Consortium Capacity Building

The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation awarded $2.5M over two years to strengthen the capacity and capability of the Graduate Tacoma community-wide movement. This initiative was driven by the embedded theory of action for the Community Partner Capacity & Capability (CPCC) workgroup:

‍

IF we increase our partners’ capacity to collaborate, align, and integrate strategies at scale for improving student indicators,

‍THEN we will achieve more effective interventions and ensure sustained shared community ownership in narrowing disparities impacting student achievement.

‍

The two primary learning goals for the initiative were:

1. Increase Understanding of Inequities: Enhance the consortium’s understanding of the various types of inequities affecting young people in Tacoma.
   ‍
2. Increase Understanding of Systemic Influence: Deepen the consortium’s understanding of how practices, policies, and behaviors influence and drive systems change.
   
   

To support the consortium in meeting these objectives, our services included (but were not limited to):

• Organizational Audit: Conducted an audit of the individual consortium members to assess strengths, challenges, and areas for growth in aligning their efforts.
  ‍
• ‍Workshop Series: Synthesized audit findings to design and deliver a series of workshops aimed at building the consortium’s capacity to become an effective and culturally responsive collective focused on addressing inequities.
  

• Resource Guide: Created a comprehensive resource guide to support the ongoing development of the group, ensuring they can effectively meet both existing and emerging needs of the target population.
  

‍

These efforts aimed to enhance the consortium’s collective capacity to drive systemic change and achieve lasting, equitable improvements for Tacoma’s students. By building a strong, unified community of partners, the initiative is positioned to foster sustainable interventions that tackle disparities and promote student success.