View the Resource By Michelle Shumate This introductory video provides information about systems of care or networks designed to connect individuals experiencing material hardship with the resources they need. The video describes why coordinated service delivery is essential and the key elements of its design. It ends with several examples of coordinated care systems across the United States. 

From technology to fashion to social-issue intervention, nothing stays stagnant. As COVID highlighted, organizations need to be ready to adapt quickly to changing circumstances. How can organizations, especially those in social impact networks, prepare for a changing landscape? One strategy that social impact organizations can use to prepare for change is to enhance their organization’s absorptive capacity. As our previous two blogs have shown, a network’s ability to manage change—both

Networks are similar to suspension bridges. They are held together and supported by the organizations that compose them. Our previous blog covered changes in the whole network, but impactful change can happen among organizational members. Change within a member organization can upset the balance of the network, impacting one or many organizations in the network.  Consider a scenario where a critical participating organization undergoes a management change. A new manager

View the Resource By Michelle Shumate The Leveraging Integrated Networks in Communities (LINC) to Address Social Needs Act, currently before Congress, addresses the lack of coordination between social service and health organizations. Through public-private partnerships, it offers states and regions incentives to use technology to equalize access to essential services. Section 3 of the proposed legislation focuses on evaluation, requiring the U.S. Comptroller General to assess service provider networks based on

In 2018, the Westside Infant-Family Network (WIN) received $16 million to aid their efforts to increase trauma resilience across west-central and south Los Angeles. WIN is a nonprofit network comprised of eight agency partners established in 2006 to provide mental health resources to families with generational mental health challenges. At first glance, an unknowing onlooker might never know that WIN came from humble beginnings. But, when they started, WIN faced

A group of 19 literacy organizations were at a meeting in Chicago that was late to start. Two of the organizations’ leaders got to talking about how they were having trouble getting the principal of Schiller Elementary to call them back. Ears perked up and unsolicited utterances of “us too” rang out. Finally, one leader asked the question: “how many of us have a literacy program at Schiller Elementary?” All