Strategies for Developing Impact Ecosystems

Lessons Learned from Multi-Stakeholder Initiatives in Brazil

By Andreas Ufer, Nayara Borges and Valentina Mansur

1 - Introduction: Why impact ecosystems

The major socio-environmental challenges of today—climate change, inequality, degradation of biomes, water and food insecurity—share a fundamental characteristic: none of them can be solved by a single actor, organization, or sector. They are, in essence, systemic problems that emerge from the complexity of interactions between people, institutions, territories, and power dynamics.

In this context, ecosystem development gains strength not only as a term to qualify performance, but as a way of thinking strategically. Impact ecosystems are living networks of relationships between interdependent actors—civil society organizations, businesses, governments, funders, academia, communities—whose collective potential surpasses the sum of their isolated parts. The value of an ecosystem does not reside in the individual resources of each actor, but in the quality of the connections that unite them: mutual trust, the capacity for coordination, the alignment of agendas, and the ability to act coherently in the face of complex challenges.

Strengthening an ecosystem therefore means much more than supporting individual organizations. It means transforming interaction patterns, expanding collective capacities, creating governance structures, and building the relational and institutional conditions that allow the system as a whole to generate sustainable impact over time.

The importance of this work becomes even more evident when one observes that structural changes rarely occur spontaneously. Without intentionality, ecosystems tend to remain fragmented, with overlapping efforts, dispersed resources, and actors acting in isolation—even when the complexity of the challenges demands exactly the opposite. This is why ecosystem strengthening has emerged as a promising approach in the field of socio-environmental impact: because it recognizes that systemic transformation begins with the quality of relationships and the collective capacity to act towards a shared purpose.

The image below conceptually illustrates how intervention in an ecosystem occurs, where a concentrated effort over time leads the ecosystem to a new state of equilibrium.

Figure 1 - Example of ecosystem development dynamics

2 - The Role of Multi-Stakeholder Initiatives in Ecosystem Development

Given this complexity, a specific type of collaborative arrangement has stood out: Multi-Stakeholder Ecosystem Development Initiatives. These initiatives can be understood as forms of collaboration between multiple actors who intentionally work to strengthen the elements and relationships that make up an ecosystem—be it thematic, territorial, or a combination of both.

What distinguishes them from other forms of articulation is precisely this ecosystemic orientation: instead of executing isolated projects or coordinating one-off actions, these initiatives assume the deliberate role of strengthening the ecosystem as a whole. They map actors and dynamics, create spaces for encounter and co-creation, align agendas around common objectives, articulate strategic partnerships, and strengthen key leadership and capacities to expand the collective capacity for action.

Three characteristics define the profile of these initiatives:

Ecosystemic vision: they work to strengthen the ecosystem as a whole, and not just isolated projects or organizations. The focus is on collective relationships, capabilities, and structures.

Diverse actors: bringing together distinct sectors — civil society, the private sector, government, academia, funders, and communities — around a common purpose. This diversity is a strategic asset that broadens repertoires, legitimacy, and capacity for collective action.

Systemic influence: They seek to generate lasting transformations by influencing broader systems—social, economic, or environmental—through the strengthening of the ecosystem as a whole.

Initiatives such as the Partners for the Amazon Platform (PPA), the Impact Coalition, CocoaAction Brazil, and the Alianza del Pastizal illustrate how this approach is realized in different contexts — from Amazonian conservation to the cocoa supply chain, from the biodiversity of the pampa grasslands to the socio-environmental impact ecosystem in Brazil.

Two of these cases clearly illustrate this dynamic. CocoaAction Brazil was born precisely from the observation that the Brazilian cocoa ecosystem operated in a fragmented way—with low coordination between companies, producers, government, and support organizations, accumulated productive weaknesses, and sustainability difficulties in the supply chain. The shared perception of this crisis acted as a catalyst for mobilizing efforts towards a new configuration, more integrated and oriented towards collective results. Instead of isolated interventions by actors, what emerged was an intentional articulation capable of aligning agendas and strengthening the system as a whole.

The Partners for the Amazon Platform (PPA) offers another revealing example. Emerging from an international context favorable to governance and biodiversity conservation in the Amazon, the PPA began to connect companies, civil society organizations, funders, and governments to develop solutions focused on the sustainable use of natural resources. By operating as a space for coordination and experimentation—and not as an executor of isolated projects—the initiative strengthened connections and created conditions for solutions to gain scale in the Amazonian ecosystem.

In both cases, what made the difference was not the sum of good intentions or resources, but the ability to deliberately build the relational and institutional conditions for collective action.

3 - Ecosystem Development Strategies

An analysis of 82 cases carried out in a recent study by Sense-Lab [1] (access the full study here ) highlights a set of strategies and practices that, when combined coherently with the stage and context of the ecosystem, enhance the capacity of initiatives to generate systemic impact. Although each ecosystem follows its own trajectory, the research reveals recurring movements that guide this path.

Figure 2 - Types of strategies of multi-stakeholder initiatives to develop ecosystems

Mapping and Understanding the Ecosystem

The starting point for any effective strategy is a deep understanding of the ecosystem in which intervention is desired. This implies conducting participatory diagnoses, broad listening sessions with diverse stakeholders, mapping relationships, and identifying shared challenges. Building a common language about the field of action—what the study calls 'feeling and understanding the system'—is essential for guiding interventions. Concrete actions include listening workshops, interviews with key stakeholders, and context analysis that combines technical and territorial perspectives.

Attracting Actors and Weaving Connections

Ecosystems are strengthened when new actors enter and when existing relationships gain quality and depth. The most successful initiatives actively invest in creating spaces for encounter and articulation, in raising awareness among leaders, and in building the relational infrastructure of the ecosystem. The diversity of actors is not only an ethical value—it is a strategic condition for expanding repertoires, resources, and capacity for influence.

Creating a Common Vision and Aligning Agendas

Building a shared purpose is one of the most critical and delicate aspects of ecosystem development. It's not about imposing a vision, but about facilitating collective processes that allow stakeholders to find genuine points of convergence. This involves formulating guidelines and plans in a participatory way, aligning expectations and values, and constructing a Theory of Change to guide collective actions.

Co-creating Solutions

Vision and connections need to materialize into action. The most effective initiatives jointly develop projects and solutions with multiple stakeholders, integrating knowledge and resources to generate collective impact.

Implement Concrete Actions

The experimentation cycle — launching pilot projects, testing strategies, validating hypotheses, and incorporating learnings — is one of the most powerful mechanisms for building collective capabilities and advancing toward established goals.

Strengthening Key Actors and Local Leadership

The leadership of key figures and organizations ensures that initiatives respond to the real needs of the ecosystem and that the results are sustainable in the long term. Investing in continuous training, encouraging leadership and ownership of solutions by different actors, and developing technical and organizational capacities in the territories are practices that increase the rooting of the initiative and reduce external dependencies.

Influencing Systemic Changes

In more advanced stages, multi-stakeholder initiatives expand their scope to influence broader structures: public policies, regulatory frameworks, institutional practices, and social narratives. This movement—expanding learnings to existing policies and systems—is fundamental to consolidating the transformations achieved and increasing their sustainability.

Inspiring Other Ecosystems

One of the most underestimated—yet most powerful—strategies in ecosystem development is the ability to inspire and influence other ecosystems. Initiatives that reach more advanced stages of maturity accumulate a rare asset: tested methodologies, governance models that work, lessons learned from what didn't work, and concrete evidence of transformation. When this knowledge is systematized and intentionally shared, it becomes a collective asset capable of shortening learning curves in other contexts and territories.

4 - Guiding Principle: Resilience as a Priority

One principle consistently emerges from the experiences analyzed: ecosystem development should prioritize resilience over immediate efficiency. This means structuring strategies based on three complementary principles:

Diversity: integrating new actors and relevant resources, broadening the perspectives and capabilities of the ecosystem.

Redundancy: involving multiple actors performing similar functions, reducing critical dependencies and vulnerabilities.

Modularity: ensuring multiple and alternative connections between ecosystem actors to reduce the risk of disruption in value streams.

By operating with these principles, multi-stakeholder initiatives move beyond acting solely on specific projects or organizations and begin to intervene in the relational architecture of the ecosystem—with more lasting and adaptive results.

5 - Challenges in Ecosystem Development

Despite its transformative potential, the multi-stakeholder approach to ecosystem development faces significant challenges. Understanding these challenges is crucial for initiatives and funders to navigate this field more intelligently and realistically.

The Tension Between Coordination and Autonomy

One of the most recurring dilemmas is the balance between coordination and autonomy. Excessive centralization can hinder self-organization and the building of ecosystem autonomy; a lack of coordination can lead to dispersion and loss of focus. There is no universal formula—this balance needs to be continuously negotiated, depending on the stage of the ecosystem and the power dynamics between the actors.

Speed versus Inclusion

Moving quickly can exclude relevant voices, while broadly participatory processes demand more time and energy. Funders tend to demand speed; collective and territorial processes require time and care. Reconciling these distinct paces is a constant challenge, requiring strategic patience and the ability to align expectations.

Structure versus Organicity

Defining the minimum necessary governance and structure—enough to provide cadence and direction without creating bureaucracy—is one of the most delicate issues in the field. Excessively formal governance can stifle the ecosystem; excessive informality can compromise the legitimacy and sustainability of initiatives.

Financial Dependence and Sustainability

Excessive dependence on a few funders represents a significant structural risk. Initiatives that do not diversify their funding sources are vulnerable to occasional fluctuations and may have their performance compromised by changes in the priorities of their supporters. The pursuit of financial autonomy and funding models consistent with ecosystem logic—which recognizes the value of coordination, facilitation, and governance functions—is an ongoing challenge.

Predominant Linear Logic

Perhaps the most profound challenge is cultural. Society—including many funders, actors, and multi-stakeholder initiative teams—is still guided by a deeply ingrained linear logic. The real obstacle lies in understanding the interconnectedness of the various elements that make up the problems and their solutions. Until a systemic perspective is internalized and adopted, the possibilities of generating lasting impacts and effectively addressing structural issues will remain limited.

The development of ecosystems does not follow a linear trajectory. It occurs through cycles, reconfigurations, inflections, and successive adjustments. Initiatives may advance in some parameters and stagnate in others, regressing in the face of crises or transformations in the context. This non-linearity demands from leaders a permanent reflective and adaptive capacity—a willingness to review strategies, redistribute protagonism, and sustain collective direction even in scenarios of uncertainty.

6 - Conclusion

Multi-stakeholder Ecosystem Development Initiatives represent a profound shift in how we understand and produce transformation. Faced with increasingly interdependent challenges, it is often no longer enough to combine dispersed efforts, fund isolated projects, or expand one-off interventions. What is at stake is the ability to create conditions for diverse actors to act in a coordinated and systemic way, learn together, build mutual legitimacy, and strengthen, over time, the structures that support collective action.

The Sense-Lab study demonstrates that developing ecosystems is a deliberate endeavor, not a side effect of good intentions. It's a strategy that demands systemic understanding, articulation skills, trust-building, clarity of purpose, appropriate governance design, and funding mechanisms consistent with the complexity. Ecosystems don't mature spontaneously—they strengthen when there is intentionality to cultivate connections, align agendas, distribute roles, support leadership, and transform learning into lasting collective capacity.

Systematized strategies—mapping and understanding, attracting actors and forging connections, creating a shared vision, co-creating solutions, implementing initiatives, strengthening key actors, influencing systemic changes, and influencing other ecosystems—are not rigid steps, but movements that combine and reconfigure themselves over time, keeping pace with the maturation of the ecosystem. What characterizes initiatives oriented towards ecosystem development is precisely this capacity to combine, adjust, and reposition strategies in permanent dialogue with the evolution of the ecosystem itself.

Systemic impact cannot be reduced to the direct results of projects or organizations. It emerges when an initiative contributes to altering broader patterns of relationships, decision-making, funding, knowledge production, and institutional influence. From this perspective, multi-stakeholder ecosystem development initiatives are infrastructures of transformation: spaces capable of articulating visions, producing strategic alignment, and opening pathways for changes that no single actor could achieve alone.

Ultimately, the future of socio-environmental transformation depends less on the ability of a single actor to lead and more on the collective capacity to build living, legitimate, and adaptive ecosystems—capable of sustaining cooperation amidst diversity, transforming tension into power, and converting dispersed intention into coordinated action. It is in this context that multi-stakeholder initiatives demonstrate their greatest relevance: not merely as collaborative arrangements, but as a mature, strategic, and necessary response to the complexities of our time.

This article is an adaptation of "Multi-Stakeholder Initiatives for the Development of Impact Ecosystems," published by Sense-Lab in April 2026, with support from the Boticário Group Foundation, Vale Fund, Arapyaú Institute, Institute for Corporate Citizenship, and Sabin Institute. The study analyzed in depth 17 active Brazilian multi-stakeholder initiatives, including Alianza del Pastizal, the Impact Coalition, CocoaAction Brazil, the Great Atlantic Forest Reserve, the Viva Água Movement, and the Partners for the Amazon Platform, among others.

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This article is part of the Study of Multifactorial Initiatives for the Development of Impact Ecosystems, focused on knowledge and experiences related to collaborative processes. Its findings are consolidated in three ways: 1st. podcast episodes (T1) ; 2nd. articles; 3rd. a full publication on the subject — bringing together both the mapping of networks, coalitions and multi-stakeholder arrangements aimed at the development of ecosystems and a deep understanding of the people and organizations that are currently enabling the solution of problems of collective interest — .

Actors in the positive socio-environmental impact ecosystem in Brazil who support the initiative.

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Bibliographic references

[1] Sense-Lab. (2024–2025). Study on Multi-Stakeholder Initiatives for Ecosystem Development ( access the full article ).

[2] The Hordijk. (2021). Social Ecologies: The Practice of Ecosystem-building.