Net Effectiveness April7

Network Effectiveness: An Interactive Working Session for Packard Foundation Grantees April 7, 2009 Heather McLeod Grant (Heather_Grant@monitor.com) Diana Scearce (Diana_Scearce@monitor.com) Paris San Francisco São Paulo Seoul Singapore Tokyo Toronto Zurich Shanghai Palo Alto Johannesburg Beijing Chicago Hong Kong Cambridge Delhi Dubai Los Angeles Madrid Manila Mumbai Munich New York Moscow London

Network Basics

Networks Are Changing the Way the World Works

Centralized
Connecting ideas and people takes time
Closed and proprietary
Our ability to tap expertise and share knowledge is constrained
Effectiveness is equated with longevity
Decentralized
The pace of connection is fast and getting faster
Open and transparent
Our ability to tap expertise and share knowledge is expanded
Effectiveness is equated with mobilization
Organization-centric model Network-centric model We are Moving to a More Networked World Organizations aren’t going away. We need to learn how to balance the interface between organizations and networks.

“ You can have the best technology in the world, but if you don’t have a community who wants to use it and who are excited about it, then it has no purpose.”
Chris Hughes, Obama’s New-Media Campaign
“ One of my fundamental beliefs…is that real change comes from the bottom up. And there’s no more powerful tool for grass-roots organizing than the Internet.”
Barack Obama
Obama Used Networks to Mobilize 13 M Supporters

“ Newspapers ended 2007 with 8.4% less daily circulation and 11.4% less Sunday circulation than in 2001. Plus, print ad revenues experienced their worst drop in more than 50 years.”
PBS, March 31, 2008
“ The steady leak of advertising and readers from print to the Web has become a widening torrent…Margins are dropping fast, with the [newspaper] industry losing about 15% of its ad revenue this year.”
New York Times, December 9, 2008
Many Industries are Being Transformed: Newspapers

Networks are one answer for increasing scale, efficiency, coordination, and impact
Many Nonprofits Not at Scale The vast majority of nonprofits have annual budgets of under $1 million 2 Increasing Number of Nonprofits As many as 30,000 new nonprofits are formed each year in the U.S. 1 – scarcity of organizations is not the problem More Competition for Resources The proliferation of nonprofits makes competition fierce, and fundraising more costly…especially in an economic downturn Source: 1 http://www.alliancetrends.org/nonprofits.cfm?id=56; 2 Center for Non-Profits, 2007 Nonprofits Need to Find Ways to Leverage Networks

Noun: A collection of people connected to each other through purposeful relationships—formal or informal Verb: To connect or interact with other individuals, groups, or institutions in order to cultivate productive relationships “ Network” Is A Noun and A Verb

Networks Have Been Around For A Long Time…

… and new online spaces for building relationships There are New Technologies for Sharing Content…

“ We are living in the Golden Age of network theory , where sociology, math, computer science and software engineering are all combining to allow the average user to visualize, understand, and most importantly, rely on the social and business networks that are part of their lives.”
- Clay Shirky
Source: “Work on Networks” by Clay Shirky (2003) Our Understanding of Networks is Getting Better

As a Result, the Way Our Work Gets Done is Changing

Networks Can be Used to Address Many Issues
Get to Scale
Mobilize People and Effort
Innovate
Build Community / Strengthen Ties
Develop and Share Knowledge

Barr Foundation: Boston Arts and Sports Afterschool Funding Issue: Build Community / Strengthen Ties

Issue: Develop and Share Knowledge

Issue: Innovate

Issue: Mobilize People and Effort

Issue: Coordinate Resources and Services

8,000 houses built over 8 years … transforming communities through collaborations to address root causes of poverty and homelessness Typical HFH country programs produce 200 houses each year Source: HBS Case “Habitat for Humanity Egypt”, Jane Wei Skillern, Harvard Business School Publishing ’06 Issue: Get to Scale - EGYPT-

Increased flow of information/ ideas/ best practices
Stronger, broader connections from weaving
Greater media coverage
Enhanced fundraising/ corporate sponsors
More participant engagement
Network expansion/ scale
Action on an issue
Enhanced Outcomes from Network Approaches

Network Strategy Integrates Different Tools, Approaches Collaborative Technologies Working Wikily Collaborative Processes Low High Group Process Skills Low High Technological Skills

Eight Lessons We’re Learning About “Working Wikily”
Experiment a lot, invest in understanding what works, and make only new mistakes
Set appropriate expectations for time and effort required
Prioritize human elements like trust and fun
Design your experiments around a problem to solve, not the tools
Understand your position within networks and act on this knowledge
Push power to the edges
Balance bottom-up and top-down strategies for organizing people and effort
Be open and transparent; share what you are doing and learning as a matter of course
Source: Working Wikily, by Gabriel Kasper and Diana Scearce (2008), Monitor Institute

Understanding Your Network

How are Networks Structured?

A Few Helpful Definitions Core Hub Link Node Cluster Periphery

Network Structures can Take Many Forms

Centralized / Hierarchical Decentralized Note: These categories often overlap. Most of the examples fit in to multiple categories.
Nonprofit organizations ( without explicit network structure)
Membership organizations (Organizations with network component)
Nonprofits with explicit network strategy and structure
Coalition / Alliance (network of organizations)
Networks of networks
Ad Hoc Networks
Developed from Multiple Sources: Net Gains by Plastrik and Taylor (‘06); Net Work by Anklam (‘07); Building Smart Communities by Krebs and Holley A Typology of Organizing Structures

Good for:
Speed of execution, efficiency
Quality control, reliability
Service-delivery
Accountability
Nonprofits without Explicit Network Structure

Good for:
Engaging, mobilizing large groups
Fundraising
Question: Is the nature of membership changing?
Membership Organizations

Nonprofits with Explicit Network Structure (Hub-Spoke)
Good for:
Coordination of activity
Controlled knowledge transfer
Resource sharing

Nonprofits with Explicit Network Structure (Multi-Hub)
Good for:
Rapid diffusion of knowledge
Rapid mobilization
Efficient access to knowledge or local relationships

Coalition / Alliance
Good for:
Complex coordination & co-creation
Contained knowledge transfer
Organizing around joint goals

Networks of Networks
Good for:
Innovation
Environment scanning
Movement building
Resilient & adaptive action

Ad Hoc Networks
Good for:
Connecting people/ info across networks
Spontaneous, quick action
Aggregating small gifts/ actions

Social Network Mapping: A Tool for Visualizing Your Network

What’s Possible from Network Mapping? What’s Possible from Network Mapping?
Visualize the network: see connections within the system
Make visible network resources, and see flow of resources
Spark a conversation among participants
Assess the “health” of a network, diagnose
Assess change in network over time

Network Mapping Can Be Simple and Low-Tech… Source: June Holley

… Or More High-Tech

Frame the Problem Collect Data Analyze Data Validate & Discuss Results Identify Next Steps Follow up
Goal
Problem/ Opportunity
Hypotheses
Who/ Boundaries
Relationships/ Flows
Demographics
Surveys
Interviews
Focus groups
Data mining
Specialized network mapping software helps to understand data:
Visually (Maps)
Quantitatively (Metrics)
Preliminary review
One-on-one interviews
Interactive feedback session
Formal presentation
Planning
Training
Organizational Changes
Specific interventions
Framework developed by Roberto Cremonini, Barr Foundation How is Network Mapping Done?

Using Network Maps to Increase Service Coordination Using Network Maps to Increase Connection, Coordination of Services

Identified community to map; bounded the network
Sent out survey to collect data; entered data into software
Produced maps with ability to sort by inputs; gathered missing data
Analyzed maps to identify network development opportunities
Group continues to meet; on-going network coaching
Process Used to Map the Youth Development Network

A map of the different networks shows fairly loose connections
Source: Monitor Institute Maps Were Used to Analyze the Network Government Foundation Non-Profit For-Profit School Unknown Religious Other Network by Organization Type

Network Effectiveness: Strategies for Network Development

Network Effectiveness Diagnostic: Characteristics of Healthy Networks Purpose Membership Strategy and Structure Leadership Communications & Technology Resource Management Assessment
Clearly articulated purpose
Delivers value/ outcomes to members
Trust
Diversity
High engagement
Balance of top-down and bottom-up logic
Space for self-organized action
Leadership with “network mindset”
Distributed leadership
Strategic IT
Ample shared space: on-line and in-person
Ability surface network talent
Ability to tap excess capacity
Learning-capture
Ability to gather and act on feedback
Governance
Governance by a group representative of the network’s diversity
Openness
Helpful Sources: M. Kearns and K. Showalter; J. Holley and V. Krebs; P. Plastrik and M. Taylor; J. W. Skillern; C. Shirky

Network Effectiveness Diagnostic: Membership Membership / Participation
Trust: strong relationships
Diversity: bridging and valuing differences
High level of voluntary engagement

Network Effectiveness Diagnostic: Leadership
Leadership with “network mindset” (e.g., opportunity seeking, facilitative, shares responsibility, connector)
Distributed leadership
Leadership “ Oppenheimer [the founder] was eager to help [other potential interactive museums] beg, borrow, and steal his ideas.” Source: Forces for Good by Heather McLeod Grant and Leslie R. Crutchfield (2007)

Governance
Governance by a group representative of network’s diversity
Openness to new ideas and new participation
Network Effectiveness Diagnostic: Governance Administrators 1,575 as of 7/17/08 Bureaucrats 25 active as of 7/16/08 Stewards 36 as of 1/1/08 Arbitration Committee 4 as of 7/18/08 Wikipedians 175,884 as of 5/23/08

Network Effectiveness Diagnostic: Purpose / Outcomes Purpose / Outcomes
Clearly articulated purpose
Delivers value / outcomes to members

Network Effectiveness Diagnostic: Strategy, Structure Strategy and Structure
Balance of top-down and bottom-up logic
Space for self-organized action

Assessment
Mechanisms for learning-capture / storytelling
Ability to gather and act on feedback
Network Effectiveness Diagnostic: Assessment

Network Effectiveness Diagnostic: Communications, IT Communications & Technology
Strategic IT
Ample space: on-line and in-person
What’s your connection to mountaintop removal?

Network Effectiveness Diagnostic: Communications, IT Communications & Technology
Strategic IT
Ample shared space: on-line and in-person

Network Effectiveness Diagnostic: Resource Mgt.
Ability to surface network talent
Ability to tap excess capacity – talent, access, money
Resource Management

How healthy is your network?

You’ve diagnosed your network’s areas of strength and weakness. Now, what do you do? Answer: It depends…

How Networks Progress and Evolve Source: Valdis Krebs and June Holley, Building Smart Communities through Network Weaving 1. 2. 3. 4. Multi-Hub Small World Core Periphery Hub and Spoke Scattered Clusters

A Few Strategies for Network “Weaving”/ Development Bring together core of clusters of people who work together as peers Grow and engage periphery to bring in new resources and innovation Support overlapping projects or collaborations, many very small, initiated by many Nurture quality connections so projects can be high risk & high impact Source: June Holley, www.networkweaving.com

The Green and Healthy Building Network: 2005 Source: Barr Foundation “Green and Healthy Building Network Case Study” by Beth Tener, Al Neirenberg, Bruce Hoppe

The Green and Healthy Building Network: 2007 Source: Barr Foundation “Green and Healthy Building Network Case Study” by Beth Tener, Al Neirenberg, Bruce Hoppe

How can you strengthen your network?
Identify your top 2-3 priority areas for improvement
For each…
What are the open questions that need to be answered?
What are steps you can take to address these questions?
What can you do in the next month?
Over the next 6 months?
Over the next year?

Network Aptitude and Mindset

The Network Mindset Organization Orientation Network Orientation Mindset Strategy Behaviors Competition Grow the organization Compete for resources Protect knowledge Competitive advantage Hoard talent Collaboration Grow the network Share resources Open source IP Develop competitors Cultivate leadership Source: Forces for Good by Heather McLeod Grant and Leslie R. Crutchfield (2007)

Learn about the network and strengthen network connectivity
Information codification and dissemination
Make direct connections
Building / strengthening network intermediaries
Identify new ideas and resources
Help new collaborative cross organizational projects form around emergent issues
Coach people to become network weavers
What Network Weavers Do Source: Building the Field of Dreams by Stephanie Lowell (2007)

Nine Competencies of ‘Working Wikily’ Systems Thinking Allocating Resources Inspiring Bridging Difference Connecting Coordinating Capacity Building Building Consensus Facilitating

Determining the boundaries, size of the network
Communicating the value of networks
Internal organizational resistance
Building trust among participants
Scaling and meeting resource demands
Tracking and evaluating impact
Letting go of control; not worrying about “credit”
Common Challenges Faced by Network Leaders

What did you learn? Where did score yourself hi/ low?
What are your priority goals for development?
What are three tangible things you can do to strengthen your network leadership?
What would help you achieve these goals?
Is there a correlation between network / leadership diagnostics?
QUESTIONS (15-20 min)

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Net Effectiveness April7

by dianascearce on Apr 09, 2009

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