Anyone waiting for Washington to fix their problems is likely to bewaiting for a long time. The news lately feels like some sort ofconspiratorial plot to turn us all into anarchists, delivering asteady rebuke to the concept of effective government action. Elevated joblessness rips at the American soul while Washingtondevotes itself to raising obscene amounts of campaign cash. Theodds that a meaningful job creation initiative will emerge from thecapital before November are roughly equivalent to those ofDominique Strauss-Kahn becoming pope.
But while the center of national power may be a void, creativepeople in myriad localities are increasingly taking matters intotheir own hands, forging innovative solutions to vexing problemstearing at their communities. In the Cincinnati area, an entityknown as the Strive Partnership -- a fusion of about 300 local, non-profit, social serviceagencies, foundations, school districts, universities and privatebusinesses -- has organized to prepare area young people with theskills needed to embark on successful careers. Since coming into existence six years ago, the partnership alreadyhas produced dividends -- higher retention rates at participating universities andimproved reading levels at local schools. Young people need jobs, and area businesses need capable workers.Schools need effective strategies to increase their graduationrates. Social service agencies traditionally pursue distinct areasof focus, from boosting preventative health care to stemming gangviolence.
But before the Strive Partnership, all of these actorsoperated independently, with little coordination and no centraldatabase to highlight the problems that needed tackling mosturgently. "It was spray and pray, investing in a lot of stuff and hoping itworks," says Jeff Edmonson, the partnership's former executivedirector, and now managing director of the Strive Network , a new entity exporting the Cincinnati model to other communities,including Boston, Houston and Seattle. "Investments were fallinginto a black hole in terms of educational outcomes. You wouldaddress third-grade reading and then your high school graduationrates would go down." The principle behind the partnership is both elegantly simple andadaptable to local circumstances: Put concerned people in one room,agree upon statistically definable goals, and then coordinateaction and spend the dollars to hit the targets. "The ultimate goal is to see these outcomes consistently trend inthe right direction," Edmondson says. Wireless
But while the center of national power may be a void, creativepeople in myriad localities are increasingly taking matters intotheir own hands, forging innovative solutions to vexing problemstearing at their communities. In the Cincinnati area, an entityknown as the Strive Partnership -- a fusion of about 300 local, non-profit, social serviceagencies, foundations, school districts, universities and privatebusinesses -- has organized to prepare area young people with theskills needed to embark on successful careers. Since coming into existence six years ago, the partnership alreadyhas produced dividends -- higher retention rates at participating universities andimproved reading levels at local schools. Young people need jobs, and area businesses need capable workers.Schools need effective strategies to increase their graduationrates. Social service agencies traditionally pursue distinct areasof focus, from boosting preventative health care to stemming gangviolence.
But before the Strive Partnership, all of these actorsoperated independently, with little coordination and no centraldatabase to highlight the problems that needed tackling mosturgently. "It was spray and pray, investing in a lot of stuff and hoping itworks," says Jeff Edmonson, the partnership's former executivedirector, and now managing director of the Strive Network , a new entity exporting the Cincinnati model to other communities,including Boston, Houston and Seattle. "Investments were fallinginto a black hole in terms of educational outcomes. You wouldaddress third-grade reading and then your high school graduationrates would go down." The principle behind the partnership is both elegantly simple andadaptable to local circumstances: Put concerned people in one room,agree upon statistically definable goals, and then coordinateaction and spend the dollars to hit the targets. "The ultimate goal is to see these outcomes consistently trend inthe right direction," Edmondson says. Wireless