Powers for Change: Information and Collaboration

 

Editor’s Note: This is part of a series of posts about the Opportunity Summit

IMG_8By Christina Pappas, 2014 ProInspire Fellow

I’ve been challenged and inspired throughout my ProInspire Fellowship to articulate, debate, re-think, and re-commit to many of my existing beliefs, both regarding the world around me and in terms of my own skills, passions, and potential for impact. This experience has solidified the importance of two things I always valued, but now see as vital: the power of information, and the power of collaboration. Both of these were in ample evidence at the Opportunity Nation Summit.

Opportunity Nation aims to unite a diverse, cross-sector coalition committed to closing the opportunity gap in the U.S. To that end, the Summit convened an incredible group of policymakers, business leaders, nonprofits, innovators, and educators to discuss the crisis of youth unemployment and disengagement. From the Chief Community Officer of Starbucks, to Zandra Shelton, a high school senior who spoke about her commitment to education in the face of seemingly impossible barriers, the passion in the room was practically palpable.

Kicking off the day, Senator Cory Booker spoke fervently about the importance of data-driven decision making. As the Data Analytics Manager at Community Wealth Partners, a consulting firm that helps change agents solve social problems at the magnitude they exist, I firmly believe in the power of data to accelerate change by identifying what works and advocating for proven solutions. I am convinced that bold progress within the social sector hinges on strategically cultivating and leveraging data. I was thrilled to hear Senator Booker take a stand for information over partisanship: “In God I trust, but for everybody else, bring me data….We need a fierce allegiance to results, not ideology.”

CollaborationSpeaking of partisanship, in the afternoon, Senators Garett Graves (R – LA) and Seth Moulton (D – MA) took the stage to discuss the legislature’s role in narrowing the opportunity gap. Watching the easy banter between them, hearing them discover and bond over commonalities unearthed after just a few minutes of conversation, was striking. Despite the fact that 114th U.S. Congress had first convened weeks ago, Moulton and Graves admitted they barely had the opportunity to say hello to one another – during the introduction to Congress, colloquially known as “Freshman Orientation,” Republicans and Democrats are separated for nearly every activity. I was shocked to learn that, despite the seemingly omnipresent conversation around the need for cross-party cooperation, the system is deliberately structured at its most basic level to promote and reinforce existing partisan silos.

I walked away from the Summit reflecting on the building blocks of success, without which innovative ideas cannot achieve sustainable traction: Information and collaboration may sound obvious, but they are foundational closing the opportunity gap and any other long-term, complex endeavor.

Christina Pappas is a ProInspire Fellow at Community Wealth Partners, a consulting firm and Share Our Strength organization dedicated to helping change agents solve social problems at the magnitude they exist. As Data Analytics Manager, she spearheads the advancement of data systems and infrastructure, designs user-friendly models to promote data sharing, and partners with project teams to drive actionable analysis for client engagements. Prior to joining Community Wealth Partners, Christina led the Business Analytics division at Kantar Retail, a global consultancy firm developing data-driven growth and optimization solutions for leading consumer packaged goods companies. Christina graduated from Tufts University with a BA in Psychology and Economics.

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