Backbone Starter Guide

Explains the Backbone Support's critical role in collective impact initiatives, detailing its purpose, functions, structure, leadership, equity focus, selection process, and funders' roles to sustain large-scale social change efforts.

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The backbone: • does not set the group’s agenda. Rather, it collates the input from different members to collectively build and maintain focus around the common agenda as defined by the Steering Committee with input from the community. • does not drive or independently determine the solutions. Rather, it supports the Steering Committee and working ... See more

FSG • Backbone Starter Guide

Collective impact is defined as “the commitment of a group of cross-sector actors to a common agenda for solving a complex social problem.”

FSG • Backbone Starter Guide

The Backbone’s Purpose and Functions “The expectation that collaboration can occur without a supporting infrastructure is one of the most frequent reasons why it fails. The backbone organization requires a dedicated staff separate from the participating organi -zations who can plan, manage, and support the initiative through ongoing facilitation, t... See more

FSG • Backbone Starter Guide

Structure for a Collective Impact Initiative Collective impact is structured to foster shared leadership and create multiple avenues for engagement across stake -holders in a given system. • At the highest level, the Steering Committee is composed of cross-sector leaders, decision-makers, and community members who provide strategic direction, champ... See more

FSG • Backbone Starter Guide

Backbone entities most often support all of these functions to some degree, although a backbone’s priorities tend to shift over time . For instance, often as backbones are launched, they focus on guiding vision and strategy, support -ing aligned activities, and establishing shared measurement systems. As they mature and develop, backbones may expan... See more

FSG • Backbone Starter Guide

Collective impact initiatives are char -acterized by five core elements which have been distilled from studying the experiences of successful cross-sector collaboratives. All five elements are consistently present—in forms adapted and customized for the local context— to effectively facilitate cross-sector collaboration and the resulting popula -ti... See more

Jennifer Splansky Juster • Backbone Starter Guide

“We [influence] by having the right people at the table and having the best data.”