Building a Strong Local Team

As you contemplate doing your Registry Week, a critical thing to keep in mind for a successful initiative is gathering the right leadership team.

Ending homelessness is a complex problem to be solved, and it will take a strong team for you to be successful in this. We have learned a lot about successful collaborations, and much of it is laid out in the article included in this section of the Toolkit on Collective Impact.

Here are the highlights:

1. Agree on goals and outcomes
2. Only put resources into things that reduce the number of homeless individuals
3. See what the research shows, then do it!
4. Constantly communicate with your team and the community at large
5. Ensure you have a backbone organization

The documents listed below should give you a good sense of who should be involved and how to work together:

1. To get acquainted with the idea of Collective Impact, please read the following materials: Collective Impact Articles from the Stanford Social Innovation Review and the SSI blog post on How to Use Collective Impact to End Homelessness by Becky Kanis.
2. Open up the chart labeled People You Might Recruit for Your Team to further think about who should be around the table as you plan and implement your Registry Week. You should also refer to the San Diego Committee Structure and the Committee Descriptions and Responsibilities documents
3. Next, start to think about sending out invitations to be a part of your community’s Registry Week. See the Sample Letter to Police Chief Requesting Support. Use the Collective Impact Team Worksheet to score your team as it forms.
4. Keep track of who is on your leadership team by using the Leadership Team Template document
5. Be sure to keep in touch with your team. You can refer to the document Sample Follow Up Email for Community Partners.

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Next: 3 – Clarifying Your Demand