Maximizing Impact
Brewing Creative Energy Together
Is the impact your organization is making a drop in the bucket or a swelling wave? Given the magnitude of social problems and the increasing inclination of funders to support organizations that have clear plans for scaling their impact (up, out, or deep), the question of how to maximize impact should be a vital part of an organization’s journey. Answering that question requires brewing creative energy together with other organizations, to create a dense weave of imaginative solutions.
Learn more about power tools for maximizing impact here.
"My stars are tucked in my pocket, ready for battle. If we flood the streets with salt water, we can flood the sky with wings."
—Tamiko Beyer
How Can We Help?
Network Mapping Analysis and Workshops
Network mapping makes visible the riches of social capital and collaboration that create strength in numbers. When stakeholders can see the often invisible threads that connect people and institutions and that mediate the flow of resources, information and trust, they can better target their network-strengthening investments. In addition to conducting network mapping research, evaluation, and workshops, we also offer network weaving advice, based on insights from social network analysis. Check out our growing Atlanta food system map, below.
New Horizon Proposition
Time and again, we see organizations fail to attract funding,
partnership, and support for their work, in part because they have not
presented a bold and enthralling proposition that differs from other offerings
on the market. It takes imagination to come up with a unique, yet feasible,
proposition that opens up a new horizon of impact. We help you with this vital ideation and design stage, so that you can attract the resourced needed to innovate.
Research for the Big and Thorny
If you feel as though your team or organization is flying blind, or continually pushing up against large, unforeseen forces, research can dramatically help turn that around. We tackle big, thorny questions through research – questions that, if answered, could reveal the scale, trends, root causes, and high- leverage intervention points of problems you are addressing. See our Learning and Research work for more information.
Food Systems
Some topical areas intersect with so many social ills and areas of promise that they warrant extra attention. We work in the area of food systems with an intent to strengthen the human capabilities within it, working outside of the paradigm of mechanistic solutions. See our Joyful Food Futures work for more information.
Network Mapping
One of our favorite tools for understanding systems and strengthening collective impact is network mapping and analysis. When stakeholders can see the often invisible threads that connect people and institutions and that mediate the flow of resources and information, they can work better together. While a work in progress, this map of collaboration among Food Systems Actors in Metro Atlanta can be used to explore relationships. The map uncovers a complex and interconnected web of food system actors working on a diverse set of issues, including hunger relief, food access, sustainable agriculture, and nutrition education. Key actors and their relationships were identified using a snowball sampling methodology informed by internet search and website review. The map can also be accessed at this link.
Have additions or corrections for the map? Need a mapping project of your own done?
Contact us at info@ignitedword.com.
Click the tabs to explore the map