From my two decades of experience working in impact investing and integrated capital, I’ve found that highly complex issues are often most effectively addressed through collaborative efforts using a breadth of interventions, across a system of interactions that are woven together. Easily solvable problems do not require collaboration. Difficult ones do. Collaboration is also necessary to take a systemic approach to the big issues we all want to solve – and systemic change is necessary to create outsized outcomes for the communities and environments for whom we work.
Collaborative investing entails developing platforms and vehicles for investing with other peer investors and governments to invest more efficiently. The New Mexico Impact Investing Collaborative (NMIIC) defines investment collaboration as “sharing deal flow, diligence and other resources for best practice impact investment execution as well as monitoring and reporting.”
When it comes to collaborative efforts, we don’t all have to take the same route to arrive at the same destination. When partners agree on the main outcome of the collaboration, the true north of a project, and then work together to uncover the many ways to move toward that goal, a richness that addresses multiple points of a system can emerge. No single activity will achieve deep success; instead, actions need to be blended or built upon to achieve stronger results. It is the breadth of perspectives and opportunities that lead to success, not the narrow focus area of one funder or the idea of one participant.
Recent conversations with other members of Confluence Philanthropy have reminded me of some of the common barriers that can bog down effective collaboration: pre-conceived solutions, restrictive funding areas, and not enough voices in the mix. I’ve also developed a better understanding of some of the ideas and approaches that make them successful: flexibility, taking short-term detours to reach long-term results, and focusing on the destination, not the road.
Collaboration is hard. We all function within our own organizational environments which have specific focus areas, goals, and values, with outcomes we are meant to achieve in our work. Great collaboration requires folks to bend and flow, not remain rigid to their one idea, geography, tool, or orientation. It is always tough to balance the individual needs of the partners and what the larger project requires – but this tension creates a balanced system for change.
Collaboration that begins with a pre-determined path often has disappointing results. On the many collaborative projects I have been a part of, the path is rarely straight, and usually requires at least one detour, with people arriving at the final destination at different times. Being able to come back to the true north allows for the solution to develop that is aligned with the desired outcomes and relationships, not the other way around. A more integrated solution will develop from the experiences of different paths taken toward a shared result.
One of the assets that foundations and impact investors can bring to collaborative efforts is the ability to see the bigger picture, particularly those who deploy an integrated capital approach in their work. They can understand the intersections of sectors, organizations, ideas, and experiences, and they appreciate the people who come together with their unique perspective, skills, and tools as part of solving a larger issue than they can address alone.
Finally, collaboration acknowledges that there are many ways of knowing. For this reason, a compass works better than a map when developing a collaborative effort. Following a true north when it comes to impact can allow everyone to forge a path that creates a strong collaboration.
This blog is part of a series highlighting takeaways and insights from the Collaborative Impact Investing Forum, co-organized by Confluence Philanthropy and the New Mexico Impact Investing Collaborative (NMIIC). The Forum in March 2024 brought investor collaboratives, national funders, and local foundations together to explore the current landscape for values-aligned investor collaboratives.
Cindy Willard, Senior Director Capital Activation, Impact Charitable
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