Business-Led Economic Development Partnerships

Economic development organizations that  involve key private sector leaders have proven effective in creating and shepherding strategic planning efforts.

These organizations are typically nonprofits with substantial representation of the private sector on the board of directors or nonprofit partnerships who have private sector members. The organizations seek to leverage the talent, connections, and financial resources of high-level executives to solve economic development challenges at the community-wide level, often through creating and executing strategic plans. read more

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Collective Impact ‘How To’ Guide

Collective impact is a proven model for structuring cross-sectoral collaborations. 

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This toolkit from Collaboration for Impact walks groups that are undertaking a collective impact project through all of the steps for a successful collaboration. The guide begins by helping groups determine whether or not a collective impact model is actually right for them, and moves them through to designing an appropriate structure for collaboration. read more

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The Intersector Toolkit

The Intersector Toolkit was created by The Intersector Project, a nonprofit focused on encouraging collaboration among business, government, and the nonprofit sector.

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The toolkit is a resource for local leaders who may be new to creating formal partnerships across sectors. The toolkit is not specific to a certain kind of project or collaboration, although many of the included case studies feature community or economic development projects. read more

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Collective Impact

Collective impact is an approach to social change that brings together diverse stakeholders in a structured way.

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Stakeholders working together through a collective impact framework agree upon a common agenda, establish shared metrics, undertake mutually-reinforcing activities, and continuously communicate. An important feature of collective impact is the presence of a “backbone” team or organization, which serves as the coordinator of the shared project. read more

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Leading Together Series

MassINC documents how collaborative partnerships are building capacity and making change in Gateway Cities.
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 The Gateway Cities Innovation Institute, a program of Massachusetts-focused think tank MassINC, released a series of articles about collaborative leadership in “Gateway Cities,” the commonwealth’s small older-industrial communities.  This series features case studies of successful collaborations, with a particular focus on emerging patterns of leadership as local economies have changed. read more

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