Networks for Social Impact in Education Series – Report 2: Equity and Empowerment in Education Networks

Do cross-sector networks make education inequity worse? This question has been the topic of significant debate in the sector, particularly around whether the collective impact model of crosssector network interaction is redeemable.1 In the years since this debate emerged, education coalitions across the United States sought to make equity practices central in their work.

 

Partnerships and coalitions are investigating how they can address systemic inequities through their operations and relationships. There are two approaches to addressing inequalities in coalitions: the involvement approach and the system-change approach. The involvement approach is a developmental process where underrepresented and underserved groups acquire critical resources and rights to achieve life goals.2 It focuses on the involvement of the communities most affected in the network’s decision-making. In contrast, the systems-change approach focuses on dismantling the inequity embedded in institutions. It recognizes that unfair treatment has led to systemic and structural disadvantages towards marginalized groups. This realization catalyzes a proactive response that deconstructs and reorganizes power to address inequity. This report investigates the strategies coalitions use to involve the community and how those practices are related to systems-change practices, if at all.