Power, Participation & State-Based Politics (Executive Summary)

This report is the culmination of a two-year participatory evaluation process conducted by the Applied Research Center (ARC) of Oakland, California. It provides an account of the Collaborations that Count experience, identifies areas in which the 11 statewide collaborations succeeded, and draws attention to ways in which support to collaboration might be more effectively provided in the future. Collaborations that Count sought to answer three questions: (1) What would it take to encourage grassroots groups, state-level policy organizations, and intermediary groups that provided resources to these organizations to develop stronger ties and coordinate their efforts? (2) Could advocates working together across specific issue areas champion a strong role for the public sector in economic and community development, environmental preservation, social justice, and human rights?, and (3) Could increased resources for capacity building and collaboration enable state-level policy groups and community-based organizations to grow in their collective influence?