The Journey
Transforming the Family Justice System
By 2019, the RFJS was challenged by changes in leadership among key collaborators, changes in priorities, and a sense that momentum was being lost as a result. Well-intentioned actions and inspiring conversations were not sufficient to support the type of change that the collaboration aspired to achieve and there was a need to create better alignment, momentum, and tools for communication. Then Lowe attended a webinar on strategy mapping and the related techniques and tools hosted by InsightFormation, Inc., a consulting firm that provides training and tools to enhance collective impact and system change.
The InsightFormation approach looked like a very promising solution to the challenges facing the RFJS. In fact, Lowe reports that she was so excited about the potential of strategy maps and the supporting technologies that she exclaimed out loud, “This is what we need!” In late 2019, Lowe reached out to Jane Morley, her peer in British Columbia (BC) who was the strategic coordinator of a justice system coalition called Access to Justice BC (A2JBC), a network of key justice sector individuals and organizations led by the Chief Justice of BC. A2JBC had recently followed the RFJS lead and became educated about the brain science of ACEs and Resilience and its implications for the family justice system. A2JBC was committed to taking a lead in ensuring that the family justice system no longer did unintentional harm to children and youth by exacerbating toxic stress, and instead promoted their well-being. A2JBC had been in existence since 2015, and like the RFJS was influenced by Collective Impact thinking and the Geels framework for system change. They had also worked with Mark Cabaj, reflecting on how it could best contribute to transforming a complex system.
Lowe and Morley both enrolled in the InsightFormation group coaching program and began the process of using zoomable strategy maps to refine and communicate their strategies. The group coaching program included a variety of coalitions that were focused on minimizing and addressing Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) and building resilience. The program was built around techniques for accelerating and enhancing the use of strategy maps and included a freely shared strategy map template that was part of the ACEs & Resilience Resource Commons for Communities (ARRCC). That program has since evolved into the ARRCC Action Network, and it includes the ARRCC wiki, a resource-sharing platform built using the same technology that is used by Wikipedia®.
With the vision for transformation at the scale of the RFJS, no one organization is powerful or knowledgeable enough to design the large-scale change. What is needed instead is a process and guidance for all collaborators on how they can align their work towards a shared purpose, and a process for ongoing participation.
RFJS saw the InsightFormation method of interactive strategy mapping as a promising approach to coordinating the collaborators and driving the implementation of the shared objectives, and so they began to work with InsightFormation to change their work process and use zoomable strategy maps.