Collective impact - the imperative of shifting the balance of power and how it can be achieved

Abstract

The main propositions put forward in this paper are: First, that shifts in the balance of power are needed in relationships at key levels of a community for collective impact initiatives to be successful due to the fact that they operate in human systems which are highly complex. And second, that in order to facilitate these kinds of shift it is necessary to promote critical reflection by those engaged in social service and community work related to the initiative upon: (a) the dispositions or habitus they have in respect to the management of power in their relationships; (b) how they are inculcated into them via their life experiences; and, (c) the implications they have for the way everyday interactions with others are managed. The rationale for these propositions are based upon an examination of the collective impact approach to enhancing wellbeing through the lens of a theoretical framework, grounded in complexity science and systems theory assembled by the author as part of wider research towards a doctoral thesis which is put forward in the first half of the paper. The final part of the article is devoted to a description of an example of the pedagogy and content of a popular education approach to enable the sort of critical self-reflection deemed to be necessary.