Blog Post Elizabeth Vargas on Dec 18, 2015

Racial Gaps, Mission Based Makeovers and Other #GoodReads from Living Cities 

This week, a reflective round-up of reading recommendations that you won’t want to miss!

Blog Post Thomas Zembowicz on Dec 15, 2015

Connecticut Data Reveal Racial Disparities in Policing 

Organized, accessible state and local police data could result in more meaningful responses to racial injustice.

Blog Post Jeff Raderstrong & Kaci Roach on Nov 16, 2015

How to Get All Students on a Path to Self-Sufficiency 

The Prepare Learning Circle in the StriveTogether Network developed an outcome recommendation for collective impact collaborative initiatives. This blog has four lessons from their journey.

Blog Post Jeff Raderstrong & Alison Gold on Nov 10, 2015

Four Questions to Consider When Building a Cross-Sector Partnership’s Structure 

Like weddings, most cross-sector partnerships have greater potential for success when they are well-organized. With wedding planning in mind, we've identified four questions you and your partners sh…

Blog Post Jeff Raderstrong & Tynesia Boyea-Robinson on Nov 10, 2015

Don’t Get Caught In The “Bermuda Triangle” of Cross-Sector Partnerships 

Cross-sector partnerships get stuck in not one, but THREE common places that stifle their effectiveness and success.

Blog Post Brittany Ramos DeBarros & Jeff Raderstrong on Nov 10, 2015

Four Ways To Use Our New Cross-Sector Partnership Assessment as a Tool to Stren… 

Our free, 10 minute survey helps those engaged in cross-sector partnerships think through the development and progress of their partnership and provides immediate, tailored feedback, tools and resour…

Blog Post Elizabeth Vargas on Oct 23, 2015

What Makes a Just City? And Other #GoodReads from Living Cities 

A weekly roundup of articles and information explores topics related to urban opportunity, justice and data.

Blog Post Jeff Raderstrong on Oct 22, 2015

Data = Relationships 

Four ways data can build and strengthen relationships for your cross-sector partnership.

Blog Post Elizabeth Vargas on Oct 8, 2015

Two Lessons on Digital Engagement and Social Change Communications 

With a year of data on hand, we've learned a few lessons about effective social change communications from the way visitors interact with the features we built into our new website.

Blog Post Kirsten Wysen on Sep 8, 2015

Don’t Succumb to the Siren Song of Outcomes Without the Guidance of a North Star 

When you think of outcomes as mile-markers on your journey to a shared result, you can better design solutions that get dramatically better results, system wide.

Blog Post Dan Duncan on Sep 1, 2015

Effective Collective Impact Starts with a Clear, Common Purpose  

Effective collective impact must start with a clear, common purpose developed through an open process that brings around the table all of the players necessary for true impact and results.

Blog Post Nadia Owusu on Aug 12, 2015

Results Based Accountability Offers a Disciplined Way to Improve Decision-Makin… 

Results-Based Accountability is a disciplined way of thinking and taking action that communities can use to improve the lives of children, youth, families, adults and the community as a whole.

Blog Post Tynesia Boyea-Robinson on Jul 30, 2015

The Three Data Challenges of Each Sector 

The private, public and nonprofit sectors each have unique challenges that make collecting and analyzing data hard.

Blog Post Ben Hecht on Jul 28, 2015

#BensTake: Change Isn’t the Greatest Political Challenge; Sustaining It Is 

What does it take to sustain change that gets dramatically better results for low-income people? Living Cities CEO reacts to an op-ed by former Bogotá, Colombia Mayor, Antanas Mockus.

Blog Post Dan Duncan on Jul 20, 2015

Results and Accountability in a Complex World 

Effective collective impact requires a focus on results and accountability to create systems change.

Blog Post Ben Hecht on Jul 14, 2015

#BensTake: Failure as a Public Good 

Last week, Jim Anderson of Bloomberg Philanthropies and Andrea Phillips of Goldman Sachs shared lessons from their investment in a social impact bond to reduce recidivism at Riker’s Island. Ben Hec…

Blog Post Ben Hecht on May 28, 2015

#BensTake: Early Reflections from Our Work to Co-Create a New Urban Practice to… 

Our CEO shares his big takeaways from our #NewUrbanPractice Summit that brought together leaders, dreamers and doers for an active process of co-design around what it will take to dramatically improv…

Blog Post Carly Rospert on May 13, 2015

Excellence with Equity 

Implementing collective impact in a quality way means actively working to make systems more equitable and closing disparities in achievement.

Blog Post Elizabeth Vargas on May 8, 2015

Three #GoodReads on How to Get Dramatically Better Results for Low-Income People 

We work to build a new type of urban practice that gets dramatically better results for low-income people. Now, we're sharing three different perspectives on what it might take to get there.

Blog Post Elodie Baquerot on May 5, 2015

Three Lessons on How to Accelerate Your Impact by Sharing Knowledge 

The three year evaluation of Living Cities’ signature collective impact initiative provides lessons on how to accelerate impact through knowledge sharing.

Blog Post Junious Williams & Sarah Marxer on Apr 22, 2015

Equity and Collective Impact: Grassroots Organizations and Backbone as a Bridge 

This first installment in a series on equity and collective impact shares insights into how a backbone organization can amplify grassroots efforts to achieve equitable systems change.

Blog Post Jeff Edmondson on Apr 2, 2015

Building Upon What Works for a Brighter Future 

To build a new urban practice, community partnerships involved in the StriveTogether Cradle to Career Network are using a data-driven collective impact approach to ensure every child in their communi…

Blog Post Eileen Neely & Brian R. Nagendra on Apr 1, 2015

4 Ps of Pay for Success: Program 

As we continue our series on the 4 Ps of Pay for Success (PFS), we explore the core outcome of a PFS transaction, whether or not a “Program” can produce and measure impact.

Blog Post Andy Rachlin & Ellen Ward on Mar 25, 2015

The 4 Ps of Pay for Success: Partnership 

Partnerships, one of the 4 Ps of Pay for Success (PFS) are a cornerstone of any PFS transaction. While partnerships have their own complications, we consider four aspects of partnership crucial to PF…