Does Collective Impact Work?: What Literacy Coalitions Tell Us

by Frank Ridzi, Margaret Doughty

Overview

The book seeks to demonstrate the ways in which collective impact approaches have guided the development of literacy coalitions over time. Since community collaboration strategies developed to address social issues, coalitions have grown from small networking organizations to powerful forces for change. The history of literacy coalitions offers a timeline outlining the why, who, what, where, when and how of communities that were influenced by social and political changes and the ways coalitions responded and thrived. The lack of literacy has held back economic development in the US and coalitions shine a light on issues associated with illiteracy and low school achievement. Not all coalitions succeed and the book explores models of success, funding strategies, evaluation and impact. The goal is to assist those developing coalitions by providing not only lessons learned but a blueprint for success.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781498508469
Publisher:	Lexington Books
Publication date:	10/04/2017
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	272
File size:	5 MB

About the Author

Frank Ridzi is Vice President for Community Investment at the Central New York
Community Foundation and associate professor of sociology at Le Moyne College. He is a past
president of the Literacy Funders Network.


Margaret Doughty founded Literacy Powerline and directed the Houston READ Commission.

Table of Contents

Introduction
1. The Many Faces of Collective Impact Community Literacy Coalitions
2. Catalytic Philanthropy and Community Coalitions
3. Are Collective Impact Coalition Communities Better Off?: Understanding Collective Impact as Part of a Virtuous Cycle
4. Measuring Impact and Moving Toward Best Practices
Conclusion

Editorial Reviews

As indicated in the subtitle, this book explores What Literacy Coalitions Tell Usand systematically reviews what factors contribute to this type of collective initiatives working effectively. The authors carry out an analysis that is referential for the implementation of evidence-based coalitions.

Voluntas

Frank Ridzi and Margaret Doughty shine a bright light on the value of a literacy coalition in the collective impact model and the challenges in evaluating system level change and attaining sustainable funding to address a complex social issue. This book is a great read for those who are involved with a literacy coalition and for those interested in learning more about them.

Robert E. Paponetti

Does Collective Impact Work? sheds new light on the powerful role that coalitions are playing in mobilizing communities to take action and make measurable progress in addressing the literacy crisis in the United States. More than simply offering a series of case examples, the authors identify the key drivers and the underlying success factors necessary for communities to produce longer-term, more sustainable results.

Ron Fairchild

The authors have produced an especially insightful analysis of the issue of literacy and of the dynamics of collaborative efforts in general. If your organization is involved in community impact work of any nature, you will find real value here. An added bonus is the entertaining examples that are used throughout the book, like the multiple and significant values of early literacy, George Washington’s adult literacy efforts at Valley Forge, and the New York grid system as an analogy for the way that coalitions work.

Bill Millett