The Public Works Partners team specializes in building equitable and collaborative coalitions to tackle complex, multi-disciplinary problems. Our team has created an engaging playbook detailing our 3P Checklist—Purpose, Partners, and Plan—which is a tried-and-true coalition-building method that guides organizations through a series of detailed questions that align with the principles of collective impact.
A collective-impact approach to problem-solving prioritizes bringing community members, organizations, institutions, and stakeholders together to address complex, multi-disciplinary issues. Many challenges facing our cities, neighborhoods, and communities don’t have straightforward solutions. Instead, they require partners with diverse skills, specialties, and perspectives to unite under a shared vision, collaborating to develop innovative and equitable solutions.
When collective impact is deprioritized, problems risk being oversimplified, leading to solutions that only partially address core issues. Vulnerable communities are, in turn, overlooked. A collective impact approach, however, allows us to consider the full complexity of each issue and to generate holistic solutions.
To implement a collective impact approach, it is essential to translate theory into a practical action plan. One way to do this is by building a coalition dedicated to addressing the issue collectively. Thoughtfully assembled coalitions enable more equitable and effective problem-solving, while poorly organized coalitions—where individual agendas take precedence over the collective mission—may hinder progress on complex problems.
