- 800.548.5563
- southernillinoiscoalition@gmail.com
- 700 Logan College Rd, Carterville, IL 62918
In 2020, the Coalition has scheduled a 2 day Institute on Collective Impact presented by world renowned experts from the Tamarack Institute of Canada. The Institutes was scheduled for March 23rd and 24th, 2020. Due to the state shut down as a result of the pandemic, the Institute was cancelled and Coalition leaders had to amend their plan.
Months into the pandemic, it was clear it would be take a long time for life to return to normal. Or it was possible, we would be living a new normal. Either way, Coalition leaders were seeing first hand that the needs of children, families and agencies had changed. In response, the Governance Council, with assistance from a consultant/coach from Tamarack Institute focused efforts on strengthening their infrastructure and resetting its strategic priorities. To date, over 250 individuals have been involved in this four step process.
An online community survey was launched in November 2020. to help identify needs and issues facing families in the southern fifteen counties. Survey links were shared via email through partner programs and on social media.
Just over 220 individuals responded.
The Coalition Sponsored 3 topic specific Thought Partners Sessions to review the survey results, and ” drill down” the data. Over 60 invited participants engaged in discussions regarding the most pressing needs in regard to children’s health, school readiness and strong families.
A synthesis of the Thought Partner sessions can be found by clicking the link below.
Coalition leaders the synthesized the feedback from the Thought Partners,
Suggested priorities were divided into three groups. 1) Priorities in which the Coalition should take the lead 2) Priorities in which the Coalition should take an active role in supporting and
3) Priorities that are important and the Coalition should track but not take any action.
Based on the results, Coalition leaders identified 5 critical shift priorities of which the Coalition will focus on for the next 3-5 years.
On September 29th the Coalition hosted a special webinar presented by Sylvia Cheuy from the Tamarack Institute.
Building Community Resiliency in Southern Illinois- Why Now?
This highly informative webinar was followed by a panel discussion of governance council members and a presentation form Theresa Hawley of the Governor’s new Early Childhood Transformation Team who provided an overview of the new Regional Early Childhood Planning Councile infrastructure. This set the stage for the launching of three new Coalition Action Teams- Strong Families, School Readiness and the Early Childhood Workforce.
