| Common Agenda | All participants have shared vision for change including a common understanding of the problem and a joint approach to solving it through agreed upon approaches. |
| Shared Measurement | Collecting data and measurement results consistently across all participants ensures efforts remain aligned and participants hold each other accountable. |
| Mutually Reinforcing Activities | Participant activities must be differentiated while still being coordinated through a mutually reinforcing plan of action. |
| Continuous Communication | Consistent and open communication is needed across the many players to build trust, assure mutual objectives, and create common motivation. |
| Backbone Support | Creating and managing collective impact requires a separate organization(s) with staff and specific set of skills to serve as the backbone of the entire initiative and coordinate participating organizations and agencies. |
Source: Hanleybrown, F., Kania, J., & Kramer, M. (2012). Channeling change: Making collective impact work. Stanford Social Innovation Review, 20, 1-8.