Collective Impact Network 2.0

 

Overview and Purpose

The purpose of the CIN2.0 is to foster collaboration and collective action, share knowledge and identify capacity building opportunities, all directed at the long-standing inequities in accessing health care and/or harm reduction services in small urban, rural, and remote (SURR) communities.  Our efforts will be focussed on addressing inequities for people living with, or at risk of, HIV, hepatitis C, and those at risk of overdose due to the drug poisoning crisis.

For example, at a PAN gathering in Vernon in September 2024, we ran a brainstorm session to collect feedback regarding health inequities in SURR communities.  Key themes which arose were:  Lack of Access to hepatitis C and HIV Testing; Linkage to HIV/hepatitis C Care; Support and Connections; Education; Advocacy; Stigma; Funding; Community Collaboration and Planning; and Lack of Access to Harm Reduction services. These themes echo much of what we have heard over the years at our Member and Allies’ meetings, or through our annual surveys.

 

PURPOSE: to address the long-standing inequities in accessing health care and/or harm reduction services in small urban, rural, and remote (SURR) communities.

 

Membership of the CIN2.0

We are inviting PAN members that work in SURR communities, as well as those that have a provincial mandate. We will be joined by the PHSA, to whom we are grateful for funding this project. Membership may also include representatives of other health authorities, TBD.

We are also inviting peers who will be compensated for their time and leadership. We have recently updated our processes to facilitate fast payment for their time. If you are interested in applying for one of the peer consultant positions, please email [email protected].

To find out more about the project, and the roles and responsibilities, check out:

CIN2.0 Terms of Reference – Oct 2024

CIN2.0 Peer Consultant Job Description – Oct 2024

 

Meetings

The length of regular meetings is to be determined, and we anticipate that this table will meet every two months. Further collective action work would take place virtually between meetings, by those who have the capacity to carry that forward. In-person regional meetings will augment the work (up to 2 per year), likely as a part of other PAN events. PAN will use a modified Collective Impact approach to lead the project (see below).

 

Work of the former Collective Impact Network (CIN)

Funded by the PHSA, PAN co-led the CIN from 2017-2024.  If you want to find out more about the work of that group, then start here.

 

For more information, or to find out when the next meeting is, please contact [email protected].

 


What is the Collective Impact model?

The Collective Impact approach is premised on the belief that no single policy, government department, organization or program can tackle or solve the increasingly complex social problems we face as a society.  The approach calls for multiple organizations or entities from different sectors to abandon their own agenda in favour of a common agenda, shared measurement and alignment of effort.

Unlike collaboration or partnership, Collective Impact initiatives have centralized infrastructure – known as a backbone organization – with dedicated staff whose role is to help participating organizations shift from acting alone to acting in concert.

John Kania & Mark Kramer first wrote about collective impact in the Stanford Social Innovation Review in 2011 and identified five key elements:

  • All participants have a common agenda for change including a shared understanding of the problem and a joint approach to solving it through agreed upon actions.
  • Collecting data and measuring results consistently across all the participants ensures shared measurement for alignment and accountability.
  • A plan of action that outlines and coordinates mutually reinforcing activities for each participant.
  • Open and continuous communication is needed across the many players to build trust, assure mutual objectives, and create common motivation.
  • A backbone organization(s) with staff and specific set of skills to serve the entire initiative and coordinate participating organizations and agencies.

In addition, it has recently been shown that over the last decade, successful collective impact efforts center Equity through the following five strategies. Each strategy is important and should be woven into the implementation of the five conditions listed above.

  • Ground the work in data and context, and target solutions
  • Focus on systems change, in addition to programs and services
  • Shift power within the collaborative
  • Listen to and act with community
  • Build equity leadership and accountability