How Backbone Organizations Build Civic Infrastructure for Stronger Communities
“So, what do you do?”
We’ve all heard this question. Sometimes, our answers are met with nods of recognition; other times, helping someone understand our role requires more explanation. People working to develop their community’s civic infrastructure might need to share a lot of extra explanation.
Civic infrastructure isn’t something we can see or touch. It’s the structures that connect people, ideas and resources to make communities stronger — relationships, collaboration, goal setting, data sharing and more. But even though civic infrastructure is often intangible, organizations in communities across the country are taking tangible steps to build and deepen it.
These organizations are sometimes called backbone organizations. The members of the StriveTogether Cradle to Career Network serve as backbone organizations for their communities, across 30 states and Washington, D.C. — meaning that they’re the backbone of their communities’ efforts to create and maintain a strong civic infrastructure.
So, what does a backbone organization do — and what impact does it make? Read on for a breakdown of the key roles of backbone organizations supporting their communities’ civic infrastructure, and see what it looks like in communities nationwide.
Backbone organizations connect people across the community and keep the work moving forward.
The work of building civic infrastructure brings together people, ideas, initiatives and information. It’s complex and constantly shifting, so communities need solid support at the center of the work. That’s where the backbone comes in.
Backbone organizations bring together changemakers and leaders from across the community and help them stay focused on their shared vision and goals. They facilitate meetings, manage communication, act as a resource hub and more.
Backbone organizations also help keep the work moving forward in the face of change. When initiatives end or leaders switch roles, the backbone organization keeps up continuity in the community’s civic infrastructure development. Backbones’ work isn’t dependent on one individual or program, but rather stays focused on the outcomes the community wants to improve.
One of the central roles of backbone organizations is connecting all of the sectors that impact those outcomes — education, housing, health care and more. They help leaders from different organizations and businesses understand how their work contributes to the shared goal of the community: to support the success of every child, in school and in life.
Northfield, Minn., features two examples of cross-sector networks that are making a difference. First, backbone organization and Cradle to Career Network member Northfield Promise convened a Racial Equity Team to create a more equitable and inclusive learning environment for students of color. The group has revised curriculum to be more culturally responsive, expanded the translation of school materials, used data to address gaps in internet connectivity and food security, and more. Northfield Promise also brings together a collaborative called Growing Up Healthy, focused on improving conditions for Latine, immigrant and refugee families. These groups and others like them connect individuals across a community so they can bring their unique contributions to solve a shared challenge.
Backbone organizations also connect and lift up community members and young people. In San Francisco, Calif., backbone organization Mission Promise Neighborhood has created dedicated spaces for Latine families to lead. Parents co-create agendas and lead meetings with partners. Parents also drafted policies to hold the school district accountable for implementing solutions for educational disparities faced by Latine youth. During the pandemic, Mission Promise Neighborhood has hosted virtual town halls for parents to share concerns and ideas around remote learning and school reopening plans with elected officials and district administrators. From the combined efforts of their strategies, Mission Promise Neighborhood helped advocate for $28.5 million in new city funding for a comprehensive COVID-19 response to the Latine community.
Backbone organizations set up and support data infrastructure.
Using data to make informed decisions and improve strategies is critical to getting better outcomes for kids and families. Backbone organizations make sure that all organizations and individuals in the community have the data they need. They also create and maintain systems to collect, share, store, analyze and communicate about data.
Across the Cradle to Career Network, backbone organizations are supporting innovative data use and supporting effective data infrastructure. In Green Bay, Wis., Achieve Brown County formed a first-of-its-kind data-sharing agreement to advance outcomes in the community.
The team set out to combine student data with data from major health providers to learn about health and mobility conditions for children. To access critical school data, Achieve Brown County developed a universal data-sharing and data use agreement that each superintendent signed onto. Brown County’s data-sharing partnership between the public sector, the health care system and the public school system is the first of its kind in the country. They’re sharing what they’ve learned with the Cradle to Career Network so other communities can create their own.
Thanks to this system, the team can share data with partners in all sectors. If the data reveals a challenge for a group of young people, Achieve Brown County will create an action plan with community partners, working with them to decide which partners are best positioned to address the issue.
“At the end of the day, what we do as a backbone organization is aimed at serving and supporting our partners,” said Spencer Bonnie, Achieve Brown County’s executive director. “By developing the agreements, building the necessary relationships at the state and local level, and seeking the data that will drive positive results, we have made their jobs easier and our collective goals more attainable.”
Learn more about the community’s innovative data infrastructure.
Backbone organizations support collective policy advocacy.
Policy is a powerful lever of change in institutions, communities, states and across the country. But policy change can be daunting. Backbone organizations make it possible for individuals, organizations and communities to come together, amplify their voices and influence policymakers to put kids and families first.
One backbone organization tapping into its power to influence policy is Partners for Rural Impact, which builds civic infrastructure across an eight-county region in eastern Kentucky. When the U.S. Department of Education proposed dropping the rural priority from a funding opportunity, Partners for Rural Impact used their knowledge of the region’s needs to prevent this cut. The backbone organization partnered with Save the Children to share comments explaining why the rural priority shouldn’t be removed, advocating for the needs of their community. After receiving this feedback, the Department of Education retained the priority for rural applicants.
To help their communities to tap into the available resources, Partners for Rural Impact supported two partner school districts to secure $3,750,000 each. That funding will create new approaches to improve third grade reading outcomes for children in rural communities.
Influencing policy is brought within reach by the work of backbone organizations to create partnerships, support community engagement, convene knowledge and connect local work to broader regions. Read more about what makes civic infrastructure so effective in policy change.
Backbone organizations help fundraise, manage investments and support sustainability.
Backbone organizations advocate for the work of their partners with public and private funders. With the combined effectiveness of their partners, they can make the case for investments that will impact the entire community. Backbone organizations reduce the burden of grant management by supporting cohesive action plans where each partner plays a clearly defined role. They also help communities use data to make decisions about where resources are needed most and where funding will make the biggest difference for kids and families.
Across the Cradle to Career Network, backbone organizations are using their established partnerships and data to develop innovative funding models to support communities’ civic infrastructure. In Memphis, Tennessee, one creative model is having an impact. Backbone organization Seeding Success is leading an outcomes financing initiative, where governments invest in better results for their communities and only pay for what works.
Seeding Success brought together community leaders seeking to provide high-quality pre-kindergarten to every 4-year old living in poverty. StriveTogether introduced the organization to Maycomb Capital, an impact investing platform. Together, Maycomb Capital and Seeding Success developed an outcomes-based financing model that created 1,000 additional seats for pre-kindergarten students in just about a year. Seeding Success’ relationships and insights as a backbone organization made it possible to build a new model while keeping the shared goals of the community at the forefront.
These roles and more allow backbone organizations to make a deep impact in their communities. It doesn’t mean they’re in charge, though. Backbone organizations are most effective when they center community member, youth and family leadership and lift up those doing work on the ground.
Instead of working to support specific strategies, programs or partner priorities, backbone organizations keep the community’s shared vision at the forefront. They make sure that all decisions are made with the support of data, and they ensure that every shift in practices, resources, power structures or policies puts kids and families first. Across the Cradle to Career Network, backbone organizations are making a difference in the lives of 14 million children and counting.
To learn about supporting the work of backbone organizations in your community or across the country, visit StriveTogether.org, and follow us here on Medium for more civic infrastructure updates.
