The Connecticut Council for Philanthropy (CCP) has released the third paper in a series exploring the public-private partnership undertaken by the Connecticut Early Childhood Funder Collaborative, the Connecticut Council for Philanthropy and the State of Connecticut. The Fund for Greater Hartford’s Executive Director serves as one of the co-chairs of the Early Childhood Funder Collaborative.
The series examines an emerging systems change collaboration model which grew out of a funder-and-state partnership. This unique partnership led to the creation by executive order of a new and independent Office of Early Childhood, which was formally approved by the Connecticut State Legislature in 2013.
This final paper, Co-Creation: The Public Sector Perspective, shows how those working within the public sector—specifically in the State of Connecticut—in forged new working relationships with the philanthropic community.
“We had to go beyond collective agreements and begin to understand what we each could and could not do based on the organizational structures, roles, and rules within which we worked,” commented Carlotta Schechter, member, State of Connecticut Early Childhood Planning Team.
“Our three-part study is significant, as there is much written about funder partnerships and collaboration success stories, but little discussion on different kinds of collaborative ventures and the lessons learned by philanthropy and the public sector,” states Collaborative Executive Director Carol O’Donnell.
The first paper, Co-Creation: Viewing Partnerships Through a New Lens, provided a look at public-private partnerships that effectively assess and sustain efforts to improve outcomes for children in partnership with the State of Connecticut.
The second paper, Taking on New Roles to Address 21st Century Problems, explored the role of the Connecticut Council for Philanthropy (CCP) in the collaborative. For CCP, this was an opportunity to explore and test a new working structure in response to the desire within Connecticut’s philanthropic community to achieve meaningful and large-scale systems change.
CCP serves as a fiscal sponsor for the Connecticut Early Childhood Funder Collaborative. The Collaborative comprises 14 grantmaking organizations from around the state who bring many years of experience in supporting and operating programs that serve the needs of children and families.