring people together around a shared vision (Calancie, 2017; Hargreaves, 2017).

Tools to Support a Neutral and Trusted Convener

Develop an Effective Backbone Organization

One important way to establish a neutral convener for your initiative is to develop a Backbone Organization.

Draw on the following tools to build local stakeholders understanding of the value and role of a Backbone Organization. This will help in generating local support for establishing the Backbone Organization.

Understanding the Value of Backbone Organizations in Collective Impact
A review of what roles a backbone organization can take and evaluation findings on how they contribute to collective impact.
Source: Stanford Social Innovation Review

Once there is local support, draw on the following tools to put all the pieces in place to develop an effective Backbone Organization infrastructure for your initiative:

Collective Impact Backbone Toolkit
Example Backbone staff job descriptions, infrastructure checklists and resources to help Backbone Agencies prepare for collective impact.
Source: Collective Impact Forum

Develop Effective Leaders

Another critical step in supporting neutral convening is to identify and develop strong and effective leaders – both within the Backbone Organization and the broader change initiative.

Use the following tools to help develop an action plan for leadership development and provide resources to support leaders in roles such as running effective meetings, bringing people together around a shared vision, and driving the progress of the initiative.

Developing a Plan for Building Leadership
Guide for building strong leaders within your collaborative initiative or organization.
Source: Community Tool Box

Conducting Effective Meetings
Tips and tools for conducting effective meetings and navigating difficult group dynamics.
Source: Community Tool Box

Partnership Building: Practical Tools to Help You Create, Strengthen, Assess and Manage Your Partnership or Alliance More Productively
Easily accessible tools to help leaders support an effective community partnership.
Source: World Health Organization

Effective change initiatives promote an inclusive culture. This culture can increase local participation, help to empower individuals, and build social capital (Allen, 2012).

An inclusive culture includes having both inclusive processes and shared leadership:
- Inclusive process authentically engages and values diverse perspectives and voices in collective problem solving (Calancie, 2017). Individuals can openly share their perspectives and concerns within collaborative spaces (Intersector toolkit).
- Shared leadership occurs when the power to set goals, shape agendas, and make key decisions about policies, practices, and next steps is shared among stakeholders (Hargreaves, 2017). All members are involved in decision-making processes and competition, politics, and power differentials are handled effectively (ACH Participant Survey, 2016; Hargreaves, 2017)
Tools to Support a Transparent and Inclusive Culture

Create an Inclusive Setting

Assess to what extent your initiative currently has processes in place to authentically engage and value diverse perspectives in collective problem solving. You can then draw on the following resources to either strengthen or develop processes to help your initiative support a more transparent and inclusive culture.

Establish Transparency of Viewpoints
Resources to help create an environment where partners can openly share their perspectives and engage in collective problem solving.
Source: The Intersector Project

Build Capacity for Shared Leadership

Shared leadership is a critical element of a transparent and inclusive culture. Use the following tools to help assess and build needed capacities within your initiative to support shared leadership and collaborative problem-solving.

Designing a Decision-Making Process
Resources to help design collective decision-making processes for your initiative.
Source: Spark Policy Institute

Collaborative Leadership
Guide for how leaders can promote collaborative problem-solving and decision-making processes.
Source: Community Tool Box

Styles of Leadership
A resource to help leaders align their leadership style with promoting shared decision-making and inclusivity.
Source: Community Tool Box

Effective communication involves regularly sharing information on key decisions, activities, and progress towards outcomes. This supports transformative change by helping to build trust, align collective objectives, and increase motivation and accountability (CIF Guide, 2014; Ostrom, 2010).

Effective communication happens when all members have the information they need to be informed and active (Foster-Fishman et al., 2001) and information flows across different workgroups, committees, and action teams in a timely and appropriate manner (CIF Guide, 2014).

Tools to Support Effective Communication

Assess and Strengthen Initiative Communication Practices

Effective communication is one of the most important yet challenging aspects of an effective change initiative. Use the following tools to assess and strengthen your initiative’s communications about key decisions, activities, and progress towards outcomes – both with the community and internally within the initiative.

Talking the Walk
Resource with tools and case studies on how to promote effective communication within change initiatives.
Source: The Partnering Initiative

Developing a Plan for Communication
Guide to develop effective communication plans and approaches within the community.
Source: Community Tool Box

Promoting Internal Communication
Guide to develop effective communication plans and approaches within your change initiative or organization.
Source: Community Tool Box

Embed Effective Communication within Meeting Processes

Initiatives can also embed effective communication practices within local meeting processes – such as organizing all meeting agendas around the community’s shared goals and outcomes (see Create a Shared Vision for more details on how to develop shared goals and outcomes). Organizing meeting agendas in this way helps to continually communicate the shared goals and outcomes to stakeholders, and keeps the work focused on reaching these outcomes (Foster-Fishman & Watson, 2012).

Use the following tool to explore how you could design your meeting agendas to support effective communication and action around shared goals.

Shared Agenda Template
Example agenda template that organizes the initiative’s collaborative problem-solving around shared goals.
Source: ABLe Change

Effective convening can help promote a shared value for the initiative within the community by building the initiative’s reputation and credibility (Calancie, 2017) and enabling a high level of local collaboration and action (McPherson, 2017). This in turn can help to promote sustainability of the change efforts over time.

Tools to Support a Valued CHIR

Build Public Will

Effective conveners actively build public will for the initiative during all stages of the work by using intentional communication strategies and establishing trust and credibility. Use the following tools to help build public will for the change initiative in your community.

Building Public Will
Describes a five phase communication approach for building public will and promoting sustainable change.
Source: Metropolitan Group

Ethical Leadership
Tips and recommendations for how leaders can build trust, credibility, and respect for the change initiative.
Source: Community Tool Box

Communicating Information to Funders for Support and Accountability
Resources for how to effectively communicate information and evaluation results to funders and to the public to build support for the initiative's efforts.
Source: Community Tool Box

Michigan CHIR Learning Community

Tools for Action

Effective Convening Tools Will Help you:

Shared Vision and Goals Tools Will Help You:

Engaged Diverse Partners Tools Will Help You:

Aligned Systems Tools Will Help You:

Adaptive Learning and Improvement Processes Tools Will Help You:

Equity Pursuits Tools Will Help You:

Effective Convening

Develop an Effective Backbone Organization

Develop Effective Leaders

Create an Inclusive Setting

Build Capacity for Shared Leadership

Assess and Strengthen Initiative Communication Practices

Embed Effective Communication within Meeting Processes

Build Public Will