Healthy Community Initiative
Report date
March 2018
What has been most instrumental to your progress?
STRONG COMMUNITY BUY-IN: From the start, Northfield Promise was built on a strong bedrock of community support. The time spent before the launch of the initiative to actively engage community partners, listen to their views on the project, and gauge their commitment positioned the project to have success.
Moreover, the effort has continued to feel homegrown and organic, which increases collective ownership around the initiative, the identified benchmarks, and the results.
What has been especially exciting is that this commitment has not waned; so many initiatives lose engagement as they roll out and become “yesterday’s news.” The fact that this has not been Northfield Promise’s story leaves partners excited about the long-term impact of the effort (and is at least partially a byproduct of the approach used at the outset to ensure community commitment).
Moreover, the effort has continued to feel homegrown and organic, which increases collective ownership around the initiative, the identified benchmarks, and the results.
What has been especially exciting is that this commitment has not waned; so many initiatives lose engagement as they roll out and become “yesterday’s news.” The fact that this has not been Northfield Promise’s story leaves partners excited about the long-term impact of the effort (and is at least partially a byproduct of the approach used at the outset to ensure community commitment).
COMMITMENT TO DATA: From the start, Northfield Promise has been unwavering in its commitment to data and to being a data-driven initiative. That said, this tenant has become far more complex than partners would have ever expected. Almost without fail, Northfield Promise runs into individuals who want to challenge any piece of data that paints a less-than-flattering picture. They will criticize the instrument, the implementation process, the fact that it’s just “one snapshot,” etc.
Northfield Promise’s refusal to run away from the data in these moments continues to be vital to this work. It can, at times, take a great deal of resolve and fortitude. However, refusing to shift this focus, being relentless in beating the data drum, and consistently saying “We’re not hiding from these results” are key factors in what makes the work of Northfield Promise truly different in this community.
Northfield Promise’s refusal to run away from the data in these moments continues to be vital to this work. It can, at times, take a great deal of resolve and fortitude. However, refusing to shift this focus, being relentless in beating the data drum, and consistently saying “We’re not hiding from these results” are key factors in what makes the work of Northfield Promise truly different in this community.
KIDS AT THE CENTER: At the end of the day, Northfield Promise is about helping to improve outcomes for kids – ALL Northfield kids. The project’s success – and the continued willingness of stakeholders to get on board the Northfield Promise train – are the result of this reality. Whereas community politics or daily hurdles can seek to temporarily cloud this, the continued return to this focus is what gives the initiative the power, credibility, and authenticity needed to enact real change.
Key lessons learned
ROLE OF DISRUPTION: Now almost 5 years into this, Northfield Promise has a new understanding of the saying that our systems are getting exactly the type of results they are set up to get. If we want to see different results, the systems need to change. And we are more aware than ever that this change requires at least some level of disruption. We have repeatedly discussed that 'disruption' is an uncomfortable word, particularly in the cultural context of Minnesota. However, owning that disruption needs to happen – and clearly putting out the reasons for why (because our collective results are unacceptable) are paramount to this work. Moreover, Northfield Promise partners now more fully understand that to run away from this disruption is to ethically compromise our aims in this work.
QUESTIONS ABOUT URGENCY: Similar to what is reported by other collective impact efforts like Northfield Promise across the country, one of our biggest ongoing challenges is how do we continue to promote a sense of urgency with this work. This gets to the very heart of this endeavor. Are we, as a community, okay with the results we are seeing? Are we okay with the number of children who aren’t ready for kindergarten or who can’t read or who don’t graduate on time? If not, how do we change our approach? How do we work tirelessly – and differently – to get better results RIGHT NOW? How does a backbone like Northfield Promise continue to promote and push this, without alienating everyone or burning everyone out?
And if we ever start to see this urgency wane, the most important question of all is 'why?'
And if we ever start to see this urgency wane, the most important question of all is 'why?'
GIVE THE WORK BACK: In the early days of this effort, Northfield Promise staff and backbone partners felt that they needed to shoulder the bulk of the work that emerged from the action teams and other related groups. There was understandable worry about overburdening partners, coupled with a desire to control the quality (and speed) with which efforts rolled out. As the initiative has matured (and grown exponentially), Northfield Promise staff recognize that this is neither sustainable nor necessarily desirable. For this effort to be successful, partners need to own key parts of it and hold each other collectively accountable for completing what they commit to do. Northfield Promise staff can help set this table – and then be a resource (and a friendly reminder of commitments) – but can’t and shouldn’t run everything. This intentional move over the past two years, in particular, to “give the work back” has resulted in a greater level of partner engagement and more output. Using the “Results-Based Facilitation” and “Results Count” frameworks from the Anne E. Casey Foundation have been incredibly useful tools for facilitating this transition.
Reflections on the community innovation process
When we started this work, we saw Northfield Promise as a singular ball on the Community Innovation diagram, moving through that orange tube, sometimes rolling back to earlier stages, but always in the tube. We now recognize that within Northfield Promise, there are actually multiple balls in the tube. With some of the pieces, we are in the “Increasing Collective Understanding” stage, while we are simultaneously “Implementing Solutions” with other pieces of this work. This multi-faceted complexity is what makes the project both so exciting and, at times, so overwhelming.
Progress toward an innovation
As outlined in Question 4 above, over the course of the grant, the project moved from a singular into a multi-faceted approach. With this, the effort was able to see a number of exciting innovations. However, as partners reflect on the life-cycle of this grant, perhaps the most important innovation has been one of the least glamorous. Without question, Northfield Promise has fundamentally changed the way that the community – and particularly the education arena – approach and use data. And, as a component of this, the systems are now regularly and routinely disaggregating data by socioeconomic status, race/ethnicity, and gender to look at where our local gaps exist. Through this, startling and significant realities continually emerge – realities that must then be acknowledged and addressed. Again, this is nowhere near as trendy as the Northfield Promise efforts that have involved starting new programs. However, in terms of fundamentally changing the way that business is done – and the potential for sustained and equitable impact – this innovation has likely been among the most significant.
What it will take to reach an innovation?
As noted above, Northfield Promise is committed to being a hub for innovation. This means remaining true to the steps of the Community Innovation diagram – building understanding, generating ideas, and testing solutions – while appreciating that the process entails moving both forward and backwards over the spectrum.
Perhaps most significantly, however, is recognizing the balance of acting decisively (and with the needed sense of urgency highlighted above) with the critical need to be intentional in taking time to authentically listen to partners and those from various perspectives. Some of the greatest results Northfield Promise has seen have resulted from being intentional in really listening to a diverse cross-section of stakeholders, particularly those who are closest to the action (and not always the highest on the organization chart). Whether that has been through individual conversations with in-home childcare providers or interviews with high school seniors, these dialogues (while not always quick) have consistently yielded results that have fundamentally changed the way work is done. Building in space and resources to do this must be a priority going forward.
Perhaps most significantly, however, is recognizing the balance of acting decisively (and with the needed sense of urgency highlighted above) with the critical need to be intentional in taking time to authentically listen to partners and those from various perspectives. Some of the greatest results Northfield Promise has seen have resulted from being intentional in really listening to a diverse cross-section of stakeholders, particularly those who are closest to the action (and not always the highest on the organization chart). Whether that has been through individual conversations with in-home childcare providers or interviews with high school seniors, these dialogues (while not always quick) have consistently yielded results that have fundamentally changed the way work is done. Building in space and resources to do this must be a priority going forward.
If you could do it all over again...
* Be better prepared to blast out of the gates: As shared previously, Northfield Promise partners were unprepared for the level of excitement from the outset and the interest in pushing forward with the initiative. After having intentionally taken significant time to listen to the community prior to the development/launch of Northfield Promise, partners expected a slower rollout once launched. This did not play out. The backbone organization had not subsequently allocated enough resources (human or financial) to this level of demand and struggled early on with how to try and meet this.
* Don’t be afraid to swing for the fences: Similarly, during the early stages, Northfield Promise partners were cautious of being a new initiative, one dependent on the active involvement/commitment of partners to be successful. As the project has continued and the support has grown, partners have become increasingly emboldened. The reality is that the kids in this community deserve better results and we must work collectively to make that happen. Remembering this – and unapologetically highlighting it in a way that both recognizes the reality and doesn’t seek to assign blame – are key.
* Don’t be afraid to swing for the fences: Similarly, during the early stages, Northfield Promise partners were cautious of being a new initiative, one dependent on the active involvement/commitment of partners to be successful. As the project has continued and the support has grown, partners have become increasingly emboldened. The reality is that the kids in this community deserve better results and we must work collectively to make that happen. Remembering this – and unapologetically highlighting it in a way that both recognizes the reality and doesn’t seek to assign blame – are key.
One last thought
We would just like to say, once again, how incredibly grateful we are to the Bush Foundation for your support of this work. You invested in Northfield Promise when it was nothing but an idea – a concept – and provided an incredibly valuable catalyst to launch it to where it is today. Thank you for believing in our approach and for your commitment to the youth of our community!