Collective Impact in a Bi-National Great Lakes Environmental Initiative

A 2011 paper by John Kania and Mark Kramer outlined five elements of effective collaborations tackling complex, difficult social and environmental problems now known as “Collective Impact.” Many of these elements, such as... [ view full abstract ]

A 2011 paper by John Kania and Mark Kramer outlined five elements of effective collaborations tackling complex, difficult social and environmental problems now known as “Collective Impact.” Many of these elements, such as “continuous communication”, “backbone organization” and developing a “common agenda,” have been key components of the St. Clair-Detroit River System Initiative (SCDRS). SCDRS is a bi-national environmental initiative in southeast Michigan and southwest Ontario that brings together more than 30 organizations, including U.S. and Canadian natural resource-related agencies, Tribes/First Nations, local units of government, industry and university partners, non-profits, and interested citizens to develop a common vision: the restoration of portions of southern Lake Huron, the St. Clair River, Lake St. Clair, the Detroit River, and western Lake Erie to a thriving ecosystem with science-based management and broad social support that provides environmental services for the region and the Great Lakes basin. SCRDS initiative partners are using the elements of Collective Impact to improve the habitat restoration/protection, research, monitoring and management of fish and wildlife species in the corridor, including lake sturgeon, walleye, northern madtom, mudpuppies, fox snakes and common terns. The strength of the SCDRS Initiative emanates from the collective contributions from the partners. Partners contribute to the initiative in a number of ways including providing leadership and guidance, assist with administration, and coordinate and conduct research. In 2013 the SCDRS steering committee developed a strategic vision with 4 guiding principles and 3 desired outcomes. The SCDRS partners then identified 9 priority objectives in 2014-15. In 2016, work groups formed to determine indicators and a report card to measure the success of the initiative. This session will explore the five Collective Impact elements, their current application within SCDRS, and potential application elsewhere.