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PNLC Hosts Forum on Collective Impact

2013-04-25T16:04:11Z

On January 24, 2013, the Public and Nonprofit Leadership Center co-hosted with the Minnesota Council on Foundations a Learning Forum on Collective Impact. Over 60 Minnesota philanthropists gathered at the Humphrey School of Public Affairs to discuss the merits, challenges, and future of the recent phenomenon of Collective Impact.

As a result of this forum, the Public and Nonprofit Leadership Center has created a curated set of information and resources on Collective Impact, including portions of audio from the event. We invite you to use this as a resource in your exploration and understanding of Collective Impact.
ACCESS THE CURATED CASE HERE.

Stone Presents Keynote at Nonprofit Governance Conference

2013-04-19T17:02:11Z

Melissa Middleton Stone presented the keynote address at this year's biennial conference on nonprofit governance. Stone spoke on "Governing Cross-Sector Collaborations: Lessons from Research and Practice." Notes from her talk are available HERE.

The conference, Critical Conversations on the Future of Nonprofit Governance: A Conference of Practitioners and Researchers, was sponsored by the Midwest Center for Nonprofit Leadership, part of the Henry W. Bloch School of Management at the University of Missouri - Kansas City.

Join Us April 3rd for Cross-Sector Collaboration: What Role for the Military

2013-03-29T17:38:02Z

Please join us on Wednesday, April 3rd for a "Cross-Sector Collaboration to Promote Sustainability & Security." Featured panelists will include faculty and senior officers of the U.S. Army War College, Humphrey School, and Dickinson College in a wide-ranging examination of the benefits and challenges of cross-sector collaborations to promote long-term security.

Held from 9:00 - 11:00 am in the Humphrey School's Cowles Auditorium, the event is free and open to the public.

The US Army War College is engaged in a wide-ranging examination of the benefits and challenges of cross-sector collaborations to promote long-term security. Humphrey School of Public Affairs professors Dr. John Bryson and Dr. Barbara Crosby have been part of this discussion through a special War College program. Bryson will be a featured panelist in this April 3rd event, along with:

Col. John Vermeesch, US Army War College

Lt. Col. Warren, US Army Wary College

Dr. Michael Fratantuono, Dickinson College

The panel will be moderated by Mark Ritchie, MN Secretary of State.

The event is part of the War College's Eisenhower Series College Program, which encourages dialogue on national security and other public policy issues between students of the Army's senior educational institution and the public at colleges and universities throughout the US.

The Clothes I Wear

2013-02-06T23:08:43Z

The following blog post was written by Dr. Katherine Fennelly, Professor at the Humphrey School of Public Affairs.

You may have heard about a recent incident in which a St. Paul police officer dressed up as a Somali woman. Such ridicule can be very hurtful, as we learned last year when U of M graduate students, Alli Shurilla, Ramon Hough and Deka Ahmed helped me interview a number of African and Asian men and women to ask if they had been treated differently because of their clothing. The answers were instructive. Somali, Hmong and Indian Sikh adults in the Twin Cities described cases in which they faced discrimination or ridicule because they were wearing traditional ethnic dress. Some of their reactions were captured in a video called The Clothes I Wear, edited by Ramon Hough. Two of the women in the video told us that people incorrectly assume that they are "oppressed" because they wear traditional clothing. A Sikh man described repeated incidents of discrimination as he traveled through airports wearing a turban.

For many individuals, wearing modest clothing or covering their hair demonstrates religious modesty or humility -similar to the reasons for traditional Catholic nuns' habits, or the custom for some Christian or Jewish men and women of covering their heads in a church or synagogue, or at a funeral. The next time you see someone wearing ethnic clothing, consider whether your reaction to them is colored by preconceived stereotypes.

Announcing the 2012 Local Government Innovation Award Winners

2012-12-05T13:42:08Z

Meet This Year's Local Government Innovation Awards Finalists! The Local Government Innovation Awards are proud to announce the three finalists who will compete for the chance to win a grant of $25,000 to continue innovating.

Dakota County Community Services: Jail Re-Entry Program Return on Taxpayer Investment Model. Dakota County's Re-Entry Assistance Program works to improve the probability of long-term success for individuals exiting jail by providing community-based wraparound services tailored to each former offender's needs.

Irondale High School of Mounds View Public Schools: Early College at Irondale High School. Irondale was first school in Minnesota to offer a comprehensive early college program allowing students in the academic middle the opportunity to earn a free two-year associate degree.

City of Saint Paul: Saint Paul Emergency Medical Services (EMS) Academy. The EMS Academy provides an opportunity for minority, low-income, and at-risk youth of St. Paul to be trained as Emergency Medical Technicians (EMTs), helping youth to break the cycle of poverty and to pursue meaningful and well-paying vocations in healthcare.

In addition to the 3 finalists, 15 other cities, schools and counties are also being honored for their innovative work. Visit www.InCommons.org/LGIA and click on the "Winners" tab located in the middle of the home page to check out the ways the award recipients have been making Minnesota better by doing things differently.

COUNTY WINNERS
Lac qui Parle County Economic Development Authority - Driving Forward in Lac qui Parle County
Blue Earth County - Blue Earth County Community Farm - A Local Collaborative Approach to Addressing Hunger
Stearns County Attorney's Office & Stearns County Human Services Department - Stearns County Repeat Felony Domestic Violence Court
Hennepin County - Top 51 Homeless Pilot
Anoka County - MN First Municipal-led Highway Design Build Project CSAH 14

SCHOOL WINNERS

Family Service Collaborative - The Truancy Work Group
Kelliher School - Kelliher Health and Resource Center (KHRC)
Staples Motley Schools - Staples Motley Teacher Residence Programs
Forest Lake Area Schools (ISD #8431) & Lakes International Language Academy (LILA) - Collaboration Benefiting Students
Robbinsdale Area Redesign (Robbinsdale Area Schools) - Weekend KidPack Initiative

CITIES

City of Royalton - Royalton's Collaboration
City of Falcon Heights - Falcon Heights Adopt a Crop Program
City of Austin, Austin Port Authority, Austin Housing and Redevelopment Authority - Austin Main Street Project
City of Silver Bay - Silver Bay Produces!
City of Minneapolis, City Attorney's Office - Downtown 100 Initiative

Philanthropy's Role in Society - Nov 14

2012-11-06T14:52:39Z

Today we learned of an interesting sounding program coming on November 14th. The Buckman Fellowship Panel on Philanthropy's Role in Society will be held from 5:00 to 6:30 pm in the McNamara Alumni Center's Ski-U-Mah Room. Following is the announcement of the program.

Communities in the U.S. and across the world are changing - and changing fast. We are all challenged in our respective fields to respond to the speed and scale of change and direct our energy and resources where we think we can make the greatest difference. Philanthropy, and foundations specifically, have significant resources to adapt to changing needs, but they have lots of choices and tough decisions to make as they chart their courses.

Join a panel of foundation leaders, from local and national foundations, to hear how they think about philanthropy and its evolving role in addressing key issues in our changing communities and our world.

Carleen Rhodes, president and CEO of Minnesota Philanthropy Partners and chair of the Buckman Fellowship Board, will facilitate a discussion with the following foundation leaders:

Suzanne Immerman, director of strategic partnerships, U.S. Department of Education

Ann Mulholland, vice president of grants and programs, Minnesota Philanthropy Partners

Eric Nonacs, vice president for alliances and partnerships, Skoll Global Threats Fund

Gayle Ober, executive director, The George Family Foundation, and board member, Mardag Foundation

Their thoughts about managing change, creating collective impact and deploying the assets created through generosity should inspire us all.

This event is free and open to the public, however seating is limited.

For more information, or to register, please visit
http://www.buckman.design.umn.edu/news.html

Final Days to Submit LGIA Application!

2012-11-01T14:57:02Z

Tomorrow is the last day to submit your entry for this year's Local Government Innovation Awards. All entries must be finalized and published by noon on Friday, November 2, 2012. If you've already entered, thank you! If you haven't entered yet, be sure to publish your entry by noon tomorrow at InCommons.org/LGIA!

The Hubert H. Humphrey School of Public Affairs at the University of Minnesota is pleased to partner with the Association of MN Counties, the League of Minnesota Cities, the MN School Boards Association, and InCommons to conduct the 6th annual Local Government Innovation Awards. This year's Awards have been made possible with the support of InCommons, an initiative of the Bush Foundation that inspires, supports, and connects community-powered problem-solving.

PNLC Well-Represented at MCN/MCF 2012 Joint Conference

2012-10-30T19:20:21Z

Allied for Action: Bridging Differences for the Greater Good is the theme of this year's Joint Conference of the Minnesota Council of Nonprofits (MCN) and the Minnesota Council on Foundations (MCF). Held November 1 and 2 at Saint Paul's RiverCentre, the conference brings together board members, staff members, students and volunteers active in nonprofit and philanthropic organizations from around the state.

And the PNLC will be very well represented!

Featured speakers include the following PNLC faculty, adjunct faculty, and Advisory Group members:
* Jodi Sandfort on The Art of Hosting and The Impact Initiative: Co-creating a Future for Nonprofit Services
* Julia Classen & Allison Rojas on Board Strategic Stewardship
* Dan Cramer on Constitutional Amendments--What Have We Learned?
* Kate Barr on Reserves Aren't Enough: Understanding and Planning Nonprofit Capitalization
* Kim Borton & Patricia Torres Ray on Using Research as Strategic Investment and Action to Drive Social Change
* Jeannie Fox on Lobbying and Advocacy: Foundations and Nonprofits as Partners in Policy Change
* and Joe Soss on The Marketization of Nonprofits

If you're wondering how well-connected and influential the PNLC is, there's your proof!

LGIA's Featured in MN2020

2012-10-04T14:55:44Z

Thanks to John Anderson for featuring the Local Government Innovation Awards in his MN2020 op-ed piece! Entries are now being accepted through November 2 at InCommons.org/LGIA. If you work at a city, county or school that is working to improve services through innovation and redesign, enter today for the chance to be recognized and receive a grant of $25K to continue innovating!

2012-09-19T17:57:56Z

Announcing the 6th annual Local Government Innovation Awards with InCommons!

Minnesota faces the reality of an aging population, rising health care costs, and an increasing demand for government services with reduced revenue. Yet many counties, cities, and schools have refused to let the traditional approaches of either increasing taxes or cutting spending exclusively dictate their responses to these challenges. Instead, they are pursuing a third way: innovation and service redesign.

The Humphrey School's Awards recognize the creative ways counties, cities, and schools are making Minnesota better and doing things differently. In keeping with previous years, up to 18 local government entities will be recognized as award winners for their innovative work. But there's also a twist. This year, Minnesotans can cast their vote to help determine the entrant that will receive $25,000 to continue local government innovation and redesign work! The Awards will officially open for entries October 2, 2012, and more information can be found at www.InCommons.org/LGIA.

Learn more and begin preparing your entry at www.InCommons.org/LGIA

Improving Teaching & Learning: Stories from the West of Scotland

2012-09-14T20:28:50Z

Wed, Sept. 19, 3:00 PM - 4:30 PM
Freeman Commons, Humphrey School of Public Affairs
RSVP to heapx004@umn.edu

Join us for coffee and conversation as Professor Malcolm Foley shares his experience in helping transform the culture of teaching and learning at the University of the West of Scotland, Scotland's largest university. Foley is both Vice Principal for Learning and Teaching and Executive Dean of Business and Creative Industries at the University of the West of Scotland (UWS). Scotland has a vibrant economy and culture in part because of its strong and sustained efforts in support of higher education, open access, and major student financial support. He is also eager to learn from American academics and students what they think the important current and emerging issues are in teaching and learning at all levels.

***RSVP to heapx004@umn.edu***

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About Malcolm Foley
Malcolm Foley holds the University Chair in Leisure Cultures. Prior to an academic career, he was a research analyst for a large consumer goods manufacturer, then a public administrator.UWS is Scotland's largest University. It has a strong social mission which puts it at the forefront of recruiting students who might not otherwise have the opportunity to enter Higher Education in Scotland. UWS supports the Scottish Government's aim to have 50% of all of it's young people in Higher Education. This element of the student population, together with a relatively high proportion of the learners being aged over 30 years and over 35% of them studying on a part-time basis, presents significant challenges for the pedagogies to be adopted and designed into student learning at UWS. As one of a university leadership team of 4, Malcolm has been tasked to develop and implement a strategy that ensures effective learning and positive engagement for all of the student population at UWS, whilst ensuring the maintenance of academic quality and standards. (For those unaware of the public policy environment in Scotland, undergraduate higher education is provided "free" and is state funded - but student numbers are highly regulated by agencies of the state. Perhaps as a result of inhabiting this environment, Malcolm has a specific interest in the tensions between managerialism and governance in universities.)

As a full Professor at UWS and at previous Universities, Malcolm Foley has published extensively across the fields of leisure and culture as they both produce, and reproduce, socially "desirable" outcomes. Previous interests include operationalising the concept of Dark Tourism (touristic experiences associated with death and disaster). His specific interest in that concept was the role of nation states in promoting and promulgating their sites of conflict. He has also published and professed more recently upon public policies for / governmental interventions in festivity - ranging from highly localised and small scale events to Mardi Gras, Carnival in Rio de Janeiro, the Olympic Games, motor racing and festivals of "high" culture. He has a particular interest in the reactions, resistances and reconciliations that take place in local communities when festivities (of whatever scale) occur. Malcolm also has a recreational interest in the heritage and detritus of American popular culture from the era when the USA might be described as having been a "consumer republic" - an epoch which was so highly romanticised and eulogised during the Reagan and first Bush administrations.

Malcolm is currently reading Dominic Sandbrook's biography of Senator Eugene McCarthy (Sandbrook, D [2005] Eugene McCarthy and the Rise and Fall of Postwar American Liberalism, Anchor Books) in preparation for visiting Minnesota.

PNLC Spearheads Creation of New Graduate Certificate in Executive Leadership

2012-08-01T20:59:54Z

At its July 12 meeting, the Board of Regents approved the Humphrey School's new Certificate in Executive Leadership, a 12-credit graduate-level program. We plan to welcome the first cohort in January 2013.

Creation of the new certificate was spearheaded by the PNLC's Jodi Sandfort, Kevin Gerdes and others on (and connected to) the PNLC.

The Certificate in Executive Leadership will have subplans tailored to specific audiences, and we plan to admit the inaugural cohort in Spring 2013 into the "Public Safety" subplan. This subplan will serve mid- to senior-level leaders in police, fire, emergency management, and emergency health services across Minnesota and the Upper Midwest. We are very excited about this Public Safety subplan because it will be the only graduate certificate of its kind in the Midwest and, unlike other national programs, will not require a three-month residency. Subplans tailored to other audiences will be established as opportunities become available.

The Certificate in Executive Leadership, a two-semester program, will utilize a format similar to the Humphrey School's Public Affairs Leadership certificate program, with intensive meetings two days each month and the use of technology to support learning through lectures, videos, and on-line discussion forums. Participants will acquire interdisciplinary executive leadership skills with colleagues from across the region while studying the foundations of institutional leadership, ethical practice, and management and innovation issues particular to each subplan.

To learn more about the new certificate, please visit http://www.hhh.umn.edu/degrees/certificate/pls_certificate.html.

Collaboration is Newest Video Brief on Hubert Project

2012-07-13T15:28:30Z

Collaboration is the newest Video Brief created for The Hubert Project: Learning Materials that Transform Public Affairs. Launched by Jodi Sandfort with PNLC faculty and staff, The Hubert Project now is a Humphrey School-wide initiative, an open source repository where Public Affairs educators around the world create and share multimedia learning materials including short videos and cases.

Collaboration is The Hubert Project's latest Video Brief. Video briefs provide introductions to common public affairs management & leadership issues in a brief and engaging manner. They can be used by trainers as an introduction to other more in-depth activities or a mechanism to prompt deeper discussion.

Learn more about The Hubert Project by visiting www.hubertproject.org.

2012 Mosaic Social Entrepreneurs Cup Finalists Announced

2012-06-29T21:20:28Z

Social Venture Partners Minnesota has named Brotherhood, Inc., Nice Ride MN, Twin Cities RISE!, and Tuloko the 2012 Mosaic Social Entrepreneurs Cup Finalists.

The purpose of the Mosaic Social Entrepreneurs Cup is to seek out, celebrate and promote Minnesota's most innovative and effective social entrepreneurs and the organizations they lead. To be selected, four finalists make presentations to the judges and the audience at the annual Engaged Philanthropy Conference.

The four finalists will make their investment pitch at the Engaged Philanthropy Conference (EPCON) August 23rd at the Hyatt Regency in downtown Minneapolis. The winner of the competition receives a $20,000 grant, 40 hours of consulting services from partners at SVP, and participation in a design thinking boot camp hosted by d.school@coco. The winner will compete for the Minnesota Cup grand prize of $40,000.

"This year's finalists have impressed us with some powerful ideas to address our community's social issues," says Brad Brown, SVP Executive Director. The winner of the Mosaic Social Entrepreneurs Cup will go on to compete against other divisional winners for the Minnesota Cup grand prize of $40,000.

Finalists will be judged on the following criteria.
Social Value Proposition: Finalists must make a compelling case for why the community needs this social venture and the value it would add to our society;
Innovation: Finalists must demonstrate innovation in their product, service, or business model; and
Social Return on Investment: Finalists must demonstrate the outcomes they create for the people they serve and the long-term benefits accrued to society at large from their work.

The winner of the Minnesota competition receives a $20,000 grant, 40 hours of consulting services from the partners at SVP, and participation in a design thinking boot camp delivered by d.school@coco. The first runner-up receives $5,000 and 20 hours of consulting services from SVP. The remaining finalists receive a $1,500 honorable mention award. CliftonLarsonAllen, ranked as one of the nation's top 10 certified public accounting and consulting firms, is managing the Mosaic Social Entrepreneur's Cup judging process.

Student Leadership at the Humphrey School Helps Us Live Up to Our Mission

2012-05-15T18:04:51Z

A fine example of student leadership has been on display this spring at the Humphrey School. Several students -- Mary Small, Heather Schommer, Vincent Vu, Jon Brown, and Aaron Meyers - were the engines of the school's diversity strategic planning effort that began in fall semester and is nearing completion, just in time for some of these dedicated leaders to graduate.

Mary Small, as co-chair of the One Humphrey One Community working group, masterfully coordinated the effort and kept our "eyes on the prize." All the others took on tasks large and small from gathering supplies to facilitating the planning sessions.

Also contributing to the working group's leadership were staff members Karen McCauley and Emily Saunoi-Sandgren. Faculty member Ryan Allen was the other co-chair. Student Kylie Patterson also recently joined the group, and Prof. John Bryson and I served as advisers.

At the heart of the planning effort were participatory sessions devoted to action-oriented strategy mapping and SWOT analysis. (SWOT stands for Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats). More than 100 Humphrey alumni, students, staff, and faculty participated in these sessions.

The result so far is a draft strategic plan that is intended to guide the Humphrey School in the next five years to make even stronger our commitment to preparing "innovative leaders to advance the common good in a diverse world." Not a bad legacy for a group of determined young leaders!