OUR HISTORY
Organizing for Collective Action
The Jackson Collaborative Network is a collective impact network that has evolved steadily over the past 20 years. The establishment of the Health Improvement Organization by the local health system in 2000 sparked the creation of other sector or issue focused collaboratives in the community.
By 2015, partners in Jackson County were actively engaged in three collective impact networks: The Health Improvement Organization, The Cradle to Career Education Network, and the Financial Stability Network. Each network had its own governance structure, action plans and dedicated resources. Over time, as work shifted to be focused on identifying and addressing systems issues that were producing inequitable outcomes for residents, many shared root causes were identified that went beyond the sector based problem solving that had been occurring up to this point. This led to the creation of a common set of core values that laid the foundation for an integrated collective impact network that is committed to taking action to identify and address the root causes of sytems issues that are contributing to inequities for residents.
CRADLE TO CAREER EDUCATION NETWORK
The Cradle to Career Education Network (C2C) brought education and community leaders together to equitably improve education outcomes in Jackson County. The C2C network was formally created in July of 2012 with a meeting of community and education leaders who understood that system level change would not be possible without collective action. C2C was formed by combining five education planning teams: The Jackson County Strategic Planning Team for Education, United Way of Jackson County Education Community Solutions Team, Jackson Community Foundation Legacy Scholarship Committee, the Jackson Promise and Jackson Citizens for Economic Growth Education Committee. The vision of C2C was: All Jackson County residents have the critical skills, knowledge, education and/or training they need to achieve economic prosperity, contribute to a stronger economy, and enjoy a greater quality of life.
FINANCIAL STABILITY NETWORK
The Financial Stability Network (FSN) was formed around 2015 as a result of the work of other collective impact networks in Jackson. As the C2C and the HIO made progress on education and health related priorities, the underlying issue of poverty continued to surface as a priority issue. In response to this, a third network was formed to bring together partners and community members in a collaborative effort to address the social and financial barriers to individual success and prosperity. FSN partners worked to establish clearly defined goals and align the action of partners around shared priorities like housing stability, decriminalization of poverty, and employment.
HEALTH IMPROVEMENT ORGANIZATION
The Health Improvement Organization Coordinating Council (HIO CC) served as the stakeholder planning committee for Henry Ford Allegiance Health's Board HIO Committee, Jackson County's Healthy Community Initiative, the United Way of Jackson County's Community Solutions Team on Health, and the 'Health Strand' of the Jackson 2020 Initiative. The HIO CC's scope of responsibility included monitoring community level health status and condition indicators, identifying specific health priorities, and developing community action plans to address common goals. The HIO CC also led the Community Health Assessment process until 2016. The HIO CC was Jackson's first collective impact network, laying the foundation for increased collaboration that contributed to the formation of other networks.
The network has evolved steadily over more than a decade. Most recently, the three networks listed above were integrated into one comprehensive network that is focused on ensuring all Jackson County residents are safe, healthy and thriving.