A study of bridging leadership in New York City produced in cooperation with the Wagner School of Public Service,
New York University
This examines bridging leadership between NGOs and government. This case focuses on the work of Margie McHugh and her associates at the New York Immigration Coalition (NYIC). During the 1990's, they labored to turn a respected, though loose-knit and somewhat ill-defined coalition of community-based immigrant organizations into a high-performing institution, which has become a major force at the national level in the area of immigration and immigrant policy. The strategies and methods used by the NYIC are based on the concepts of partnership or "bridge-building", and have attracted attention for their "sustainable collaborative systems that address critical social and economic needs." This case study documents how the NYIC has evolved over the years to the point in which today, it represents a new model for linking people to organizations and felt needs to strategies, and eventually, to policy change.
Bridging leadership is a style of leadership that focuses on creating and sustaining effective working relationships among key partners and stakeholders. By "bridging" different perspectives and opinions often found across the breadth of different stakeholders, a common agenda can begin to be developed and shared in order to solve social and economic problems.