Collective Impact partnered with EPIC Mission to conduct a community needs assessment for North Central West Virginia Community Action Agency Inc. An Assessment Committee consisting of local and regional partners and other key stakeholders is being convened to provide general oversight and assistance for the project. Components of the Needs Assessment project included facilitation of planning sessions with local level planning team, development of needs assessment survey instruments, secondary data collection and survey analysis, facilitation of county level community discussions and analysis of community discussion content, and preparation of the Needs Assessment Report. The Needs Assessment final report will outline strengths, challenges, needs, opportunities, and capacity existing in the service area of the organization. It will also be used to inform the development of a five-year strategic plan for the agency.
Mountwest Community & Technical College (MCTC) contracted with Collective Impact to provide professional assessment services to support its Attendance Pays Project. MCTC is a public institution of the West Virginia Community and Technical College System. MCTC wanted to understand how better to improve and streamline its attendance tracking and reporting process for faculty, students, financial aid, counselors, and other stakeholders. The Attendance Pays Assessment Project was carried out over a 5 month period and involved a review of internal attendance policy documents, data systems currently used for attendance reporting and tracking, stakeholder interviews for information collection, and a review of “best practices” used at colleges and universities across the country.
"The WV ATC provides technical assistance and direct services statewide to West Virginians living with Autism Spectrum Disorder. While our primary headquarters is on the campus of Marshall University, in Huntington, WV, staff are positioned at strategic points across the Mountain State. Because we are spread out regionally across the state, agency staff sometimes felt disconnected, and at times struggled to understand the duties of colleagues they don’t see every day. The center asked Collective Impact to facilitate a half-day session designed to break down social and professional barriers. Bruce Decker carried out a highly effective process that helped staff communicate more easily with colleagues, and more readily handle intra-departmental conflict. WV ATC staff enjoyed the experience, and continue to reap the benefits." ~ Dr. Marc Ellison, Executive Director, West Virginia Autism Training Center - Marshall University
Large-scale social change requires broad cross-sector coordination. Collective Impact is not only the name of our consulting firm, but is also our guiding principle and approach that has directed how we interact, perform, and succeed with our partners over the past decade. The "Collective Impact" approach is highlighted in the article titlted "Collective Impact" in the Winter 2011 Stanford Social Innovation Review.
