Collective Impact (CI), formerly articulated by Kania and Kramer (2011), has been used to frame complex, seemingly intractable social problems, including issues of equity, inclusion and diversity. Using a structured collaboration among partner organizations, CI can achieve significant and lasting social change by facilitating partner strengths and assets much in the way that “Voltron”, a popular cartoon character, results from the combination of five characters who join their distinctive powers together (Vu Le, 2018).

In the workshop, participants will initially review and discuss the current version of CI with specific attention to how this approach can be used to improve recruitment and retention of minorities to STEM. Using a case study approach, we will focus on ecological and environmental areas with specific attention to EcologyPlus, a Design and Development Launch Pilot of NSF’s INCLUDES program organized by ESA to tackle the underrepresentation of racial and ethnic minorities in ecology and related careers. Participants will also examine how CI can be applied to three areas identified in a previous workshop: a recruitment and retention effort by professional societies, an approach to foster community-based environmental research, and fostering a shift from individual to institutional change.

At the end of the workshop, participants will be able to:

• Understand what collective impact is and what it is not
• Connect participants with others in ESA interested in using CI for equity, inclusion and diversity
• Identify how the “Voltron” principle can be applied to other entrenched issues and complex social problems in the field