Part 2: Frameworks Guide Us as We Address Challenges
The mission of 100% New Mexico initiative is to empower local champions to create the services to ensure the ten vital services for surviving and thriving. The initiative is guided by three frameworks/models, designed to be implemented on a countywide scale.
Concept 7: Our County Model and Focus for the Initiative
The 100% New Mexico initiative is a county-based collective impact project. This means that it focuses on ensuring ten vital services within all cities, towns and communities within a county’s borders. This leads us to the framework we use to take on such a monumental task across ten sectors. We chose the county model for some very pragmatic, economic and political reasons. One reason is that it allows for the development of sustainable funding streams to support the initiative, including the “1% for 100% funding formula,” in which 1% of a county and city governments’ budget is earmarked for 100% Community activities.
On a countywide scale, we can do the following:
- Assessment: identify service gaps in the county and why they exist
- Planning: research solutions; create public-private sector partnership to fix gaps in all communities within a county’s borders
- Action: collaborate and innovate with technology, to ensure ten services meet the needs of 100%, including creating the businesses and jobs of the future
- Evaluation: track all projects and what county residents report access to, and user-friendliness of, ten vital services
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
- Describe the benefits of an initiative working within a county’s borders
- Describe how the agencies that deliver the ten vital services align services and communicate across a county
- Describe the “1% for 100%” funding formula that involves county government and all the cities within the county’s borders
- Describe how to identify the budgets of county and city government
- Describe the various elected officials within a county’s borders who may impact local budgets and priorities
GETTING ANSWERS AND INSIGHTS
STEP 1: Watch
STEP 2: Consider
The three-headed-hydra wants you to spend your time watching national and global crises, not engaged in a result-focused countywide project.
STEP 3: Read
100% Community: Introduction in segment “Thinking Global, Fixing Local”
Concept 8: Continuous Quality Improvement (CQI)
We are a data-driven process guided by the 8) continuous quality improvement framework that includes four phases: assessing, planning, acting and evaluating.
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
- Define CQI
- Describe one industry that used CQI to increase efficiency
- Describe the four phases of CQI
- Describe why using a framework like CQI is better and more productive than no framework guiding a project
- Describe what role data have in the four phases of CQI
- Describe why there might be push-back from governmental and nongovernmental organizations to using CQI?
GETTING ANSWERS AND INSIGHTS
STEP 1: Watch
STEP 2: Consider
The continuous quality improvement process sets your projects up for success. Or you can follow the whims of three-headed hydras.
STEP 3: Read
100% Community: Chapter 29
Concept 9: Collective Impact
The 100% New Mexico initiative is following the collective impact model with the following components: a shared vision, goals, use of data, use of communications strategy, interrelated activities and solid economic base.
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
- Describe the Collective Impact model
- Describe the benefits of using collective impact
- List key elements of Collective Impact
- Describe why there might be push back from governmental and nongovernmental organizations and community groups to using Collective Impact?
GETTING ANSWERS AND INSIGHTS
STEP 1: Watch
STEP 2: Consider
Today’s unprecedented challenges require a vision of hope, not apathy, envy and fear. The collective impact framework can guide us.
STEP 3: Read
100% Community: Chapter 31
Concept 10: Adaptive Leadership
One invaluable concept and field of study to understand when working with the 100% New Mexico initiative is called Adaptive Leadership, a way of solving challenges described in the book The Practice of Adaptive Leadership: Tools and Tactics for Changing Your Organization and the World by Heifetz, Grashow and Linsky. The book describes how there are two types of challenges as work to improve organizations and communities called technical challenges and adaptive challenges. This is a way of thinking about identifying and solving complex and political challenges that will be part of the work of the 100% New Mexico initiative. Technical challenges, described briefly, have an agreed upon path to follow for problem-solving. Adaptive challenges have no agreed upon path forward and you’re in uncharted waters. The authors warn, with good reason, that change agents don’t want to confuse a technical challenge with an adaptive one.
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
- Describe the practice of Adaptive Leadership
- Describe a technical challenge, an adaptive challenge and the difference between them
- Describe a potential technical challenge you may face in your sector as you develop a project
- Describe a potential adaptive challenge you may face in your sector as you develop a project
- Describe what “getting on the balcony” means as it relates to problem-solving
- Describe the benefits of using adaptive leadership and consequences of not using it
GETTING ANSWERS AND INSIGHTS
STEP 1: Watch
STEP 2: Consider
What’s the difference between a technical challenge and an adaptive challenge? (Hint: The adaptive challenge has three heads)
STEP 3: Read
