How can inclusive design spur community connections and build stronger partnerships in the process?

During the COVID pandemic, the Van Alen Institute and the Urban Design Forum collaborated to launch Neighborhoods Now, a program shepherding resources, both funding and people, toward pandemic recovery and strengthening community partnerships across four boroughs in New York City.

One notable community partnership was with Think!Chinatown, an intergenerational non-profit based in Manhattan’s Chinatown that fosters community through neighborhood engagement, storytelling and the arts. Manhattan’s Chinatown was severely impacted by the pandemic, not only due to the health crisis but also a rise in anti-Asian hate. Through partnering with Neighborhoods Now, Think!Chinatown sought to unite the community, spark joy and connection amongst community members, and create a warm, welcoming space where residents could once again feel safe. From this partnership, the Chinatown Night Market was born.

Launched the following summer, the Night Markets not only created a welcoming, safe, and joyful space for community members, but they also brought partners from across the City together to rebuild trust and re-focus on community needs through the implementation of inclusive design.

In this new podcast, we learn how this partnership grew, how trust was rebuilt, and how this project kept Manhattan’s Chinatown community at its core. We talk with Andrew Brown (Van Alen Institute) and Yin Kong (Think!Chinatown), as they share the key elements that made this community partnership successful, and discuss how programs like Neighborhoods Now can create lasting positive change for communities.

Resources and Footnotes

• Van Alen Institute
• Think!Chinatown
• Neighborhoods Now

More on Collective Impact

• Infographic: What is Collective Impact?
• Resource List: Getting Started in Collective Impact

The Intro music, entitled “Running,” was composed by Rafael Krux, and can be found here and is licensed under CC: By 4.0.

The outro music, entitled “Deliberate Thought,” was composed by Kevin Macleod. Licensed under CC: By.

Have a question related to collaborative work that you'd like to have discussed on the podcast? Contact us at: https://www.collectiveimpactforum.org/contact-us/

When building a collaborative strategy or working through your implementation plans, it might feel like what you need most is a crystal ball (or a mystically accurate Magic 8 ball) to reveal which activities will work, which won’t, and where you can pivot so you and your partners can keep making progress. Moving ahead while surfing through ambiguity and questions like, “what will happen if…” can make the process of working together even more uncertain and stressful.

The practice of futurism can be helpful when working through questions about where your collaborative work can go, and how your work may be affected by shifts in , political, financial, environmental, and other conditions.

In this new podcast episode, we explore how futurism can be used by collaboratives. We talk with Trista Harris, President of FutureGood, an organization that supports funders and nonprofits by tapping into future thinking. We discuss how these practices can support scenario-planning, risk mitigation, and imaging what an “ideal future” might be.

In the discussion, we also explore the future trends that collectives may need to consider, including the impact of artificial intelligence (AI), disaster planning, and imagining a bright future when facing daunting challenges.

Resources and Footnotes

• FutureGood
• Past FutureGood webinars

More on Collective Impact

• Infographic: What is Collective Impact?
• Resource List: Getting Started in Collective Impact

The Intro music, entitled “Running,” was composed by Rafael Krux, and can be found here and is licensed under CC: By 4.0.

The outro music, entitled “Deliberate Thought,” was composed by Kevin Macleod. Licensed under CC: By.

Have a question related to collaborative work that you'd like to have discussed on the podcast? Contact us at: https://www.collectiveimpactforum.org/contact-us/

Without proactively removing the structures and systems that have contributed to inequity, place-based collaboratives can not make a meaningful impact on the lives of those most excluded and underestimated in communities. However, given the increasing anti-DEI political and cultural headwinds unfolding in the US and several other countries, communities are facing increased challenges pursuing their equity work.

To explore this topic, we share an audio recording from the Day 3 opening panel discussion at the 2024 Collective Impact Action Summit. The panel discusses the challenges collaboratives are facing in their work to advance equity and how collaboratives can navigate through this adversity to continue making progress towards their collective goals. This session was originally held on May 2, 2024.

Featuring:

• Jennifer Splansky Juster, Executive Director, Collective Impact Forum
• Monique Miles, Managing Director, Aspen Institute Forum for Community Solutions
• Paul Schmitz, Senior Advisor, Collective Impact Forum
• Junious Williams, Senior Advisor, Collective Impact Forum

Resources and Footnotes

• Aspen Institute Forum for Community Solutions
• Leading Inside Out
• Junious Williams Consulting, Inc.
• Targeted Universalism
• Centering Equity in Collective Impact
• Racial Equity Toolkit
• CIAS 2024 Keynote 2: Power Building, Trust, and Relationships: Supporting Movement Beyond Moments of Reckoning'

More on Collective Impact

• Infographic: What is Collective Impact?
• Resource List: Getting Started in Collective Impact

The Intro music, entitled “Running,” was composed by Rafael Krux, and can be found here and is licensed under CC: By 4.0.

The outro music, entitled “Deliberate Thought,” was composed by Kevin Macleod. Licensed under CC: By.

Have a question related to collaborative work that you'd like to have discussed on the podcast? Contact us at: https://www.collectiveimpactforum.org/contact-us/