Co-Creation: Viewing Partnerships Through A New Lens

"Co-Creation" is a series of case studies about the Connecticut Early Childhood Funder Collaborative, a project of the Connecticut Council for Philanthropy. The case studies, written by Patricia Bowie, examine co-creation, an emerging systems change collaboration model which grew out of a funder-and-state partnership. This unique partnership led to the creation by executive order of a new and independent Office of Early Childhood, which was formally approved by the Connecticut State Legislature in 2013.

The first paper, Co-Creation: Viewing Partnerships Through a New Lens, provides a look at public-private partnerships that effectively assess and sustain efforts to improve outcomes for children in partnership with the State of Connecticut.

The second paper, Taking on New Roles to Address 21st Century Problems, explores the role of the Connecticut Council for Philanthropy (CCP) in the collaborative. For CCP, this was an opportunity to explore and test a new working structure in response to the desire within Connecticut’s philanthropic community to achieve meaningful and large-scale systems change.

The final paper, Co-Creation: The Public Sector Perspective, shows how those working within the public sector—specifically in the State of Connecticut—in forged new working relationships with the philanthropic community.