TITLE:
Community-Centers in Israel during the COVID-19 Pandemic—A Collective Impact
AUTHORS:
Esther Isler
KEYWORDS:
Community Centers, Wisdom of the Crowd, Strategic Cross-Sectoral Partner-ships, COVID-19 Pandemic, A Collective Impact
JOURNAL NAME:
Advances in Applied Sociology,
Vol.11 No.9,
September
16,
2021
ABSTRACT: The COVID-19 epidemic is a natural disaster crisis on a global scale.
Despite the extensive experience in emergency operations that the Israeli
community-centers have accumulated during times of war, community centers were required to
develop original methods in order to make their services accessible to the
communities, especially in these times of social distance and quarantines. This study examined the implementation
of three collaboration models that enabled joint action whether multi or
single sector, using the unique assets of each sector or organization. Three
models of collaborations aimed at producing a common social impact were
examined: 1) The wisdom of the crowd; 2) Strategic cross-sectoral partnerships; and 3) Collective impact. Qualitative data was
collected from community centers
in five local authorities, in an attempt to determine which model was the most
influential in the community centers’ performance throughout the crisis. Interviews were conducted with ten senior managers in the community, as the performance
of community centers
throughout the pandemic was highly dynamic and could best be captured using this method. Results showed that the model of Collective Impact provided the most desired outcomes among the investigated
models. Another important finding highlights the importance of the managers’ experience in the
community centers’
performance. Based on these findings, conclusions and recommendations for
future operations of third-sector organizations were drawn.