Connection and Belonging: The Promise of the Relinked Social Impact in Action Forum.

The Relinked Social Impact in Action Forum presents a unique opportunity for learning, connecting with others, and celebrating the extraordinary impact of organizations doing powerful work within their spheres of influence. With its enduring purpose of enhancing a lifetime commitment to social impact, the forum unpacks, appreciates, and grows social impact, and discusses ways of inculcating sustainable practices. It mobilizes every sector, be it government, business, nonprofits, or the public – to be a force for good in society. The forum also highlights what different individuals and organizations are doing to realize thriving communities and a society that practices sustainable development, and working towards restoring, renewing, and revitalizing products, services, and systems.

Bringing together individuals and organizations from across many different sectors; connecting leaders who want to increase their impact; uplifting incredible initiatives, innovation, and ambitions; amplifying the efforts of different change-makers who have spearheaded tangible impact, and are driving widespread change including at the grassroots, national and global level, the Relinked Social Impact in Action Forum is a perfect platform for anyone who wishes to leverage the collective wisdom, creativity, and energy of diverse stakeholders in pursuit of common goals. The forum catalyzes momentum and inspires collective action towards building a more equitable, inclusive, and regenerative world for all. It convenes, connects, and prompts the creation of structures that open doors for everyone to have a place at the table and realize thriving individuals, communities, and livelihoods.

The Relinked Network Ecosystem

Relinked Group has been embedding ecosystem thinking through the Relinked Network, an initiative that mobilizes cross-sector engagement through events, training, professional development, community service, leadership opportunities, climate action programs, and by leveraging useful linkages for sharing information, equipment, and support through partnerships and collaboration.

Ecosystem thinking is the art of embracing a more holistic and interconnected approach that recognizes the complex interdependencies in our society. It entails looking at problems from multiple perspectives and through the lens of different systems to identify how they interact holistically. It therefore demands embracing diversity, fostering inclusiveness, and promoting shared leadership. This means shifting from a mindset of competition to one of collaboration, from short-term to long-term thinking, and from focusing solely on individual goals to considering the collective good.

Since its inception, this platform has elevated authentic conversations and dialogue, the sharing of ideas and resources, and brought together people who share a passion for social impact and helping people, communities, and society to move forward. Participants have been empowered to design programs that empower, not ones that keep people indebted to existing power dynamics. It is a space for individuals to challenge themselves and their organizations to do better and be more radical in their ambitions to contribute to the greater good. They have been linked and re-linked with people who are making a positive impact. They have also obtained authentic contacts and fruitful relations. The ecosystem also presents the greatest potential of meeting a diverse group of experts, supporters, advisors, partners, influential voices, and friends; people grounded on purpose, people with tremendous experience who can contribute to your growth and winning streak.

At the heart of what we do is the recycling of knowledge; which entails uniting people and ideas to resolve the challenges of our time; and defining what it means to act for the long term, by nurturing our ability to think, plan, and dream beyond the horizon. We also champion the implementation of socially responsible business models, encourage the initiation of programs and activities that empower individuals to step up and organizations to do more for their communities and the people they serve, and rally for investment in Social Impact Initiatives that are focused on fostering community resilience and empowering diverse communities for regenerative growth. 

The Relinked Network is committed to nurturing interconnectedness, center collaboration and synergize efforts for greater collective impact by creating a network of individuals, organizations, and institutions working together to create positive social change. In such an ecosystem, even when faced with unprecedented challenges, you can get inspired and challenged to reinvent yourself and rethink your approach to move past what feels like a lull in progress and take a crucial step toward driving systemic change. This is possible because each member of the network plays a unique role and brings different skills, perspectives, and resources to the table. Here every idea counts-small or big.

The Relinked Social Impact in Action Forum, Fourth Edition.

The Fourth Edition of the Relinked Social Impact in Action Forum will be held on Friday, September 13, 2024, at the Senses Hub, Nairobi, from 12:30 PM to 6:00 PM, under the theme:  Impact at Scale: Navigating Pathways, Insights, Enablers, and Barriers, we will engage with leading experts, share insights, showcase social impact successes, and re-imagine actionable solutions for creating systems that embed change through the sustainable expansion of the reach of product offerings, services, initiatives or practices. The discussions will revolve around the overarching ways of building an impact strategy, the mindsets, and the skills needed to work towards exponential impact. Participants will learn to plan their efforts to drive lasting change in people’s lives and shape their thinking on the available pathways and roles to creating impact at scale.

This particular event appreciates the fact that impact at scale requires genuine collaboration across a range of actors with differing capabilities and focus, and working together towards a shared goal and aspiration. Scaling also empowers change-makers to dramatically increase their impact to better match the size of social and environmental problems that they are focused on. One of the expected key outcomes of the forum therefore, will be the co-creation of a platform where diversity of expertise can be leveraged by different stakeholders, as this can be important in helping to identify the different leverage points that can shift significantly, an underlying social problem. As scaling impact is usually beyond the scope of any single organization or individual, collaboration and partnership between different actors playing different roles will always be a key enabler of exponential change.

Other expected outcomes and benefits:

• The session will provide a provocation to social purpose leaders and organizations interested in working towards impact at scale, to better understand and plan their efforts towards impact at scale.
• Define impact, Gain strategic clarity,  and develop a dynamic organizational model that’s fit for scale.
• Be able to articulate the change and impact you want to achieve at scale [Whether it’s institutional, societal, or systemic] and develop a targeted approach to the intended impact.
• Broaden engagement and approach [as opposed to a narrow gaze fixated on specific programs and isolated problems]. You get to take a holistic view of the environment in which your favored initiatives operate- to accelerate progress towards the goals of your initiatives.
• Gain the confidence and skills necessary to achieve scale and enable you to take the next steps on your journey to greater impact.

Topics:

• Planning for Impact at Scale; Systems innovation and technology as an enabler of impact at scale.
  
  This topic will explore how initiatives can be designed for mass reach and will take a look into Strategies, Skills, and Mindsets needed to grow the reach and impact of an organization or initiative.

• Collaborating for scale; how to leverage collective efforts and partnerships across different sectors and actors to lead impact at scale.
  
  This topic will delve into how individuals and organizations can design Collective action models, frameworks, or movements that enable Impact at scale; looking into collaboration, innovation, Peer-to-peer networks & communities of practice, and cross-sector partnerships as essential elements that drive impact and sustainability.

Register Here to attend the forum.