Successful solutions rely on the input and insight of people with firsthand knowledge of the problems. Centering their knowledge requires an ideological shift so that impacted communities are seen as stakeholders in the solutions, not beneficiaries of services. Communities should be involved in defining the problems and coming up with solutions; their voices should be amplified, and organizations must support the work communities are already doing. Some organizations do this by bringing people with firsthand experience into the leadership and workforce of the organization. Others invest time and resources talking to and building trust with communities that are most impacted by the problems. Developing leadership capacity within communities is also a way to ensure that communities are brought in and have the capacity to sustain solutions locally.
Insight 1: Build Partnerships and Collaborate Effectively
A single organization cannot create and sustain systems change alone. It takes collaboration among networks, partnerships and coalitions to maximize the strengths and fill in
