Systems Capacity Work

  1. Home
  3. Initiatives
  5. System Capacity

Building Stronger Partnerships With Parents and Families for More Effective Systems

Public agencies, funders, and nonprofit organizations are recognizing more and more that family and community voices are vital to building more effective systems. Doing that well requires more than inviting people to meetings. It requires clear roles, accessible ways to participate, organizational readiness, and practical support.

NPLI helps organizations develop the structures and practices needed to work with parents and family members as ongoing partners in programs, policies, advocacy, and evaluation.

  • What This Work Means
  • Strong Partnership
  • NPLI Support
  • Current Work
  • Partner With Us

What is Systems Capacity?

NPLI defines Systems Capacity as an organization’s ability to work with parents and family members as ongoing partners, not only as participants or advisors invited near the end of a process.

It includes decision-making structures, staff practices, resources, and participation supports that allow lived expertise to influence how programs, policies, and services are designed, delivered, and evaluated.

We work alongside organizations and parent leaders to build this capacity. Depending on the partnership, our role may include leadership development, coaching, facilitation, organizational advisement, project coordination, evaluation, or advocacy support.

What Strong Family Partnership Requires

Effective family partnership requires more than inviting parents to participate. Organizations need structures, practices, and resources that allow parents and family members to contribute consistently and influence decisions.

NPLI helps partners strengthen four connected areas:

Shared Power and Clear Roles

Parents and family members need clear information about why they are participating, what decisions they can influence, and how their knowledge will be used. Organizations also need clear roles, responsibilities, and decision-making processes.

Supported Participation

Participation is more accessible when organizations account for the time, resources, and practical needs involved. This may include compensation, interpretation, travel, technology, scheduling, child care, and preparation for meetings.

Organizational Readiness

Staff and organizational leaders need the skills, practices, and internal support required to work effectively with parent leaders. This includes preparing staff, building trust, examining existing practices, and creating ways for family expertise to inform the work.

Learning and Accountability

Organizations need ways to reflect on participation, learn from experience, communicate what happened, and improve their practices. This includes following up on recommendations and being transparent about how decisions were made.

How NPLI Supports the Work

NPLI’s responsibilities are tailored to each partnership. Across our systems capacity work, we draw from six areas of support.

These roles are not a fixed package. A partnership may involve some or all of them, depending on its goals, participants, and structure.

Leadership Development and Coaching

NPLI provides training, curriculum development, and coaching that build on the leadership, lived expertise, and advocacy experience that parents and family members already bring.

Organizational Capacity Building and Advisement

NPLI advises organizations as they develop structures, staff practices, and resources for more effective partnerships with parents and families.

Convening and Facilitation

NPLI designs and facilitates councils, committees, learning sessions, retreats, and other collaborative spaces.

Backbone and Participation Support

NPLI coordinates agreements, payments, interpretation, travel, technology, meeting logistics, and other supports that make sustained participation possible.

Evaluation and Learning

NPLI helps partners gather feedback, assess their work, and use what they learn to improve programs and family-partnership practices.

Policy and Advocacy Support

NPLI helps parent leaders prepare for briefings, policymaker meetings, legislative visits, and other opportunities to bring lived expertise into public decisions.

Current Partnerships and Projects

NPLI works with funders, public agencies, nonprofit organizations, associations, and parent leaders on initiatives with different goals, audiences, and structures. The examples below provide an overview of selected current and recent work.

NPLI’s role varies by partnership. Each card identifies the areas of support NPLI provides within that work.

Featured Partner

American Public Human Services Association

Current Project

Coordinating SNAP & Nutrition Supports (CSNS)

Partnership Timeframe

2021–Present

Geography

CA, FL, LA, MA, MI

How NPLI Helps

NPLI helps APHSA strengthen the ways human service organizations partner with people who have lived experience through training, coaching, facilitation, operational support, and grant review.

NPLI Support

Training and coaching, Advisement, Facilitation, Backbone support

Featured Partner

Connecticut Parent Housing Table

Current Project

Parent Housing Table

Partnership Timeframe

2020–Present

Geography

CA, CO, CT, NY, OH

How NPLI Helps

NPLI convenes and supports parent leaders with lived experience as they strengthen their leadership and advocacy skills, work with housing stakeholders, and advance equitable housing solutions.

NPLI Support

Training and coaching, Advisement, Facilitation, Policy and advocacy

Featured Partner

Families and Workers Fund

Current Project

Essential Leaders Council

Partnership Timeframe

2025–Present

Geography

CA, FL, LA, MA, MI

How NPLI Helps

NPLI provides leadership development, facilitation, evaluation, and operational support to Essential Leaders Council members as they influence and contribute to organizational and field-level strategies.

NPLI Support

Training and coaching, Advisement, Facilitation, Backbone support, Evaluation and learning

Featured Partner

Greater Rochester Health Foundation

Current Project

Healthy & Equitable Futures

Partnership Timeframe

2018–Present

Geography

NY

How NPLI Helps

NPLI supports parent leadership within Healthy & Equitable Futures, helping parents, community organizations, and the foundation work together to advance health equity for Black and Brown children from birth through age eight in Greater Rochester.

NPLI Support

Training and coaching, Advisement, Facilitation, Backbone support, Evaluation and learning, Policy and advocacy

Featured Partner

Share Our Strength

Current Project

SNAP Parent and Caregiver Advisory Council

Partnership Timeframe

2024–Present

Geography

AR, KS, IL, MN, MO, TN, WA

How NPLI Helps

NPLI supports organizational staff and parents and caregivers in co-creating an advisory council and strengthening their ability to connect, collaborate, advocate, and improve access to public benefits.

NPLI Support

Training and coaching, Advisement, Facilitation, Backbone support, Policy and advocacy

Featured Partner

Shine Early Learning

Current Project

North Carolina Parent Leadership Training

Partnership Timeframe

2025–Present

Geography

NC

How NPLI Helps

NPLI provides curriculum, training, coaching, outreach, and evaluation for parent leadership cohorts serving families in North Carolina’s Family Child Care Network.

NPLI Support

Training and coaching, Facilitation, Evaluation and learning

Build a Stronger Structure for Parent Partnership

NPLI works with organizations that want parents and family members to have a meaningful role in shaping programs, policies, practices, and decisions.

We can help strengthen parent leadership, prepare organizational staff, design collaborative spaces, and build the practical support that sustained participation requires.