Work Smarter

Want to bring precision to your passion?

We all want to ensure that every child is ready for college, work and life. The challenge is not a lack of energy or commitment. The challenge is fragmentation: too many disconnected plans, programs and policies that don’t add up to a comprehensive solution—to collective impact.

Our managing partner, the Forum for Youth Investment has strategies to help leaders work smarter so that they can achieve their goals. Bringing you the ideas, inspiration and tools you need to work smarter is a part of that plan.

Ready to learn how? Check out our video on how to work smarter.

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Are You a Ready Leader?

Leaders are individuals at all levels who have the energy, motivation and capacity to act. No matter what your role, you can be a stronger leader and advocate for children and youth.

Imagine & Use Data

Imagine isn’t a word usually associated with data—but the best way to use data effectively is to take the time to ask, "What do we really need to know to manage our work better?" and then imagine the answer. What data? When? Presented how?

CWI
The Forum for Youth Investment's Hannah Lythe shares what she learned at a briefing on using children's well-being to guide state policy and budget decisions.
Campaign for Youth America
The right data -- and the smart use of it -- are key to individual success and to the future of our country. Today, Young Invincibles kicks off the Campaign for Young ...
DAnielle
Don't let the title fool you, the Data Quality Campaign National Data Summit was an exciting event for students and anyone who cares about school reform and ...

Ready by 21

This section brought to you in partnership with Ready by 21.
(About Ready by 21.)

Improve Quality

Services and programs must do more than be there, they must be high-quality—providing appropriate content in appropriate contexts. Poor quality opportunities for kids can actually be worse than no services at all. Quality is key if you want positive outcomes, high participation, staff satisfaction and effectiveness.

CWI
The Forum for Youth Investment's Hannah Lythe shares what she learned at a briefing on using children's well-being to guide state policy and budget decisions.
bus
We all know that what happens outside of school doesn't stay there. Congress' decision to eliminate the Safe and Drug-Free Schools & Communities grants ...
Opportunity Nation
SparkAction's Tara James attended the Opportunity Nation Summit in New York, and she kept us posted via live blogging as the event went on. Here are her responses ...

Engage Youth & Families

Far too often, we create solutions without involving those who are supposed to benefit. Whether you’re creating a plan, assessing your program or trying to increase your outreach or your staffing, engaging youth and families is an effective way to be sure that your efforts pay off.

PLAY
Children need play to learn, and so do adults. Our sense of community, our economic success, entrepreneurship, job creation demand creative "play," as Jan ...

Build Partnerships

When a crisis happens—an outbreak of gang violence, a rise in the dropout rate—the response is often to create a new program or task force, even when effective responses already exist. Consider how much more effective the work can be if it's based on long-term, inclusive partnerships that connect policymakers, leaders, community members and young people and link existing efforts in a true, sustainable collaboration.