Back on Track: The challenges of implementing a small place-based Collective Impact initiative

Back on Track (BoT) was developed as pilot to provide an integrated service response to twenty at-risk young people residing in a metro Melbourne housing estate. For this cohort, traditional welfare sector interventions were proving ineffective, with the siloed nature of the sector identified as a key barrier to effective engagement.

Developed as an offshoot of an established CI project, the Education Engagement Partnership (EEP), BoT used Collective Impact (CI) methodology to inform project development. CI was considered a means to implement systematic change whilst increasing positive health, education and justice outcomes for the target cohort.

BoT was abandoned after start-up due to a lack of CI model buy-in on the part of one stakeholder.

BoT's initial success can be directly attributed to stakeholder experience of the EEP. The project's break down illuminates challenges that can emerge when the welfare sector attempts interagency collaborative practices. BoT highlights the centrality of relationship-building for successful CI implementation and flags potential issues in collaborations between small place-based initiatives and large statewide agencies constrained by non-negotiable internal policies. SO WHAT?: CI methodology is increasing popular in health promotion work, and there is a need to examine how the methodology translates into local level practice.