If you are just getting started in collective impact work and are looking for an overview of the approach and role of the backbone, we invite you to join “Introduction to Collective Impact and the Backbone Role,” the first workshop in our Essentials for Collective Impact 2025 workshop series.
Focus areas for this session include:
- An overview of the 5 Conditions of collective impact and why they are important
- Strategies to support centering equity practices within collective impact work
- Designing a results-focused common agenda
- Discussion of governance structures and the backbone role
- Building a culture for collective impact
Who is this workshop designed for? This workshop is designed for participants who are new to the collective impact concept and early in their initiative’s development.
Faculty:
- Jennifer Splansky Juster, Executive Director, Collective Impact Forum
- Courtney W. Robertson, Director of Programs and Partnerships, Collective Impact Forum;
- Paul Schmitz, Senior Advisor, Collective Impact Forum and CEO, Leading Inside Out
About Essentials for Collective Impact
This workshop is part of the Essentials for Collective Impact workshop series. Attendees can register for the full series pass and join all four online workshops, or register for an individual workshop on a specific topic.
Registration Details
To Register: Visit our Eventbrite site to register for a single workshop or a full series pass of all four workshops.
Workshop Rates: Individual topic workshops cost $199 each, plus taxes and fees. The full series pass for all four workshops costs $599, plus taxes and fees. Visit our registration site to join a workshop or the full series.
Registration deadline: Last day to register for this session is Friday, September 12, 2025.
Cancellations and Refunds:
Refunds are available, minus a 10% processing fee, as long as registrants contact us ahead of the cancellation deadlines listed below and in our FAQ. All requests for a refund must be emailed to Tracy Timmons-Gray at tracy.timmons-gray@collectiveimpactforum.org ahead of the respective refund deadline.
Refunds cannot be fulfilled after the deadline has passed. Refund requests must be received by these dates:
- September 10, 2025 – Full Series Pass
- September 10, 2025 – Introduction to Collective Impact and the Backbone Role
- September 24, 2025 – Introduction to Systems Change for Collective Impact
- October 8, 2025 – Critical Communication Practices for Collaboratives
- October 15, 2025 – Tools for Collaborative Engagement and Planning
Have More Questions?
Please see our FAQ further down this page for answers to frequently asked questions. If your question is not addressed in our FAQ, please reach out to Tracy Timmons-Gray at: tracy.timmons-gray@collectiveimpactforum.org.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I register for Essential for Collective Impact? Visit our Eventbrite site to register. You can join all four workshops with a full series pass, or register for individual topics that interest you.
Is Essentials for Collective Impact in-person or online? This is an online learning series. We will use Zoom Meeting for all sessions.
What time zone are the workshops using? Workshops are listed in Eastern Time (US & Canada); each session is from 1pm – 4pm ET. If you are joining from another time zone, please note the time difference.
What currency does this workshop series use? We are based in the United States and our registration is in US dollars.
What will each workshop entail? Each 3-hour workshop will include a mix of presentation, personal reflection / activity, Q&A, and small group discussions. There will be a short break planned during each workshop.
What accessibility practices will Essentials for Collective Impact be using? We will have zoom auto-captions on for each workshop. Ahead of the workshop, we will send out copies of any presentation or handouts that the workshop will use. After the workshop, we will share recordings of the workshop as well as any referenced resources. If there are other access measures that we can provide, please reach out to Tracy Timmons-Gray at tracy.timmons-gray@collectiveimpactforum.org.
Who is Essentials for Collective Impact designed for? The Essentials for Collective Impact series can be helpful for anyone working in a collective impact/collaborative effort, but may be especially helpful for those in the beginning/early stages of their collaborative work. If you are preparing to launch your collaborative or are in the first few years of your initiative, the resources shared in this series of workshops may be very valuable. You can choose to join the full series or the specific topics that you are most interested in.
If I attended the Essentials for Collective Impact workshop series in the past, will the content be the same? Can I join this series? The 2025 Essentials for Collective Impact series is a mix of new workshops, and workshops held in the past. If you joined in the past, we recommend checking which sessions would be new for you and exploring them.
What’s the difference between the Full Series and Single Workshop registration? If you are signing up for the full Essentials for Collective Impact workshop series, you are signing up for all four workshops. If you sign up for any single workshop in the series, you will be just registering for that specific workshop.
Will workshops be recorded? The workshop presentation and full group Q&A will be recorded and shared after the workshop with those who registered. Breakout group discussions that will be part of each workshop will not be recorded. Recordings will be shared within a week after the workshop. Attendees have access to recordings for three months following the workshop.
Are there Group Rates available? Yes. If you have 10 or more people interested in registering for the complete Essentials for Collective Impact series of all four workshops, there is a 10% discount available. Please contact Tracy Timmons-Gray at tracy.timmons-gray@collectiveimpactforum.org on how to access this discount. Single workshops in the series do not have a group discount.
Can my team sign-up with one registration? No. Each person will require their own registration for either the full series pass or for a single workshop. One registration equals one person in attendance. Full series passes are not transferable to other team members.
How do I request a refund? Registered participants who decide to cancel their participation in either the full Essentials for Collective Impact workshop series or a single workshop will receive a refund of their registration fee minus a 10% processing fee. The 10% fee covers non-recoupable administrative expenses associated with registration and event preparation. All refund requests should be emailed to tracy.timmons-gray@collectiveimpactforum.org. Please note, we are unable to process refunds after a refund deadline has passed. Please see refund deadlines below.
REFUND AND CANCELLATION DEADLINES
Full Workshop Series:
For a full four workshop series refund, requests for cancellations will be honored through Wednesday, September 10, 2025.
Single Workshops:
If you register for a single workshop, these are the refund deadlines. These are only for those who registered for a single workshop and not a full series pass.
- Introduction to Collective Impact and the Backbone Role: Wednesday, September 10, 2025
- Introduction for Systems Change for Collective Impact: Wednesday, September 24, 2025.
- Critical Communication Practices for Collaboratives: Wednesday, October 8, 2025
- Tools for Collaborative Engagement and Planning: Wednesday, October 15, 2025.
