Over the past year, 150 people have attended our introductory Eastside Pathways 101 sessions. Twelve new organizations have signed on as partners and four individuals stepped into leadership roles in a collaborative. We began offering these quarterly events in September 2015 to describe what we do and explain how our partnership is rooted in the collective impact and adaptive leadership models.
An added benefit of these introductory 90-minute events is to give partner organizations the chance to speak to prospective members about what being a partner has meant for them. Each of our collaborative work groups is represented by an active member who can speak about their experience with the partnership’s work. During the last half hour there is an opportunity for questions, networking, and one-on-one connections.
Roxanne Shepherd, a founding board member, believes deeply in the collective impact approach. “I am always excited to see folks exploring how they can be part of this,” she said. “Every time I attend EP 101 and see leaders of collaboratives explaining how they work, I am reminded of the complexities of the changes we are committed to making. But my strongest reaction is always gratitude. I’m grateful to live in a community with people who value diversity, who are willing to work together, trying different ideas, dedicated to changing people’s lives for the better. Eastside Pathways 101 is where our movement gets refreshed with new energy and reminded of its roots.”
The events have proven valuable for a wide range of audiences. Attendees include:
- New staff at existing partner organizations
- Board members at partner organizations
- Potential volunteers
- Potential partners
- Interested community members
- People who want a refresher on current EP activities and the collective impact model
The Backbone wishes to thank CCER and the Road Map Project, our collective impact neighbors to the south, for inspiring this model with their “Road Map 101” sessions.
Article written by Kelly Jones, data officer at Eastside Pathways