Strategy for Systems Change: How to Build Strategy for Collaboratives and Coalitions
Written by Amy Merritt Campbell
This is the third post in our series on strategy for programs, organizations, and communities. If you've been following along, you’ve probably noticed a theme: designing a strong strategy looks pretty similar regardless of the size or complexity of the effort. Whether you're working on a single program or leading a cross-sector coalition, it comes down to the same core elements—gathering good information, setting clear goals and actions, and making space to learn and adapt as you go.
When it comes to collaboratives, coalitions, and systems change efforts, the fundamentals stay the same—but the complexity ramps up. Timelines stretch, coordination gets tougher, and things like power dynamics, relationships, and shared ownership come to the forefront. Cross-sector work takes time, care, and a different level of intention. But at the end of the day, the strategy-building process is still grounded in the same principles.
There are lots of frameworks out there for this kind of work—some designed by consulting firms, others developed by communities advancing justice and equity for decades. We’re not here to crown a winner. But we do see common threads that show up again and again. If you’re building strategy for a collective effort, here are the core moves we recommend.
Set the Table
Collaborative work starts with the people in the room. Many successful collaboratives begin with a small group—typically 7 to 12 people—representing key parts of the system. That might include nonprofit and philanthropic leaders, government officials, private sector partners, and community members with lived experience.
You need people who can move the needle—and the presence of diverse voices matters just as much as positional power. Pay close attention to equity, power dynamics, and representation. From the very beginning, set norms and expectations about how you’ll work together. Get clear on your values and how you’ll hold each other accountable to them.
Relationships are everything. They’re the glue of collaborative work—and they start on day one.
Understand the System
Before you can change a system, you have to understand it—and build a shared understanding across the group. That usually involves gathering a variety of inputs:
Mapping exercises: Stakeholder maps, resource maps, trend maps, political/power maps—each of these turns the Rubik’s cube of the system a different way so you can see what’s really going on.
Stakeholder input: Elevating diverse perspectives is essential in systems change work.
Relevant data: Census data, public datasets, institutional data (like test scores, public health outcomes, etc.).
Research, frameworks, and best practices: Don’t reinvent the wheel if someone else has already tested the terrain.
This phase is about curiosity, connection, and shared meaning-making. It lays the foundation for everything else.
Identify Priorities
Once you’ve taken in all that input, it’s time to make sense of it and decide where to focus. In this phase, you’ll:
Identify the levers that need to be pulled in order to shift the system
Develop a theory of change—a visual roadmap of the factors that matter most
Name your short- and long-term goals (knowing that in systems work, these will shift over time)
Design a mix of quick wins (tangible, early momentum) and big, bold strategies (the tough stuff you’re here to tackle)
Systems change frameworks (we like The Water of Systems Change) can be helpful to guide your thinking here. But the real goal is clarity: What needs to change, and how can we make it happen together?
Keep the Work Moving
This is the phase where collaboratives often start to lose steam. Implementation takes serious commitment and follow-through. To keep things moving:
Focus on 12–18 month goals to maintain energy and track progress
Establish a governance structure that helps with decision-making, accountability, and momentum
Assign organizational leads to different parts of the work
Build a strong learning and evaluation plan—and revisit it regularly
Make collaboration and communication easy: regular meetings, clear agendas, shared tools
Celebrate wins along the way
Secure adequate resources for infrastructure and coordination—a strong backbone team is non-negotiable
Planning meetings, managing contractors, sending updates, tracking progress—none of it is glamorous, but all of it is necessary. Systems change work doesn’t happen by accident. It’s built on intention, coordination, and care.
There are a million ways to do this work, and the right approach always depends on your context. But these moves—setting the table, understanding the system, identifying priorities, and implementing them together—will serve you well in any collaboration.
