Oakbrook Collective Impact Council (OCIC)

United Way of Berks County serves as the backbone of the Oakbrook Collective Impact Council (OCIC). The goal of the Council is to prioritize the identified needs and coordinate collaborative efforts to respond to what Oakbrook residents have identified as their critical issues. The Council consists of individuals representing various nonprofits, education partners, the corporate sector, and Oakbrook residents. Using the Collective Impact model, community partners commit to work together to achieve the same goal and address complex social problems. This is a multi-year process, where the group looks to address the root cause of an issue and works to create positive change.

Collective impact occurs when organizations from different sectors agree to solve a social problem using a common agenda and a structured form of collaboration. In contrast, isolated impact occurs when organizations primarily work alone to solve social problems. Organizations have been implementing collective impact for a long time. Successful collective impact collaborations include 5 conditions to ensure success:

1. Common Agenda - All participants share a vision for change that includes a common understanding of the problem and a joint approach to solving the problem through agreed-upon actions.
2. Shared Measurement - All participating organizations agree on the ways success will be measured and reported, with a short list of common indicators identified and used for learning and improvement.
3. Mutually Reinforcing - Activities A diverse set of stakeholders, typically across sectors, coordinate a set of differentiated activities through a mutually reinforcing plan of action.
4. Continuous Communication - All players engage in frequent and structured open communication to build trust, assure mutual objectives and create common motivation.
5. Backbone Support - An independent, funded staff dedicated to the initiative provides ongoing support by guiding the initiative’s vision and strategy, supporting aligned activities, establishing shared measurement practices, building public will, advancing policy and mobilizing resources.

Our message to the community - OCIC Preamble:

Oakbrook residents are the foundation on which we build a collaboration of support. Through partnerships with a diverse representation of residents, community organizations and businesses, the Oakbrook Collective Impact Council (OCIC) is committed to improving the overall health of the Oakbrook community and providing a support structure to ensure each resident has the opportunity to succeed.

Education: Awareness/Knowledge of Resources Problem Statement:

Collective impact recognizes that everyone possesses something to contribute. We are in the process of creating high impact-initiatives and community-driven programs with a goal to help Oakbrook residents live life fully. From our Oakbrook resident survey, we learned that:

• 75% of residents are open to partner organizations contacting them about their family’s identified needs.
• 71% of head of households with children reported that their child is not receiving any intervention service.

Food Access/Insecurity Problem Statement:

Consistent, local access to adequate, nutritious, affordable food is one of our basic needs. Families who are food insecure experience greater health and social challenges compared to people who can afford healthy food. 

Keeping children well fed is of particular importance, as studies have shown that students who have food security have higher academic performance numbers and have better social development among other factors.

• Over 39% of Oakbrook survey respondents said their household actually ran out of money to buy food.
• 50% worried about running out of food before getting money to buy more.

Upcoming Council Meetings:

• Tuesday, October 19 | 12:30 p.m. | Location TBD
• Tuesday, January 18, 2022 | 12:30 p.m. | Location TBD