"Collaborative 2.0"

As our fall programming ramps up we are looking forward to a new phase of work with the Collaborative. With new partners and a new Steering Committee we have many different moving parts as we try to create, as Jeff calls it, the “Collaborative 2.0.”

The goal of this phase is to formalize our structures and partnerships in order enhance our impact. To do this, we are kicking off the process by assembling a formal Steering Committee. Headed up by Jeff, we have assembled a team of movers and shakers in the anti-trafficking community who can guide our work and provide overall strategic coherence. These folks will set the direction and agenda for the Collaborative moving forward. The Steering Committee will then give marching orders to the rest of the Collaborative who will execute the devised plans. This system intends to bring more service providers and voices to the table to set the agenda, in hopes that in doing so we will reach more survivors in SB County.

With a Steering Committee in place, we will then re-try the working group model. At the outset of formulating the Collaborative we attempted to form multiple working groups, but without the direction of an overarching body like the Steering Committee these groups failed to gain traction. Our hope is that a decision making body will give new life to these working groups so that they can go out and effect change “on the ground.” For this reason, the Collaborative continues to take an “all hands on deck” approach, soliciting help from individuals in all sectors who are committed to working together to enact systemic change.

Though structurally things are looking quite a bit different around here the ethos remains the same. The Collaborative exists to meet the immediate, short-term, and long-term needs of survivors in SB County by bringing together a host of diverse stakeholders. We are excited by this vision and are eager to formalize these systems to make the whole machine run more smoothly. Onward!