How Does Emergent Learning Help Collaboratives Learn and Adapt?

This discussion offers practical insights for anyone working in collective impact, backbone roles, or cross-sector partnerships, including:

Why learning is most powerful when it is ongoing, shared, and grounded in real work rather than reports or one-time reflections
How clearly shared goals and thinking help partners remain aligned while allowing space to test different approaches
How simple practices like Before and After Action Reviews and Emergent Learning Tables can help groups turn experience into insight and action
How Emergent Learning can help collaboratives work through tensions, adapt to changing conditions, and even recognize when collaboration may not be the right path forward

Smart Chart

A free tool designed to help mission-driven organizations create an actionable and effective communications plan. This is your blueprint for strategic communications success

Data Visualization Style Guide

This data visualization style guide helps the Urban Institute ensure a uniform look and feel across charts, graphs, and tables that appear in Urban publications and on the Urban website. This guide is intended for Urban employees and, as such, may include references and links to internal language and tools.

We have made this guide public in the hope of creating a resource for other nonprofit and research organizations and to benefit the wider data visualization community.