Navigating the Long Game of Changing Systems Part 3: Embedding and Sustaining Change: Middle-Late Years
Written by Amy Merritt Campbell
(Years 5-10…ish)
Collaborating across organizations to address root causes and change conditions at the system level is a messy, long experience. There are so many different approaches - Collective Impact, Systemness, grassroots organizing, and so on - each with their own principles, frameworks, tools, and ways of doing the work “correctly.” Differences of perspective exist across different stakeholder groups - community members, nonprofit organizations, government agencies, the business community, and funding organizations - about how to approach the problem, how long it should take, how much it should cost, and how to get things done. But in our experience working with collaboratives trying to solve “wicked problems”, despite multiple approaches and methods, this kind of work actually tends to follow a fairly predictable pattern.
In this three-part series, we’re exploring the life cycles of collaborative efforts and breaking them down into their essential elements, based on research and Elevate’s work in this space. Part 3 focuses on the later years - embedding and sustaining the things that have been proven to move the needle in previous phases. Check out part 1 or part 2 if you missed those, and let’s jump in!
After years of building and supporting strong partnerships, constantly assessing the landscape, and shaping and reshaping a shared vision and strategy based on iterative action and learning, a strong, healthy collaborative can move into embedding changes into long-term, sustainable practices and structures. You’ll know that the time is right for this when the collaborative is routinely demonstrating healthy behaviors, exhibiting trust and true partnership, and early indicators of change are showing consistent positive results. The work has undoubtedly shifted and evolved, but there’s enough consistent movement towards progress to tell you that you’re starting to have an impact. How do you ensure the work lives on?
Developing Long-Term Ownership. You’ve tested solutions, and you’ve found what works - now, where does it live? Who is responsible for delivering the service, managing the policy, evaluating the effort? These are the types of decisions that move a collaborative from testing and refining to long-term implementation and sustainability. Determining who (that is, which organization or institution) can lead the work in the long term - who is politically, financially, structurally, and equitably most appropriate - is critical to embedding systems changes.
Securing Sustainable Funding. How can policy be reshaped to provide consistent funding? What is philanthropy’s role? How can corporate investments be leveraged, or earned revenue be incorporated into long-term solutions? How can you blend and braid these different funding streams to ensure buy-in and enduring commitment of resources? Exploring diverse funding sources and establishing financial strategies that align with long-term sustainability goals is essential.
Maintaining Current and Establishing Future Collaborative Processes. At this point, the needs of the individuals involved in the collaborative likely look a lot different than they did in the early years. But holding space for evaluating, learning, building capacity, continuing to build trust, and iterating strategies is a long-term commitment that must be attended to with the same intentionality as building the foundation.
And that’s it! Easy, right?
Kidding. This work is the definition of hard - it requires patience, commitment, discipline, compassion, and vulnerability (check out our blog on what it takes to make collaboration work here, for more on that). But if you can routinely zoom out to these big picture principles, it makes the long-term effort more manageable, more impactful, and more strategic.
Essential Practices for Every Phase
Before we wrap up, we want to be sure to point out a few practices that have to be threaded through the work. Regardless of the phase, these practices and commitments are foundational to long-term success.
Equity Commitment and Focus: Changing systems that historically do harm to people means that we have to be honest about how we got here and what’s perpetuating the problem. Looking at disaggregated data, understanding historical contexts, talking to community members, trusting the lived experience of people impacted by the problem - these are all strategies that not only can repair relationships and support an empowered community (reasons that can stand alone, in my opinion), but it’s also just good practice! Involving primary stakeholders in the work and tailoring strategies to local contexts means that the long-term work will be more impactful.
Data-Informed Decision Making: Regular collection and review of data informs strategic decisions and facilitates course corrections. This means looking at a variety of data sources - population-level data (e.g., census data, institutional data), input from stakeholders, national trends, etc. - on a regular basis to understand where progress is being made, where the areas of greatest need are, and where the work needs to go next.
Shared Measurement Systems: Establishing shared measures of success promotes alignment and accountability among stakeholders. This may look like metrics that the collaborative commits to (e.g., engaging x number of stakeholders from x communities) or building systems of measurement across multiple entities to measure certain indicators.
Consulting Research and Best Practices: Drawing insights from research and exemplars informs strategy development and implementation. This is, by no means, to say that grassroots, community-driven initiatives should be considered “less-than” (did you know there’s a 17 year research-to-practice gap?), but starting with what we “know” “works” keeps us from reinventing the wheel and allows us to build on learnings from other communities. (Quotations because, do we ever know? And, what works in one context may not work in another. Nuance, y’all.)
Authentic Community Engagement: This is hard, vulnerable work, and it requires thoughtful considerations of power and trauma and accessibility and many other factors. But meaningfully engaging community members with lived experiences ensures initiatives remain relevant and responsive to real needs, and it starts to break down power structures that have kept folks from exercising autonomy within systems that harm them. It’s critical work.
Baking in Learning Processes: The only way we change is to first learn a better way, right? Dedicate time and resources to evaluate, reflect, learn, iterate, and adjust throughout the journey. This takes time and facilitation, and sometimes leads to tough conversations. But holding partners accountable to consistently and authentically engaging in learning shifts the way a community thinks about the work and creates more alignment and momentum.
Investing in Coordination and Infrastructure: Strong coordination and support infrastructure are vital for effective collaboration and implementation. People do this work, and people have to manage it. Of course, we have to be thoughtful and responsible stewards of resources. AND ALSO, collaborative, system-changing work is better when someone (correction: multiple someones) wakes up every day thinking about how to move it forward.
Celebrating Wins and Fostering Hope: This is the part that makes me sound sentimental, and I’m fine with that. This work is so damn hard. It’s slow and frustrating and political and can make you feel like you’re treading water in the ocean without land in sight. Building a strong habit of recognizing and communicating successes, especially emergent wins, fosters morale and sustains momentum toward what’s possible. It brings us into closer community to one another and gives us the fuel to keep going.
It’s true - systems change is not a sprint; it's a marathon. Successful efforts demand a deliberate approach that balances principled action (focus, discipline, intention) with continuous learning and flexibility. And there’s more than a healthy portion of complexity, moving parts, and confusion. But it need not be so mystifying or contentious - it just requires commitment, effort, and quite a bit of hope.
