2 Critical Qs for Wannabe Backbones

You are the backbone of what exactly? And who says?

Without good answers to those two critical questions, any collaboration using the collective impact framework will fail.

The backbone is the core of the framework. The backbone is the entity dedicated to facilitating the diverse members that have committed to learning, deciding and acting together. The backbone supports, coordinates, communicates, and aligns; in other words, they herd the cats that make up the collective effort.

But what cats want to be herded? And to what end?

Backbones that neglect the two critical questions end up scratched, bitten and worse. The cats may show up to be fed, but they don’t change their beliefs and practices. Outcomes don’t improve. The status quo persists.

Explicitly asking those two questions and listening deeply to the answers that emerge is an essential act for successful backbones in part because of how they are created. Backbones emerge when:

-          One or a few funders (cats with money) decide that a backbone is needed and create one

-          An established organization (a fat cat) sees the need for greater alignment and declares itself the backbone

-          A few cats agree there should be a collective effort and create a backbone.

The catalysts of the backbone (whether a funder, service provider or a small group of both) should embed the two critical questions in their planning processes as they give life to the backbone. And once the backbone is established, it needs to keep asking those questions so it can adapt to the changes in context that are inherent when addressing a complex community priority.

Successful backbone entities know what cats value being herded and why. Those cats champion and support the backbone because they are clear about the value the backbone generates. Value that they cannot create on their own.

Together, the backbone and the cats continuously answer the two critical questions.