USBC Constellation Work Groups

The USBC- affiliated constellation work groups are in various phases of development, which evolve and change along with their projects, stewards, and capacity. The USBC Constellation Formation Pathway guides the development of Constellations across five stages. Download the pathway document for details about stakeholders, backbone organization support, DEI approach, evaluation, and more.

Constellation Work Groups' Status (as of 2023)

Active

• Lactation Support Providers
• Workplace Support

Organizing

• Pasteurized Donor Human Milk

Emerging

• Disrupting Formula Marketing
  
• Infant and Young Child Feeding In Emergencies
  
• Maternity Care Practices

Dormant

• Continuity of Care
• Physician Education & Training

What is a Constellation?

The Constellation Model of Collaborative Social Change comes from the field of Collective Impact, specifically, the model first articulated in 2006 by the Canadian Partnership for Children’s Health and Environment (CPCHE). It is a complexity-inspired governance framework designed to 'hold' multi-organization partnerships and networks within dynamic systems.

A Constellation is an action-focused work team populated by interested member and partner organizations. While the USBC provides infrastructure supports for their convening and facilitates or "stewards" in topic areas where it is funded, the strategies prioritized as Constellations’ common agendas are entirely driven by the collective will of the participant organizations themselves. The USBC Board does not attempt to influence or involve itself in these decisions and actions in any way: the decision-making power remains in the hands of the Constellation participants. Therefore, the Constellations' priority strategies and implementation activities are joint work products of the participant organizations, not the USBC Board of Directors, staff team, or steward.