Collective Impact
5 case studies
Collective impact initiatives align multiple actors around shared outcomes using backbone organizations that persist across funding cycles. They demonstrate how alignment operators can coordinate complex systems without central control.
Theory Connection: Collective impact is the alignment operator (Λ) made institutional. Backbone organizations create persistent coordination capacity, shared measurement enables feedback loops, and long-horizon funding enables multi-cycle capability building in communities.
BRAC
BRAC (originally Bangladesh Rural Advancement Committee) is the world's largest NGO, serving 100M+ people across 11 countries. Founded after Bangladesh's independence war, BRAC pioneered the 'graduation approach'—moving people from extreme poverty to sustainable livelihoods through sequenced interventions. What makes BRAC remarkable is its regenerative human capital model: beneficiaries become health workers, teachers, and staff. The organization that serves the poor is largely staffed by former poor people who graduated through its programs.
- 100M+ people served globally
- 11 countries of operation
- Graduation approach pioneer
Harambee (Kenya)
Harambee ('pulling together' in Swahili) is Kenya's tradition of community collective action. Formalised after independence (1963), harambee events bring communities together to pool resources for shared needs—building schools, clinics, and community centres. At peak, harambee funded significant portions of Kenya's rural infrastructure. While increasingly formalised and sometimes politicised, harambee demonstrates indigenous collective impact principles: alignment around shared goals, decentralised decision-making, and regenerative community capacity.
- Traditional collective pooling
- Built schools, clinics, water systems
- Community-led priorities
Millennium Villages Project
The Millennium Villages Project (MVP) was Jeffrey Sachs' ambitious attempt to end extreme poverty through coordinated 'big push' interventions in selected African villages. With $120M+ spent across 10 countries, MVP provided integrated health, education, agriculture, and infrastructure support. Results were contested: some improvements occurred, but questions about sustainability, comparison groups, and cost-effectiveness persisted. When external funding ended, many improvements faded. MVP illustrates the risk of top-down development without local ownership.
- $120M+ invested over 10 years
- 10+ African countries
- Integrated 'big push' approach
Tamarack Institute
Tamarack Institute has become the backbone of backbones—training and supporting collective impact initiatives across Canada and beyond. Their model: teach communities to build their own lasting capacity rather than depending on outside experts. Tamarack has supported hundreds of community collaboratives in poverty reduction, youth development, and systems change. The institute itself regenerates through training fees, allowing it to operate independently of any single funder.
- National backbone supporting local backbones
- Collective impact training and certification
- Vibrant Communities poverty reduction network
Ten20 Foundation
Ten20 Foundation takes a radical approach to philanthropy: 10-year funding commitments to place-based initiatives with backbone coordination. Rather than short grant cycles that fragment effort, Ten20 provides the patient capital and coordination support that enables systems change. The model demonstrates that philanthropic capital can operate on PSC principles—long horizons, layered support, and regenerative capacity building.
- 10-year funding commitments
- Place-based systems change focus
- Backbone organisation support