Learning Lab Dates and Times
- Session 1: September 16, 2026, 1pm – 4pm ET
- Session 2: September 30, 2026, 1pm – 4pm ET
- Session 3: October 13 or 14, 2026, 1pm – 2:30pm ET (Group Coaching. Attendees opt in to the day that works for them.)
- Session 4: October 28, 2026, 1pm – 4pm ET
Interested in joining the Learning Lab? Visit our Registration Site on Eventbrite.
ABOUT THE BACKBONE LEADERS LEARNING LAB
Are you a leader in a place-based collaborative or playing a backbone role? If so, this Learning Lab is for you!
Backbone leaders play one of the most critical – and often least understood – roles in collaborative, place-based work. You hold the group’s focus on its north star, nurture trust, keep partners aligned, and help communities make meaningful progress on complex challenges.
In today’s environment, backbone leaders are navigating a range of challenges – such as an unpredictable political climate, uncertain funding, and the tension between addressing urgent community needs and stewarding long-term strategic work.
Yet despite how critical this role is, backbone leaders rarely have access to spaces designed specifically for their unique needs, pressures, and leadership realities.
Join the Collective Impact Forum’s Backbone Leaders Learning Lab to meet this need.
This program brings together leaders for skill building, coaching, and peer learning. It offers a rare chance to take a pause, reground in your purpose, and strengthen your practice.
Visit our Eventbrite Site to Register for the Learning Lab.
Why This Learning Lab and Why Now?
Backbone work is essential to the success of collaborative work, and it is also hard. It is relational, strategic, and requires skillful navigation. And it is often lonely, especially when you are one of the few people in your community holding this role.
This Learning Lab exists so you don’t have to make sense of this work alone.
Peer spaces designed specifically for backbone leaders are rare, and this program offers what you need to lead, including:
- Practical tools to advance systems change
- A clearer understanding of the backbone role and how to execute it effectively
- Strategies for navigating uncertainty and how to move forward
- Greater confidence in sustaining long-term collaborative work
- A nationwide peer network of people doing similar work
- A renewed sense of purpose, energy, and grounding
Program Structure and Faculty
The Learning Lab combines training, practical tools, peer learning, and coaching.
The experience is anchored in four interactive virtual sessions, each including a mix of instruction, reflection, and small-group peer learning.
Learning Lab space is intentionally limited to 25 participants per cohort to create an intimate, high-touch learning environment. The cohort will meet on September 16, September 30, October 28, and have optional small group coaching sessions on either October 13 or 14.
Learning Lab Faculty: Jennifer Splansky Juster, Executive Director, Collective Impact Forum; Courtney W. Robertson, Director of Programs and Partnerships, Collective Impact Forum.
Who Should Attend? This program is ideal for:
- Individuals playing or supporting the backbone role
- Leaders of emerging or established place-based collaborations (e.g., collective impact, multi-sector collaborations, place-based partnerships)
- Practitioners who want to deepen their systems-change practice and connect with peers
Program Fee & Benefits
Registration Site: Visit our Eventbrite site to register.
Registration Fees:
- 2026 Summer Early-Bird Rate: $1,800 per participant if you join by July 31, 2026
- Regular Rate: $2,000 per participant starting August 1, 2026
Final Day to Register: September 14, 2026 (Note: Registration will close sooner if the cap is met before this date)
Additional Program Benefits
In addition to the Learning Lab sessions listed above, enrollment includes free registration to the Forum’s virtual workshop Facilitating Collaborative Meetings (December 8-9, 2026), adding an extra $249 in value to your Learning Lab registration.
Interested in Learning More?
Reach out with your questions to CI Forum Executive Director Jennifer Juster at Jennifer.Juster@FSG.org for any questions related to the Learning Lab, or sign-up to join our Info Session webinar on July 14, 1pm – 2pm ET where we will go over the program and answer your questions. (Register for Info Session.)
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I register for the Learning Lab? Visit our Eventbrite site to register for the Learning Lab.
Are these Learning Lab sessions in-person or online? All sessions will be held online using Zoom Meeting.
Can my whole team sign-up with one registration? No. Each participant will require their own Learning Lab registration as these will be active sessions focused on building individual skill & capability and small group engagement throughout the session to build relationships and problem solve together.
Can different people from my team attend different sessions? No. This experience is designed to build individual skill & capability, as well as community amongst participants, and participants will invest time in getting to know others in the cohort. Sending a different individual to the sessions doesn’t enable effective personal development and community building.
What currency is this Learning Lab using for registration? The Collective Impact Forum is based in the United States and registration cost is in U.S. dollars.
What time zone are you using for the Learning Lab sessions? The session times are listed in Eastern Time (US & Canada.) If joining from another time zone, please note the time difference.
What does the Learning Lab include? The Learning Lab includes four virtual sessions for. Three of these sessions will be a mix of training from the CI Forum team and facilitated peer learning and problem solving; one of the sessions will be a coaching session with the CI Forum team on challenges participants arefacing in their work. Learning Lab participants also receive free registration for the December 2026 Facilitating Collaborative Meetings workshop.
Will the sessions be recorded? The presentations and full group discussions will be recorded. Small group time during the sessions will not be recorded. Recordings will be shared within one week of the sessions.
Can I be invoiced for these sessions? Yes, we can invoice you. Invoices must be paid by ACH or check. Credit card orders cannot be processed by invoice. If you wish to pay by credit card, please register via our Eventbrite site when it launches. All requests to pay by invoice must be made by August 31, 2026. Please reach out to Tracy Timmons-Gray at tracy.timmons-gray@collectiveimpactforum.org if you wish to inquire about paying by invoice.
How do I cancel my registration and request a refund? All cancellation requests must be submitted in writing. Registered participants who decide to cancel their participation will receive a refund of their registration fee minus a 10% fee. The 10% fee covers non-recoupable administrative and staff expenses associated with event preparation. All refund requests should be emailed to Tracy Timmons-Gray at tracy.timmons-gray@collectiveimpactforum.org. We are unable to process refunds after the refund deadline of September 9, 2026.
Refund Cancellation Deadline
Refund Deadline: The Learning Lab cancellation deadline is Wednesday, September 9, 2026.
Have More Questions?
If your question is not addressed in our FAQ, please contact Tracy Timmons-Gray at tracy.timmons-gray@collectiveimpactforum.org
