Barriers and remedies

People trying to drive change within their organizations are often isolated and can't see what others are doing

People tackling similar issues in different places struggle to find each other and even when they do, struggle to combine efforts

Small, separate efforts don't add up to big changes

Build open platforms that make ongoing work and opportunities visible

Change-makers easily find and support complementary efforts

Collaborative momentum grows as separate initiatives become coordinated action

Fear of public criticism or mistakes

Organizations default to saying 'no' to new approaches

Good ideas get stuck in endless discussions

Design contained environments for testing innovative approaches

Partners feel secure taking smart risks and learning from setbacks

Culture of innovation emerges as experiments build collective knowledge

One partner (usually government) controls most resources and decisions

The strongest partner's way of doing things becomes the only way

Fresh thinking gets blocked; other partners lose interest

Structure decision-making to give all partners meaningful voice

Organizations contribute freely knowing their autonomy is respected

Rich cross-sector solutions emerge from truly collaborative dialogue

Unaligned people outside the collaboration raise concerns and seek greater control

'Staying on the same page' becomes veto power, entangling action in endless rounds of asking for input

Action falters and fails on the altar of people who don't share the collaboration's purpose or goals

Create a clear charter that sets shared values and manages outside expectations up front

Partners are empowered to act boldly knowing they have cross-sector backing

Sustained momentum as early wins build confidence in collaborative action

Pressure to demonstrate progress leads to choosing easily measurable metrics

Activities get optimized for measurable outputs

Real impact never materializes

Define impact based on our mission of empowering cross-sector allies and driving new ways of working

Partners align efforts around meaningful impact measures

Collaboration deepens as shared metrics demonstrate collective impact

Successful collaboration happens but too often depends on passionate individuals and ad hoc arrangements

But this takes exceptional energy and resilience, and means initiatives rely on one or few individuals to survive

When champions move on, whoever takes their job internally takes the reins - meaning momentum often falters or collapses

Allies with a shared purpose in different sectors and systems join forces to align, amplify, and combine efforts

Getting started is simpler and when someone moves on, mission-driven allies continue the mission

Initiatives are more resilient and open to allies who share their goals, regardless of where they are based