Driving social change through influence and behavior shifts in resistant, resource-constrained environments with a focus on Arkansas.
Proven adaptations
There are many excellent examples of Adaptive Change from the NeighborWorks America Achieving Excellence Program. Here are two examples where Jim led significant policy acheivements using adaptive change techniques to sway opinion.
Establishing the Duty to Serve Program
THE SYSTEM
Housing Policy Framework
Federal housing policy required Government-Sponsored Enterprises to address the needs of underserved markets — manufactured housing, affordable housing preservation, and rural housing — but the regulatory framework lacked mechanisms for meaningful engagement with the communities it was designed to serve.
THE ADAPTIVE WORK
Stakeholder Empowerment
Devised a strategic planning model that gives mission-driven underserved mortgage market experts unprecedented access to the business decisions of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Provides Fannie and Freddie with expertise to reach critical underserved markets.
Launching the Underserved Mortgage Markets Coalition
THE SYSTEM
Fragmented Advocacy Landscape
THE ADAPTIVE WORK
The underserved mortgage market lacked a unified voice. Multiple stakeholders with divergent interests — lenders, community organizations, policy advocates — had no effective vehicle for collaborative action on housing finance reform.
Coalition-Building for Influence
Built and sustained a coalition of organizations that had previously struggled with competing priorities. Coached participants to cooperate and successfully leverage their collective power to influence the mortgage market.