Capital Birth to Work Team Meeting

March 11, 2011

2:00 – 4:00

CCED

Meeting Notes

I. Michele Corey – Michigan’s Children

In order to write an article about BTW in the Michigan’s Children newsletter, Michele posed the question, “Why BTW?” to the team. The team responded with a far ranging and comprehensive conversation. Some of the highlights are listed below (others might want to add to the response).

Why Birth to Work?

  • At the most macro level it’s about sustaining democracy and civic participation. This grand experiment we call democracy will not survive if the majority of people are undereducated. Our graduation rates for high school and higher education are abysmal. We must change this if democracy, as we know it, is to survive.
  • There are not enough students who are prepared for college. Universities cannot sustain the amount of remedial course they are forced to offer to increase the basic academic competencies of incoming freshmen.
  • Fifty years of human development research absolutely indicates that full potential cannot be achieved when we deal with human development within silos. To achieve full potential we must work across all the domains of human development. They must be interconnected. It is about neurons (the biological – we are raising a brain) to neighborhoods (social and cultural – environment matters).
  • Institutional and Structural racism/classism persists. These two factors are the most significant risk factors that threaten healthy human development and must be addressed.

II. Kellogg Conference Call – Monday, March 14, 12:00 -12:45

Brad, Michelle, Ken, Hi, and Bob will participate on the conference call.

II. Systems Work – Closing the Equity Gap to Increase Regional Prosperity

See attached

III. BTW & Portal Presentations to PWC Coalitions

April presentations and teams re-confirmed

IV. Pursuing partnering, funding and leveraging resources for youth and young adult portion of BTW

A. Update:

Relationship / BTW Team / March Follow-up Action
Mike Brown (Prima Civitas) / John, Brad, Bob
How to keep Steve Webster in the info loop (Hi taking lead) / Bob will follow up with John to see when the conversation might take place. Hi will keep Steve Webster in the BTW information loop.
Chris Holman / Angela, Hi, John / Bob will follow up with Angela to see when the conversation might take place.
Joan Jackson Johnson / Angela, Pat / Bob will follow up with Angela to see when the conversation might take place.
Tony Fragale (YMCA) / Hi, Peggy, Brad / Hi with email Tony.
Mitchelle Tomlinson, Greta Wu (Peckham) / Peggy, Angela, Pat, Karen
(Hi will talk to Sarah Swierenga) / Hi will talk to Sarah Swierenga

Closing the Equity Gap to Increase Regional Prosperity


Ingham County Power of We Consortium 2011-2012

Birth to Work, Equity and Sustainability

We propose a year – at least – during which the Power of We will nurture vigorous indigenous social innovation by focusing on three major, related and change-focused themes: Birth to Work, Equity and Sustainability. Below is a strategy for infusing the Power of We’s discussions, decisions and presentations with these three themes.

Actively seek presenters to discuss topics connected to Birth to Work, Equity and Sustainability. Topics could include:

  • Social Innovation
  • Collective Impact
  • Community and Regional Resilience
  • Knowledge-based communities
  • Equity Tools for Community and Economic Development
  • Why sustainability?
  • Why Equity?
  1. Schedule specific presentations that model change agency, co-leadership, collective impact and social innovation.
  2. Develop and implement questions community and PWC collaborative presenters should consider in preparation for their presentations to the PWC related to equity and sustainability.
  3. Discuss “who is at the table” at the Power of We Consortium and how that can impact the issues the PWC considers. Consider changes that may be necessary.

Recommendations:

  • Intentional collective impact strategies to promote racial equity and poverty reduction
  • Increase targeted investment in supports for those who need it most – Who’s poor? Who’s oppressed? Who’s not graduating? (use the right data; test assumptions)
  • Focus interventions where systems transformation is most likely to have an influence on other transition periods (parents raise children; children do not raise parents)
  • Invest in the development of change agents who can transform influential systems to have a racial equity focus
  • Begin transferring ownership of systems to share leadership and power with individuals and organizations whose cultural proficiency is necessary for transformation

Examples of Existing Collective Impact Strategies focused on Equity and Sustainability

  • Capital Region Prosperity Dashboard to connect and democratize data by age, race and region across systems and sectors
  • Peace & Prosperity Youth Action Movement to cultivate youth leadership and social capital networks
  • Ingham Mentoring Partnership to build capacity of community-based education, employment and entrepreneurship to provide structure mentoring opportunities
  • m.a.d.e. social entrepreneurship project to develop opportunities for creative innovation

References:

Arce, B, Cohn, S, Lamos, E, & Roark, M. 2006. The New Fundamentals in Planning for Local Economic Development: Knowledge-Based Communities. City and Regional Planning Program: Planning Local Development. Atlanta, GA: Georgia Institute of Technology.

Bristow, G. 2010. Resilient regions: re-‘place’ing regional competitiveness. Cambridge Journal of Regions, Economy and Society 2010, 3, 153–167

doi:10.1093/cjres/rsp030

DeFilippis, J. 2009. Paradoxes of community-building: Community control in the global economy. International Social Science Journal, 59(192):223.

Donegan, M. and Lowe, N. 2008. Inequality in the Creative City: Is There Still a Place for ''Old-Fashioned'' Institutions? Economic Development Quarterly 2008 22: 46

Johnson, A.G. 2009. The Forest for the Trees: Sociology as life, practice and promise (Newly Revised and Expanded Edition). Philadelphia, Penn.: Temple University Press. (Chpt. 1/6).

Kania, J. and Kramer, M. 2011. Collective Impact. Stanford Social Innovation Review. Winter 2011. Stanford, CA: Stanford University.

Morrow, B. 2008. Community Resilience: A Social Justice Perspective. CARRI Research Report 4. Oak Ridge, TN: Community and Regional Resiliance Initiative.

Pastor, M., Benner, C., and Rosner, R. 2006. Edging Toward Equity: Creating Shared Opportunity in America’s Regions. Report from the Conversation on Regional Equity. Santa Cruz, CA: Center for Justice, Tolerance and Community, UCSC.

Wilkinson, R., and Picket, K. 2009. Chapter 2: Poverty or Inequality? The Spirit Level. New York, NY: Bloombury Press.

World Resources Institute (WRI) in collaboration with United Nations Development Programme, United Nations Environment Programme, and World Bank. 2008. A Guide to WorldResources 2008: Roots of Resilience-Growing the Wealth of the Poor. Washington, DC: World Resources Institute