Going Far Together: Cultivating Catalytic Partnerships to Fuel & Sustain Community Transformation

Abstract

The Collective Impact field recently turned ten years old. One of the enduring findings over the past decade is the critical role of backbone support in helping to guide the efforts of collaboratives. In the absence of this critical infrastructure, even the most well intended and well-resourced initiatives are likely to collapse.

As a newcomer to the collective impact conversation, I was eager to better understand the capacities backbone leaders need to possess in order to help support community transformation efforts. It was this interest that led me to MetroMorphosis, a small nonprofit organization based in Baton Rouge, Louisiana with experience serving in a backbone role.

Through their work, MetroMorphosis noticed that the most successful initiatives were often fueled by tight relationships among approximately two to three members. They referred to these relationships as catalytic partnerships. This capstone tells the story of the work I did to help MetroMorphosis clarify their definition and begin codifying and applying their approach to cultivating catalytic partnerships. Because MetroMorphosis’ ultimate focus is on the role that these partnerships play in fueling collective action, most of my efforts centered around implementing practices in service of strengthening My Brother’s Keeper Baton Rouge, one of our local collective action networks.

Learnings from this project confirm MetroMorphosis’ initial observation on the importance of cultivating a few catalytic partnerships that can help sustain the momentum of the collective. Additionally, this project solidified that community transformation efforts must: • be anchored in a clear and compelling why • have an intentional focus on who we are bringing together, and • be supported by a backbone that understands how to facilitate interactions so as to cultivate relationships that advance the work Context is also critical as it has the potential to greatly enable or constrain the work of the collective.

I conclude with a set of recommendations for those invested in strengthening the collective impact field and helping to move communities forward. Specifically, I encourage further elevating the centrality of relationships to this work in the literature and building the facilitative capacity of those in backbone roles so they can better cultivate the deep relationships that ultimately sustain our efforts.