The past months have been challenging and fascinating. Like many other organizations, we found new and unconventional ways to deal with the outbreak of the Corona virus and its consequences, like leading 'VESHAMARTA' – an emergency campaign to rescue the elderly population and prevent the collapse of the Israeli healthcare system. As an organization that is focused on developing knowledge, the recent period has also provided us with a unique opportunity to examine the role and the effectiveness of collaborative processes under conditions of crisis, to gain insights and to develop tools for dealing with similar situations in the future. >> Read here
Sheatufim Newsletter
We thought that our Passover newsletter would look completely different, but reality struck. Unlike past years, this Pesach which we usually celebrate as a festival of Freedom, is dominated by isolation and seclusion, and spring is taking on a different significance as well. Like many others, we have adjusted ourselves to the new limitations, with the goal of continuing to promote collaborative social impact. These days, we understand its importance and necessity more than ever. In this newsletter you will find a brief update on our core activities and get a glimpse of how we are harnessing our experience and skill in managing and leading multi-sector collaborative action to benefit society in this challenging time, through involving philanthropy, business and social organizations, in coordination with government ministries. 
Any collaborative process involving a variety of players from the public, social, and business sectors is, by its very nature, a complex one. Its success depends, among other things, on the ability of its leadership to create a broad partnership within the inter-organizational and interpersonal reality, and to face the ongoing challenges of building trust and reaching consensus among a wide range of stakeholders.In initiatives like Collective Impact, the “Backbone Organization” is responsible for all of the above functions. In public participation processes, this role will be filled by a facilitative body. Either way, it is a separate entity from all other stakeholders, whose role is to lead everyone towards the common goal. 
A new year is upon us, bringing exciting beginnings alongside significant endings. You are invited to catch up on the fascinating stage of the 5X2 Initiative for STEM Excellence, on our participation processes in government offices, and our recently launched "Sheatuf-yeda" and Studio for Collaborative Social Processes.
Collaborative social impact is created when diverse actors, from all sectors work together for a common purpose. While recognizing the importance and significance of interaction between the sectors, we have also learned that it is important to recognise the unique place, advantages and challenges that each sector brings to the table. In this spirit, we have chosen to devote the current Sheatuf-yeda to the third sector's place in collaborative processes, and to shine a spotlight on its perspective on cross-sector action in various models. 
Collaborative Social Impact can be achieved through a variety of strategies, each suited to different circumstances and goals. Public participation has recently become a core strategy in this regard. In our experience, as public participation practitioners in Israel for over a decade, we have learned that all these benefits are only gained when the participation processes are based on a well-founded conceptual and methodological infrastructure. When these are absent, there is no added value, and there is even a risk of damage. Here are examples of two very different processes, one from Hungary and one from Israel. There is, of course, a wide range of possibilities between these two examples, but what distinguishes between them is, primarily the professionalism and skill of process leaders and operators and their ability to formulate agreement and build trust. 
In the last decade, “Collective Impact” has developed from a basic concept in a groundbreaking article, to a vital, diverse and effective field of action and learning. Organizations, researchers, and multi-stakeholders initiatives around the world are developing practical tools alongside theoretical models that enrich the accumulated discourse and experience. We chose to dedicate the first "Sheatuf-yeda" newsletter, to a hot update from the global knowledge front, dealing with the first stages of Collective Impact processes. We added a practical tool developed by our professional teams, for the purpose of building consent between multi stakeholders taking part in Collective Impact initiatives.