The Future of Impact Is in Collaborative Ecosystems

How do we design and implement solutions that go beyond successful projects and new technologies and become embedded in the social environments in which the people we serve live and work? 

What we know is that there is a limit to how much one individual or one organisation can achieve alone. And most of us know this — have always known this. To create change that overflows out of our hands, that remains standing after we have stepped away, we need the broader ecosystem of which we are a part. We need relationships with others working on the same problems we are. We need to bring together different approaches in service of a shared vision and supported by shared values. Multifaceted challenges require multifaceted solutions.

Knowledge sharing allows our diverse experiences and expertise to challenge us into new ways of seeing. It broadens our frame and deepens our understanding. Collaborative ecosystems create the conditions for this to happen. They provide spaces where organisations can connect, build trust, share resources, and learn from one another. And this, in turn, paves the way for co-created solutions that begin with people.

The future of social impact lies in collaborative ecosystems because we have witnessed the limitations of working in silos and in disconnection from local needs. Evidence abounds that no one organisation, no matter how well intentioned or well resourced, can solve a systemic problem on its own. It is time to make good on what humanity has always known: that we are better together. 

Cynthia Rayner is a Visiting Fellow at the Skoll Centre for Social Entrepreneurship,  Saïd Business School, University of Oxford. Watch the video below to hear her perspective on the power of collaborative ecosystems to create widespread social change that lasts.