Knowledge Capture

The momentum that has propelled community leadership to center stage cannot be sustained without considerable investment in knowledge capture and dissemination. The challenges are (a) to enable any community foundation to see itself engaged in community leadership, (b) to offer information in easily digestible bites, and (c) to provide mechanisms for improving theory and practice.

Stories Illustrating the Theory of Change. As noted earlier, the Community Leadership Theory of Change is composed of elements, known as preconditions. CFLeads proposes to make abstract preconditions come alive through short stories. Each short story will address only one precondition and feature two contrasting approaches by two very different community foundations, including how each is measuring progress. The short stories will:

• meld theory and practice;
• inform community foundations about how to design, implement, and track strategies to build their community leadership capacity;
• offer a systematic approach to building a knowledge base on community leadership;
• furnish practical and compelling illustrations suitable for boards and donors; and
• provide important feedback on theory of change elements, enabling the theory to evolve as practice evolves.

Community Leadership Case Studies. CFLeads will develop up to three case studies per year. In contrast to the theory of change short stories, the case studies will examine how one foundation is approaching the totality of community leadership, the choices it is making, and how it is charting its course. Because community leadership is a journey, not a destination, each case study will be revisited in subsequent years to learn what has happened in the interim.

The Greater Milwaukee Foundation has agreed to serve as the first case study. Research is nearly complete and the case study will be published in the winter of 2008.