Using civic engagement and collaboration to create community change: Lessons from Charlotte, N.C.

Abstract

The authors examine one community�s effort to use a large-scale civic engagement process to improve the health, safety, and education of children. In doing so, they describe the challenges that foundations can face in trying to sustain a cross-sector collaborative process while working to produce highly visible outcomes in a relatively short period of time. The findings from this study illustrate important lessons for foundations that are funding and leading cross-sector collaborative efforts � lessons related to the importance of communication and transparency, the need for shared leadership, the limits to voluntary collaboration, and the need for a sustainable structure to maintain the commitment and effort over time.