The Alliance Structure: Supporting the Community in a Collective Impact Framework The Alliance’s advocacy functions are aligned with the components of Collective Impact, an organizational framework which we use because it helps multi-sector stakeholders to collaborate more, and more effectively, on solving complex social problems. The Alliance publishes our Legislative Agenda each year as a common agenda shared by the early childhood community. This document helps us focus on specific asks for policy change or investment. This shared agenda is one of five components of a Collective Impact framework. The Alliance serves as a Backbone Organization in supporting advocacy and advancing an annual early childhood legislative agenda. The Alliance staff work closely with the coalition’s leadership, which include Steering Committee members and Lead Organization representatives, to manage our workload throughout the legislative session and year-round. One way that Alliance staff facilitate collaboration and leadership on early childhood issues is through the weekly meetings of the Policy/Advocacy Committee, which is made up of staff from Lead Organizations working on issues on the Legislative Agenda. Claire Kendall, from the Family Center of Washington County, observed that the meetings help to “broaden the view and perspective from your own issue.” Sarah Kenney, with Let’s Grow Kids, has also noted that this type of coordination helps braid together all of the issues affecting early childhood. “Because of the weekly policy calls and data we had all put together, it was much easier for us to go in to the Legislature and say, ‘Yes, kids need child care and they need a roof over their head and they need food.’” Visit the Alliance website to learn more about the Alliance’s structure and the five components of a Collective Impact framework. | 
