A new report from the BUILD Health Challenge and the Intermediary Learning Network explores the increasingly important role that intermediary organizations can play in helping communities drive lasting, place-based change. Drawing on a decade of field experience, the report examines how organizations that work between grassroots communities and larger governmental, philanthropic, corporate and civic systems can help create the conditions for communities to thrive.
Rather than leading change themselves, intermediaries can amplify community leadership, strengthen partnerships, connect communities to resources and technical assistance, and facilitate learning across places. Their work may happen largely behind the scenes, but the report argues that investing in this connective infrastructure can help communities build the capacity and relationships needed for longer-term transformation.