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Ā
Allstate Foundation
1. Leading the Networked Nonprofit
Beth Kanter, Author, Blogger, and Trainer
Bethās Blog
July 30, 2012
The Allstate Foundation 60th Anniversary Executive Summit
15. The connectedness of living in a networked,
mobile world is part of our every day lives.
These technologies are having a profound impact
on the way nonprofits communicate with
stakeholders, and deliver programs. It is also
changing the way leaders lead nonprofits.
Remember: Disruption is can be our friend ā¦..
16. Share Pair: Over the past few years, how has
connectedness impacted the way your organization
delivers programs, communicates with
stakeholders, or does it work?
18. The Networked Nonprofit: Organizational Change
Networked Nonprofits are simple,
agile, and transparent NGOs.
They are experts at using social
media tools to make the world a
better place.
Some nonprofits naturally work in a
networked way leading with a
network mindset. For many others,
it means having to change from the
inside out.
19.
20. In the three years since the film has been out there,
there are still 10K views a day and 12 million views
online.
People in 220 countries have viewed the film in an
unknown number of group settings.
Translated into dozens of languages, inspired
curriculum for high school, inspired a ballet in
Boston, a puppet show in Palestine.
21. To Be Successful You Need both A Network Mindset and
Networking Tools
Information and Connections Flow in Many Directions
Building Relationships
Inspiring Others To Take Action: Credit Free Zone
22. A Traditional Nonprofit
NGO
Modified illustration by David Armano
The Micro-Sociology of Networks
With apologies to David Armano for hacking his visual!
Source: The Micro-Sociology of Networks
23. Networked Nonprofit
NGO
Staff
With apologies to David Armano for hacking his visual!
Source: The Micro-Sociology of Networks
25. A Network Mindset: A Leadership Style
ā¢ Openness, transparency, decentralized
decision-making, and collective action.
ā¢ Listening and cultivating organizational and
professional networks to achieve the
impact
ā¢ Leadership through active participation.
ā¢ Sharing control of decision-making
ā¢ Communicating through a network model,
rather than a broadcast model
26. Leading With A Network Mindset: Shift From Push To Pull
SF Goodwill's CEO, Debbie Alvarez-
Rodriguez
30. The Networked NGO Professional
Open and accessible to the world and
building relationships
Making interests, hobbies, passions visible
creates authenticity
31. Tweets links related to organizationās mission
and work as a bipartisan advocacy organization
dedicated to making children and families a
priority in federal policy and budget decisions.
32. SEEK SENSE SHARE
Identified key blogs and Summarizes article in a Engages with aligned
Twitter users in each issue tweet partners
area
Writes for Huffington Post Tweets best of best
Scans and reads every
morning and picks out best
33.
34. Share Pair: Are you leading your nonprofit with a
āNetwork Mindsetā? What are the benefits?
What are the challenges?
35. A Social Culture
Networked Nonprofit leaders cultivate a social
culture and encourage many people in their
nonprofit to use social media to engage people
inside and outside the organization to improve
programs, services, or reach communications goals.
37. Sharing control over their branding and marketing messages
Dealing with negative comments
Addressing personality versus organizational voice (trusting
employees)
Make mistakes
Make senior staff too accessible
Perception of wasted of time and resources
Privacy and Security concerns
Suffering from information overload already, this will cause
more
38. The Rule Book: Social Media Policy
Trust is Cheaper than Control
http://www.bethkanter.org/trust-control/
40. Think and Write:
Does your
organizationās social
media policy and
staff structure
actively cultivate a
social culture? If
not, what needs to
change? If yes, how?
50. Transparency = open,
accountable, and
honest with its
stakeholders and the
public.
Transparency can be a
little be scary because
it will expose areas of
improvement. Hiding
does not make them go
away.
Photo: Andy Beal
51. Transparency does not mean āno privacy or
confidentiality.ā
Photo: uncornedmarket
52. The Four Dimensions of Transparency
Substantial Accountable
Absence of Learning in Public
Participation
secrecy
53. Learning in Public
Sense
Good Data Organize It Apply It
Making
Photo: gsfc
54.
55.
56. Share Pair: Is your organization transparent or
learning in public? Share an example. What are
the benefits and challenges?
57. How to use measurement to learn how to
improve and document networked
approaches? Photo by Untrained eye
58. Creating a Data-Informed Culture
How Your Organization can Hug the Data and
Use What it Can Teach You.
59. The Five Stages of Measurement
Acceptance
Data
Delight Informed
Confusion
Fear
Denial
60. Denial
I donāt have the time
to measure social
media. Itās an art,
not a science ā so
why bother
61. Fear
What if my strategy
or program doesnāt
show success?
62. Confusion I know I should
measuring our social
media [program],
but not sure what or
how?
73. Why did it fail?
What did we learn?
What insights can use next
time around?
DoSomething.Orgās Fail Fest
74. Stages of a Data Informed Culture
CRAWL WALK RUN FLY
Data collection, but Data from multiple Has org wide KPIs or
No formal not consistent or results
sources
reporting shared between Organization wide
System and structure
Lacks consistent departments dashboard with
for collection
data collection customized views
Discussed at staff
Lacks systems Data not linked to Data is shared across
meetings
Decisions are results, could be departments
Uses data for
passion-driven wrong data Formal process for
planning and
decisions analyzing, discussing, and
Rarely makes applying results
decisions to improve Data visualization for
reports and reflection
75. Becoming Data-Informed: Change Is Easy
With Baby Steps
ā¢ Begin at the end ā discuss and identify
results
ā¢ Curator of metrics
ā¢ Use experiments to help you evolve
ā¢ Get started with a small data collection
project that is high priority in your
organization
ā¢ Learn from your results
76. One Minute of Silence: What is one idea that you can you into
practice next week?
Flickr Photo by John K
DescriptionĀ Leading the Networked Nonprofit in the Age of Social MediaĀ Knowing how to use social media well is not just about knowing which button to push. Ā With its ability to connect people and build strong, resilient, trusting relationships, social media can be a truly revolutionary power that supports exactly what nonprofit work is all about -- social change to make the world a better place. Ā But reluctance to use social media because it is hard, time-consuming, will create more information overload or "isn't core to our work" is common among nonprofits, and poses a dilemma for their leaders. Ā Ā Why? Ā What are the real challenges associated with social media? Ā Why do organizations immersed in social media look and act more like social networks than traditional organizations, and what does this mean for their chief executives? Ā How can leaders get past the digital dazzle so they can effectively embrace new tools, a networked mindset, and connections, as well as measure the progress of this transformation and results? Ā Ā Author ofĀ The Networked Nonprofit and her forthcoming book, Measuring the Networked Nonprofit Beth Kanter will lead an interactive workshop about the myths and realities of social media in the nonprofit organization, and share impressive stories of several nonprofits' success.Ā Ā Learning ObjectivesĀ Ā·Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā To introduce the Networked Nonprofit framework and understand how to apply it to leading a nonprofitĀ·Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā To understand why a change of working orĀ āmind shiftā is essential to successfully using social mediaĀ·Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā To identify one or two concrete action steps to begin the process of change back at the officeĀ Ā Ā
Hereās a little bit about me.Iāve been working in nonprofits for over 33 years and since 1992 nonprofit tech and training. Iāve been writing a blog, Bethās Blog, for ten years at http://www.bethkanter.org. Iām currently Visiting Scholar at the David and Lucile Packard Foundation for nonprofits and social media ā where theyāve supported my research and writing of two books. First one, Networked Nonprofit w/Allison Fine in 2010. Talked about the how nonprofits need to change their work to embrace a networked way of working ā wasnāt about just using the tools. My next book, Measuring the Networked Nonprofit, with co-author KD Paine is due out this all. Meanwhile, through my work at Packard and with other organizations like IIE and the US Department of State, Iāve been designing and facilitating peer learning networks to build capacity of NGOs to embraced networked ways of working and build social media capacity. I just got back from India and launching a learning network of India NGOs that work in the area of Family Planning and Reproductive Health āthe Networked Nonprofit Curriculum is based on the ideas in my book and uses cutting edge techniques in online networked peer learning ā and Iāve been writing that on my blog.This year has been the year for training literally around the world ā Iāve been working with NGOs in Rwanda, Kenya, Ethoipia, Morocco, Jordan, Lebanon, Tunisia, Brasil, Pakistan, and India ā¦..
As part of my work at the Packard Foundation as visiting scholar, I co-authored a book called the Networked Nonprofit ā about how all this connectedness is changing the way that nonprofits do their work ā from the inside out. Iāve had the opportunity to teach workshops to ngos all over the world, most recently in the Middle East as part of a state department Civil Society 2.0.
SHABAKAT youth integrate information and communication technologies in the day-to-day lives of their communities to positively transform our families, education, businesses, environment and community. Rami Al-Karmi will share a few words.Founder and CEO of Shabakat, Al Ordon (JordanNet) and is serving as the E-Mediat Strategic Adviser for the Jordan In-Country Team shared some lessons about working as networked ngo. His organizationās name, Shabakat, translates into the word ānetwork.āShabakat Al Ordon trains young people in technical, professional and facilitation skills who then go out and create programs to train people in their communities. Rami shared how his organization works in a transparent way, open sourcing its program materials and processes. They also work many different partners to spread the program so that his organization isnāt doing everything. Theyāve simplified and focused on what they do best.
http://www.bethkanter.org/emediat-day2/ounder and CEO of Shabakat, Al Ordon (JordanNet) and is serving as the E-Mediat Strategic Adviser for the Jordan In-Country Team shared some lessons about working as networked ngo. His organizationās name, Shabakat, translates into the word ānetwork.āShabakat Al Ordon trains young people in technical, professional and facilitation skills who then go out and create programs to train people in their communities. Rami shared how his organization works in a transparent way, open sourcing its program materials and processes. They also work many different partners to spread the program so that his organization isnāt doing everything. Theyāve simplified and focused on what they do best.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/soyignatius/5544750526/sizes/l/in/photostream/TheĀ Parkinsonās AssociationĀ is doing just that.Ā Ā They have organized a fundraiser called āSummit4Stemcell.āĀ The goal is to fundĀ non-embryonic stem cell researchĀ that will result in a treatment for Parkinsonās while inspiring people with the disease to move beyond their physical limitations.Ā Ā Ā Ā A group of 17 passionate mountain climbers is raising money for this project by climbing Mt. Kiilimanjaro (19,340 ft high!) in September.You might be wondering why Iām writing about this?Ā Itās personal.My cousin,Ā Rebecca KanterĀ (a millennial) is one of the climbers.Ā Ā She is doing the climb in honor of myĀ DadĀ who is suffers from Parkinsonism ā there is no cure. Ā Ā You can treat the symptoms and my Dad is working very hard on doing physical therapy which has allowed him to walk, with a walker. Ā Ā Having been a competitive swimmer andĀ surfer, he knows the discipline of working hard for a goal.Ā It was not unlike how he has worked hard as a doctor andĀ in the Navy during WW2.Hereās why Rebecca is taking on this challengeĀ Uncle Earl has Parkinsonism, and was in the hospital for his health-related issues. His family has since brought him home, but as my father described to me, theyāre having to make adjustments to the house to accomodate my uncleās physical challenges. Listening to the NPR report, especially the voices of the people (who I would later learn were Ken and Brad) taking on this enormous undertaking of sumitting Kilimanjaro while dealing with Parkinsonās, made me think about my Uncle Earl, the challenges he is facing in his life, and the opportunities ā like summiting a mountain ā that are no longer available to him. I was overwhelmed by the inspiration to do something.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/soyignatius/5544750526/sizes/l/in/photostream/TheĀ Parkinsonās AssociationĀ is doing just that.Ā Ā They have organized a fundraiser called āSummit4Stemcell.āĀ The goal is to fundĀ non-embryonic stem cell researchĀ that will result in a treatment for Parkinsonās while inspiring people with the disease to move beyond their physical limitations.Ā Ā Ā Ā A group of 17 passionate mountain climbers is raising money for this project by climbing Mt. Kiilimanjaro (19,340 ft high!) in September.You might be wondering why Iām writing about this?Ā Itās personal.My cousin,Ā Rebecca KanterĀ (a millennial) is one of the climbers.Ā Ā She is doing the climb in honor of myĀ DadĀ who is suffers from Parkinsonism ā there is no cure. Ā Ā You can treat the symptoms and my Dad is working very hard on doing physical therapy which has allowed him to walk, with a walker. Ā Ā Having been a competitive swimmer andĀ surfer, he knows the discipline of working hard for a goal.Ā It was not unlike how he has worked hard as a doctor andĀ in the Navy during WW2.Hereās why Rebecca is taking on this challengeĀ Uncle Earl has Parkinsonism, and was in the hospital for his health-related issues. His family has since brought him home, but as my father described to me, theyāre having to make adjustments to the house to accomodate my uncleās physical challenges. Listening to the NPR report, especially the voices of the people (who I would later learn were Ken and Brad) taking on this enormous undertaking of sumitting Kilimanjaro while dealing with Parkinsonās, made me think about my Uncle Earl, the challenges he is facing in his life, and the opportunities ā like summiting a mountain ā that are no longer available to him. I was overwhelmed by the inspiration to do something.
The leading edge of social change is increasingly network-centric. Collaboration, coordination, and working in networks are becoming the new normal, as leaders across sectors work to move the needle on todayās most pressing problems. Individuals and groups are taking increasing advantage of technologyās ability to facilitate and expand their impact through connection, coordination, and collaboration. What does this look like in action? Grassroots mobilization has achieved a step change in speed and power, as witnessed by the Twitter-enabled Arab Spring, the KONY 2012 campaign that put a long-invisible crisis in Africa on the public radar, and the swift backlash against the Susan G. Komen Foundation for withdrawing support from Planned Parenthood. Collective knowledge production on sites like Wikipedia, Galaxy Zoo, Instructables, or the Polymath Project continues to grow and is redefining how we access expertise. We can also see the power of networks playing out in field-level collaboratives such as Strive and RE-AMP, where large groups of organizations are aligning their strategies to enable individual efforts to add up to systemic change.
Story of Electronics, an environmental-themed short film, as a case study and jumping off point for a workshop exercise to create a digital campaign. The Story of Electronics is part of a series of short films created and released by the Story of Stuff project since 2007.Ā The first film, The Story of Stuff, shows the devastating consequences of our (American) consumerism in the environment, developing countries, personal health and happiness. Ā Ā The Story of Stuff site was created to leverage and extend the filmās impact by creating a network of people who are discussing the issue and hope to build a more sustainable and just world.Ā Ā Their online network includes over 250,000 activists and they partner with hundreds of environmental and social justice organizations around the world to create and distribute the film, curricula, and other content.Last week at the TechSoup Global Summit, I had an opportunity to meet Annie Leonard and do a quick interview about their lessons learned working as a networked.Ā As I listened to her speak about their experience,Ā Ā I knew this would be a terrific case study to share in Beirut as an example of working in a networked way.Ā Ā Ā Annie was kind enough to give me her notes so I could write this case study and hopefully, Iāve captured it correctly.The first thing to point out is that Story of Stuff project is not an independent nonprofit (as far as I could tell) and is fiscally-sponsored by the Tides Center.Ā This organization is one that was born as networked nonprofit, in part, because of the experience and vision of its leader, Annie Leonard.Hereās some basic points she made about working effectively in a networked way compared to working in a traditional organization.Source: Leadership for a New EraTo Be Successful You Need both A Network Mindset and Networking ToolsA Networked organization is more than just the electronic infrastructure and tools that facilitate communication.Ā Ā It isnāt a matter of a Facebook profile or using Twitter.Ā Ā It is a collaborative way of working. Ā It is aboutĀ sharing.Ā Ā When you have a group of people working together in a network-culture and are facile with the tools, it can be unstoppable.She described the networked mindset as different from working in a conventional nonprofit institution.Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā These conventional nonprofits, what we label āFortressesā in our book, The Networked Nonprofit,Ā are all about command and top down control. Ā Annie pointed out that these organizations have many rigid rules.Ā Ā It means that no one on staff or the outside can do anything without permission and had to be done a prescribed way.Ā For example, everyone had to use the same font.Whatās more she described how difficult this way of working is and makes it almost impossible to collaborate with other organizations working on similar issues. Ā Ā Ā In traditional organizations,Ā they approach activism as Ā āIt is our issue.ā Ā These traditional organizations feel that power comes for their expertise and their institution.In Networks, Information and Connections Flow in Many DirectionsAnnie talked about how networks focus on collaboration and action, rather than institution building.Ā Ā She noted,Ā āIn networks, the goal isnāt a big staff, but inspiring lots of people to do the good work through making connections and taking action.āĀ Ā Ā She also observed that in networks, power and decision-making propagates outwards ā rather than being consolidated in the center.How and Why The Story of StuffĀ Is Successful As A NetworkAnnie credits the above ways of working as the secret to their success.Ā Ā Ā She made the film because she was frustrated that the mainstream media and culture had ignored the underside of the American consumer economy.Ā Ā Ā Ā When she posted the short film online in 2007, it exploded.Ā Ā It turned up the volume on this important conversation.In the three years since the film has been out there, there are still 10K views a day and 12 million views online.Ā There are more than 220 countries have viewed the film in an unknown number of group settings.Ā Itās been translated into dozens of languages, inspired curriculum for high school, inspired a ballet in Boston, a puppet show in Palestine, floats in parades and the list goes on.Ā People have spray painted the URL on bus stops.Building RelationshipsAnnie suggests that one reason they were successful is that the film wasnāt just hers.Ā It was conceived and created in a network context.Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Instead of doing everything herself, she engaged other people.Ā Ā She spent an entire decade building relationships with groups all over the world and building a network of organizations to address the issues in the film.Ā She also got lots of feedback about the film while it was being created.When the film launched, it was already on the web site of hundreds of groups all over the world.Ā Ā Ā Hundreds of advocates and allies helped create it and had a stake in it.Ā Ā Ā Ā She says it was ānetwork-heldā resource.Inspiring Others To Take Action: Credit Free ZoneAnnie also mentioned that their focus was to inspire new thinking and conversations, rather than getting credit or making money.Ā Ā Ā They used a creative commons license ā allowing anyone to use their films, put them on their sites, and do anything they wanted except sell it.While Annie isnāt suggesting that we bury the old-school, centralized,Ā command and control model of organizing, she feels that different times demand evolving models.Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Annie says working as network offers these advantages:(1)Ā Networks are more resilient and flexible and can bigger risks because they donāt have to worry about the longevity of a big institution.(2)Ā Networks are participatory.Ā They can get millions of people to help, not just paid staff.(3)Ā Networks offer many different ways to get involved.Ā Ā Itās a buffet of ways to engage people that fits them.Ā Ā Networks value people on whatever terms they want to participate.(4)Ā Networks are a reflection of where the world is going.Ā Ā Ā Thereās a big paradigm shift in everything from our relationship to material goods to organizational models.Ā Ā Weāre moving from a āmineā to āoursā environment.(5) Networks make us all smarter.Ā Ā By sharing information freely and welcoming input and feedback, learning is accelerated.Ā Ā Ā Networks evolve faster because of this.(6)Ā Networks are more fun.Ā Ā Ā Ā Annie said that she had spent many years trying to get people to talk about the issues that she cared about, thinking her experience and expertise were enough.Ā Ā It wasnāt until she learned to let go of control and shift from lecturing people to inviting them in that conversation exploded.As Annie said in her closing remarks,Ā Ā the Story of Stuff is about building a better world.Ā Ā Ā In the story, the network is the hero.
To Be Successful You Need both A Network Mindset and Networking ToolsA Networked organization is more than just the electronic infrastructure and tools that facilitate communication.Ā Ā It isnāt a matter of a Facebook profile or using Twitter.Ā Ā It is a collaborative way of working. Ā It is aboutĀ sharing.Ā Ā When you have a group of people working together in a network-culture and are facile with the tools, it can be unstoppable.She described the networked mindset as different from working in a conventional nonprofit institution.Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā These conventional nonprofits, what we label āFortressesā in our book, The Networked Nonprofit,Ā are all about command and top down control. Ā Annie pointed out that these organizations have many rigid rules.Ā Ā It means that no one on staff or the outside can do anything without permission and had to be done a prescribed way.Ā For example, everyone had to use the same font.Whatās more she described how difficult this way of working is and makes it almost impossible to collaborate with other organizations working on similar issues. Ā Ā Ā In traditional organizations,Ā they approach activism as Ā āIt is our issue.ā Ā These traditional organizations feel that power comes for their expertise and their institution.In Networks, Information and Connections Flow in Many DirectionsAnnie talked about how networks focus on collaboration and action, rather than institution building.Ā Ā She noted,Ā āIn networks, the goal isnāt a big staff, but inspiring lots of people to do the good work through making connections and taking action.āĀ Ā Ā She also observed that in networks, power and decision-making propagates outwards ā rather than being consolidated in the center.How and Why The Story of StuffĀ Is Successful As A NetworkAnnie credits the above ways of working as the secret to their success.Ā Ā Ā She made the film because she was frustrated that the mainstream media and culture had ignored the underside of the American consumer economy.Ā Ā Ā Ā When she posted the short film online in 2007, it exploded.Ā Ā It turned up the volume on this important conversation.In the three years since the film has been out there, there are still 10K views a day and 12 million views online.Ā There are more than 220 countries have viewed the film in an unknown number of group settings.Ā Itās been translated into dozens of languages, inspired curriculum for high school, inspired a ballet in Boston, a puppet show in Palestine, floats in parades and the list goes on.Ā People have spray painted the URL on bus stops.Building RelationshipsAnnie suggests that one reason they were successful is that the film wasnāt just hers.Ā It was conceived and created in a network context.Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Instead of doing everything herself, she engaged other people.Ā Ā She spent an entire decade building relationships with groups all over the world and building a network of organizations to address the issues in the film.Ā She also got lots of feedback about the film while it was being created.When the film launched, it was already on the web site of hundreds of groups all over the world.Ā Ā Ā Hundreds of advocates and allies helped create it and had a stake in it.Ā Ā Ā Ā She says it was ānetwork-heldā resource.Inspiring Others To Take Action: Credit Free ZoneAnnie also mentioned that their focus was to inspire new thinking and conversations, rather than getting credit or making money.Ā Ā Ā They used a creative commons license ā allowing anyone to use their films, put them on their sites, and do anything they wanted except sell it.While Annie isnāt suggesting that we bury the old-school, centralized,Ā command and control model of organizing, she feels that different times demand evolving models.Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Annie says working as network offers these advantages:(1)Ā Networks are more resilient and flexible and can bigger risks because they donāt have to worry about the longevity of a big institution.(2)Ā Networks are participatory.Ā They can get millions of people to help, not just paid staff.(3)Ā Networks offer many different ways to get involved.Ā Ā Itās a buffet of ways to engage people that fits them.Ā Ā Networks value people on whatever terms they want to participate.(4)Ā Networks are a reflection of where the world is going.Ā Ā Ā Thereās a big paradigm shift in everything from our relationship to material goods to organizational models.Ā Ā Weāre moving from a āmineā to āoursā environment.(5) Networks make us all smarter.Ā Ā By sharing information freely and welcoming input and feedback, learning is accelerated.Ā Ā Ā Networks evolve faster because of this.(6)Ā Networks are more fun.Ā Ā Ā Ā Annie said that she had spent many years trying to get people to talk about the issues that she cared about, thinking her experience and expertise were enough.Ā Ā It wasnāt until she learned to let go of control and shift from lecturing people to inviting them in that conversation exploded.As Annie said in her closing remarks,Ā Ā the Story of Stuff is about building a better world.Ā Ā Ā In the story, the network is the hero.
To Be Successful You Need both A Network Mindset and Networking ToolsA Networked organization is more than just the electronic infrastructure and tools that facilitate communication.Ā Ā It isnāt a matter of a Facebook profile or using Twitter.Ā Ā It is a collaborative way of working. Ā It is aboutĀ sharing.Ā Ā When you have a group of people working together in a network-culture and are facile with the tools, it can be unstoppable.She described the networked mindset as different from working in a conventional nonprofit institution.Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā These conventional nonprofits, what we label āFortressesā in our book, The Networked Nonprofit,Ā are all about command and top down control. Ā Annie pointed out that these organizations have many rigid rules.Ā Ā It means that no one on staff or the outside can do anything without permission and had to be done a prescribed way.Ā For example, everyone had to use the same font.Whatās more she described how difficult this way of working is and makes it almost impossible to collaborate with other organizations working on similar issues. Ā Ā Ā In traditional organizations,Ā they approach activism as Ā āIt is our issue.ā Ā These traditional organizations feel that power comes for their expertise and their institution.In Networks, Information and Connections Flow in Many DirectionsAnnie talked about how networks focus on collaboration and action, rather than institution building.Ā Ā She noted,Ā āIn networks, the goal isnāt a big staff, but inspiring lots of people to do the good work through making connections and taking action.āĀ Ā Ā She also observed that in networks, power and decision-making propagates outwards ā rather than being consolidated in the center.How and Why The Story of StuffĀ Is Successful As A NetworkAnnie credits the above ways of working as the secret to their success.Ā Ā Ā She made the film because she was frustrated that the mainstream media and culture had ignored the underside of the American consumer economy.Ā Ā Ā Ā When she posted the short film online in 2007, it exploded.Ā Ā It turned up the volume on this important conversation.In the three years since the film has been out there, there are still 10K views a day and 12 million views online.Ā There are more than 220 countries have viewed the film in an unknown number of group settings.Ā Itās been translated into dozens of languages, inspired curriculum for high school, inspired a ballet in Boston, a puppet show in Palestine, floats in parades and the list goes on.Ā People have spray painted the URL on bus stops.Building RelationshipsAnnie suggests that one reason they were successful is that the film wasnāt just hers.Ā It was conceived and created in a network context.Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Instead of doing everything herself, she engaged other people.Ā Ā She spent an entire decade building relationships with groups all over the world and building a network of organizations to address the issues in the film.Ā She also got lots of feedback about the film while it was being created.When the film launched, it was already on the web site of hundreds of groups all over the world.Ā Ā Ā Hundreds of advocates and allies helped create it and had a stake in it.Ā Ā Ā Ā She says it was ānetwork-heldā resource.Inspiring Others To Take Action: Credit Free ZoneAnnie also mentioned that their focus was to inspire new thinking and conversations, rather than getting credit or making money.Ā Ā Ā They used a creative commons license ā allowing anyone to use their films, put them on their sites, and do anything they wanted except sell it.While Annie isnāt suggesting that we bury the old-school, centralized,Ā command and control model of organizing, she feels that different times demand evolving models.Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Ā Annie says working as network offers these advantages:(1)Ā Networks are more resilient and flexible and can bigger risks because they donāt have to worry about the longevity of a big institution.(2)Ā Networks are participatory.Ā They can get millions of people to help, not just paid staff.(3)Ā Networks offer many different ways to get involved.Ā Ā Itās a buffet of ways to engage people that fits them.Ā Ā Networks value people on whatever terms they want to participate.(4)Ā Networks are a reflection of where the world is going.Ā Ā Ā Thereās a big paradigm shift in everything from our relationship to material goods to organizational models.Ā Ā Weāre moving from a āmineā to āoursā environment.(5) Networks make us all smarter.Ā Ā By sharing information freely and welcoming input and feedback, learning is accelerated.Ā Ā Ā Networks evolve faster because of this.(6)Ā Networks are more fun.Ā Ā Ā Ā Annie said that she had spent many years trying to get people to talk about the issues that she cared about, thinking her experience and expertise were enough.Ā Ā It wasnāt until she learned to let go of control and shift from lecturing people to inviting them in that conversation exploded.As Annie said in her closing remarks,Ā Ā the Story of Stuff is about building a better world.Ā Ā Ā In the story, the network is the hero.
The transition from working like this to this ā doesnāt happen over night, canāt flip a switch
To work with a network mindset means embracing an emerging leadership style that is characterized by greater openness, transparency, decentralized decision-making, and collective action. It means operating with an awareness of the networks you are embedded in, and listening to and cultivating these networks to achieve the impact you care about. It means exercising leadership through active participation. It means sharing by default. It means communicating through a network model, rather than a broadcast modelāfinding where the conversations are happening and taking part.Individuals leading with a network mindset are prioritizing activities that are often associated with facilitative or collaborative leadership. Theyāre seeking opportunities to distribute, rather than centralize, responsibilityĀ andĀ authority. Theyāre convening diverse stakeholders, reaching out and engaging new participants in dialogues and projects, and generating coordination, cooperation and collaboration. Theyāre also working with an attentiveness to the nature of networks by creating and protecting spaces that build social capital (connectedness, trust, reciprocity), by brokering connections, especially across difference and nurturing self-organization, and by genuinely participating in networks and thereby leading by doing.More concretely, leading with a network mindset might, for a funder, mean:Developing an ecosystem awareness by mapping funding flows or relationships in order to better understand an issue area.Openly asking important questions, like the Packard Foundation did when they hosted their public Nitrogen Wiki for generating input to a new program strategy.Hosting town halls for listening to stakeholdersāonline and in-personālike Marguerite Casey Foundation has been doing with its Equal Voice campaign.Making and strengthening connections among other funders and stakeholders in an issue area.Pooling funds like the Hewlett, Packard, and McKnight Foundations have done to launch ClimateWorks.Listening to and participating in the blogosphere and Twitter stream related to an issue area, like program staff at the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation are working to do as part of their Web 2.0 Philanthropy initiative.
She delivered an engaging and interactive talk and though she didn't use the phrase, about how she as a CEO of a nonprofit changed to a "Network Mindset" and transformed her organization's culture from the inside out into a stunning example of aĀ Networked Nonprofit.She went on to tell a story about how she first realized that a network mindset was a key to her organizationās future success and being relevant. Ā Ā Her organization was in the middle of some layoffs, not an easy process for any one. Ā Ā Late one night, she received an email from some employees requesting to be part of the decision-making. Ā Ā She thought, āI better call my board chair because he calls me.āAs they were talking, she realized, āThey could have put it on Facebook.ā Ā Ā This could have created a public relations nightmare (Itās happened in theĀ orchestra worldĀ when theĀ Detroit Symphony musicians went on strike and used social media to air their concerns. Ā Ā Instead, these Goodwill employees went to their CEO.This lead them to really examine how to effect culture change. As Debbie says, it wasnāt about just using the tools and platforms like Facebook and Twitter ā even for herself as the CEO or her organization. That it required a shift from āpushing to engaging.ā Ā To make her point, she opened her shopping back and made people take party hats. Ā Ā She said, I didnāt engage you, I just shoved a hat at you. Next, she started tossing balls at people in the audience. Ā Saying, this is more engaging. Ā We are interacting, Ā we are paying attention to each other, having a conversation. Ā Ā This subtle shift was applied to their social media and communications strategy.
One of the things they did Ā early was to take an inventory of their team membersā skills to discover who was good at the various required skills writing, photography, and video as well as social media savvy. Ā At SF Goodwill they created aĀ Blog SquadĀ to kick things off.Once established, this became one of many platforms for them to engage their community and share control.
She delivered an engaging and interactive talk and though she didn't use the phrase, about how she as a CEO of a nonprofit changed to a "Network Mindset" and transformed her organization's culture from the inside out into a stunning example of aĀ Networked Nonprofit.She went on to tell a story about how she first realized that a network mindset was a key to her organizationās future success and being relevant. Ā Ā Her organization was in the middle of some layoffs, not an easy process for any one. Ā Ā Late one night, she received an email from some employees requesting to be part of the decision-making. Ā Ā She thought, āI better call my board chair because he calls me.āAs they were talking, she realized, āThey could have put it on Facebook.ā Ā Ā This could have created a public relations nightmare (Itās happened in theĀ orchestra worldĀ when theĀ Detroit Symphony musicians went on strike and used social media to air their concerns. Ā Ā Instead, these Goodwill employees went to their CEO.This lead them to really examine how to effect culture change. As Debbie says, it wasnāt about just using the tools and platforms like Facebook and Twitter ā even for herself as the CEO or her organization. That it required a shift from āpushing to engaging.ā Ā To make her point, she opened her shopping back and made people take party hats. Ā Ā She said, I didnāt engage you, I just shoved a hat at you. Next, she started tossing balls at people in the audience. Ā Saying, this is more engaging. Ā We are interacting, Ā we are paying attention to each other, having a conversation. Ā Ā This subtle shift was applied to their social media and communications strategy.
Andy Bales Union Rescue Mission
Bruce LesleyĀ is one of a growing number ofĀ Ā nonprofit executive directors and senior leaders that use Twitter.Ā And, he isnāt tweeting about what he ate for breakfast or one of his personal passions, basketball.Ā Ā He uses Twitter to curate information related to his organizationās mission andĀ workĀ as a bipartisan advocacy organization dedicated to making children and families a priority in federal policy and budget decisions. Ā He also uses content curation for sources forĀ his guest blogging.Ā Ā Ā His use of Twitter (and his organizationās use of Twitter and all communications channels for that matter) serve this intent:First Focus is working to change the dialogue around childrenās issues by taking a cross-cutting and broad based approach to federal policy making. In all of our work, we seek to raise awareness regarding public policies impacting children and ensure that related programs have the resources necessary to help them grow up in a healthy and nurturing environment.If you take a look at Bruce LesleyāsĀ Twitter stream, you will see that he isĀ curating informationĀ on public policies impacting children.Ā Ā BruceĀ does his own curating, usingĀ Google ReaderĀ andĀ FlipBoard.Ā Ā Any individual or nonprofit organization can curate information using these tools.Ā They can make it strategic by linking the information to their mission.Ā Ā But what is the secret sauce to doing it well?
Note: This is not only the big outcomes, but also the evidence of peer learning work. ]You all have been doing amazing work since we last got together and your growing skills and networks really paid off recently with regard to the Supreme Courtās decision on the ACA. In her blog, Beth highlighted this day as one of those opportunities to balance strategic communications with the spontaneity of social media. You all jumped on this historic event and demonstrated your social media smarts, including:Being flexible and keeping it simple;Using multiple channels and shaping content for each channel;Leveraging the organic sharing properties of Facebook;Having a broad narrative in mind in advance (win, lose or something in between);Getting your social media ambassadors and āsuper-usersā to help spread your message;Curating content from trusted sources; andFocusing on the story after the immediate announcement and providing analysis.There was a huge amount of activity across our network on decision day and it really was a great demonstration of putting into action what we have been learning as a peer community.
http://www.fNetworked Nonprofits have a social culture. They use social media to engage people inside and outside the organization to improve programs, services, or reach communications goals. Before this can happen, they need leadership buy-in, address concerns head on, and codify the organizational rules around using social media. Reverse mentoringBarrier: Organizational ConcernsLoss of control over their branding and marketing messagesDealing with negative commentsAddressing personality versus organizational voicePrivacy and securityPerception of wasted of time and resourceslickr.com/photos/24443965@N08/3639694353/
http://www.flickr.com/photohttp://www.slideshare.net/jeremiah_owyang/career-social-strategist?from=embeds/jeremiah_owyang/5162385707/The culture of acompany directly influences how they develop their organizational formation. Weidentified five models for how companies organize for social media, and asked SocialStrategists how theyāre currently formed. Nearly 60% of surveyed Social Strategistsclassified their organizational model as āHub and Spokeā or āMultiple Hub and Spokeā(also known as āDandelionā), in which a central hub provides guidance, resources andcoordination to business units (See Figure 5). We found that 82% of those in theseorganizational models had reached sophistication, self-identifying their programs asFormalized, Mature, or Advanced. Expect more companies to model in either āHub andSpokeā or āMultiple Hub and Spoke,ā as these formations are best equipped to scale tomeet demands from both internal and external stakeholders4
The guy in the t-shirt, a free agentThese are people like Mark Horvath, Shawn Ahmed and many others .. Who want to work with nonprofits ā¦
http://www.flickr.com/photos/bigtallguy/139143816/We wrote this book because we saw a landscape of free agents and nonprofit fortresses crashing into one another ā¦.
He turned and pointed a finger at Wendy Harman from the Red Cross who was in the room. He told the room full of nonprofits staffers ā¦..When the Haiti earthquake struck, I contacted the Red Cross. I offered to connect the community supporting my work with your efforts in Haiti. But I was dismissed as ājust a guy on YouTubeāā.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/rg-b/3243840206/
Letās define transparency first ā¦Transparency exists to a lesser or greater extent in all organizations. Greater transparency is a good thing, not just because it is morally correct, but because it can provide measurable benefits. "Disclosure" is a component of transparency, and means releasing the information you have to and want to. "Transparency," on the other hand, can often mean releasing information that you don't have to.When organizations work in a transparent way, they consider staff, board, and the people in their networks as resources for helping them to achieve their goals. This is not about being transparent for transparency sake; working transparently is an opportunity to improve the results of organizationsā programs. Transparent and open organizations are clear about what they do, and they know what they are trying to accomplish. They are enriched by outside feedback.And yes, the notion of transparency is a bit scary. āTransparency will expose your organizationās weaknesses, and areas that need improvement. Hiding these does not make them go away. Positive feedback that everything is okay, when it isnāt, only reinforces the debilitating behavior. Sure, transparency might make an organization feel uncomfortable, but it will also motivate it to improve.ā
In my next book, āMeasuring the Networked Nonprofit, my co-author and I spent devoted a chapter to measuring transparency ā a practice in an embryonic stage. But it required that we think unpack what transparency includes ā¦..Substantial ā The organization provides information that is truthful, complete, easy to understand, and reliable. Accountable ā The organization is forthcoming with bad news, admits mistakes, and provides both sides of a controversy. Absence of secrecy ā The organization doesnāt leave out important but potentially damaging details, the organization doesnāt obfuscate its data with jargon or confusion, and the organization is slow to provide data or only discloses data when required. These four components of transparency are tested by the following questionnaire Participation ā The organization asks for feedback, involves others, takes the time to listen, and is prompt in responding to requests for information.It is this participation where public learning takes place ā¦.http://pndblog.typepad.com/pndblog/2012/07/philanthropys-data-dilemma.html
http://www.flickr.com/photos/gsfc/6385412591/When I think about Learning in Public in this context ā as a method for doing an evaluation of a program or strategy, I think about kids science fair experiments --- Good experiments, are grounded in evidence and data collection around which you are trying to make sense.It can use crowdsourcing, but not the data collection or the opinion ā it is crowdsourcing the analysis so you can more easily discover the āAh Haā insights.These experiments are not secret experiments, but there is a broad continuum of being totally open and closed ā¦.The learning questions are focused and strategicSome steps ..
Letās look a some quick examples of public learning in the nonprofit world before Kathy and Jared share their in-depth case study
A data-informed culture, something very different from a data-driven culture. The term ādata-drivenā has been used to describe organizations that rely solely on cold hard data to make decisions. Being data-driven sounds greatāin theory. But, because it doesnāt acknowledge the importance of basing decisions on multiple information sourcesThe phrase ādata-informedā is a far more useful label. Data-informed describes agile, responsive, and intelligent businesses that are better able to succeed in a rapidly changing environment.Data-informed cultures are not slaves to their data. Mario Morino uses the phrase āinformation-based introspectionā to refer to using and applying data in context to excel.Multiple sources for decision-making are critical. āData is an important part of the story, but not all of it. Nonprofits have to balance an overreliance on passion or belief in one's mission with over-fetishisation of data and analysis.ā
http://www.flickr.com/photos/theimagegroup/369893824/Organizations with data-informed cultures have the conscious use of assessment, revision, and learning built into the way they plan, manage, and operate. From leadership, to strategy, to decision-making, to meetings, to job descriptionsāa data-informed culture has continuous improvement embedded in the way it functions. Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) are the specific quantifiable metrics that an organization agrees are necessary to achieve success. They are the mileposts that tell a data-informed organization whether they are making progress toward their goals. Measurement and data visualization are tools that nonprofits with data-informed cultures use to improve their programs; they observe the results of their programs, and then learn from those results to improve and refine their next programs. Data-informed cultures design measurement into their projectsānot just so they have measureable outcomes, but so they provide the data necessary to guide how to improve them. Measurement can be used for many things, some of them undesirable, like justifying your existence, getting someone fired, or proving a point. A data-informed culture uses measurement to continuously improve.
DoSomething.org is a fully functioning data-informed culture. Founded by Andrew Shue and Michael Sanchez, DoSomething.orgās mission is to convince young people that community service is as popular, cool, and, most importantly, normal, as watching TV or playing sports. Their idea was that if community service could become ingrained in young people, then they wouldn't think twice about helping others or volunteering. Back in 1993, Shue approached Aaron Spelling, the executive producer of āMelrose Place,ā and asked for 30 seconds of airtime during the show to tell the world about DoSomething.org. Spelling agreed and DoSomething.org was officially launched!DoSomething.org, a mid-sized nonprofit with about 40 staff members including a fulltime data analysts, focuses on social change makers under 25 years of age and delivers most of its programs through the web, mobile messaging, and/or through social networks. They donāt collect data for dataās sake. They use their data to shape programs and drive social change, making decisions based on a balance of data and experience.
It Starts at the TopCreating a data-informed culture comes down to leadership. At DoSomething.org it starts with the board, which is dominated by leaders in the tech field, including Reid Hoffman, co-founder of Linked-In, and Raj Kapoor, co-founder of Snapfish. Reid has famously said, āThe future of the web is data.ā Lublin purposefully developed a data-informed culture, building her team with staff members who share her passion, like CTO George Weiner. Weiner manages the Internet, computer, and online communication strategy for DoSomething.org. He says, āOne of the biggest challenges to nonprofits becoming more data-informed is the HiPPO in the room that no one wants to talk about. āHiPPOā stands for āHighest Paid Person in the Organization,ā and itās usually your CEO. The HiPPO has to buy into data-informed decisions otherwise it doesnāt happen.ā
http://www.flickr.com/photos/foreversouls/7318906/Donāt Just Count, Understand WhyThe DoSomething.org staff mine their program data for actionable insights that they share with Lublin at regular meetings. āI think one of the reasons our organizational culture has evolved is that our nonprofit is 90% funded by corporate sponsorships,ā explains Lublin. āThey look at us as a media purchase. As a result, weāve always collected key performance metrics. Not just traffic, but engagement metrics, and, of course, actions taken. But we donāt just count, we try to understand why.āLublin has brought in leading thinkers from the corporate sector to mentor her and her staff on how to think about their data. She says, āI was fortunate to spend some time with John Lilly from Mozilla. He encouraged us to have a more open philosophy for sharing and analyzing our data. If weāre transparent about sharing our dashboards, it generates feedback and discussion from our stakeholders that leads to improvement.ā
Spend More Time Thinking About The Data, Less On Collecting ItDoSomething.org uses its data to continuously improve programs, develop content, and shape campaign strategies. So DoSomething.org wants its staff to spend more of its brainpower thinking about the data, rather than collecting it. To ensure that this happens, DoSomething.orgās Data Analyst Bob Filbinās job is more than programming formulas in Excel spreadsheets. Says Filbin, āOne of the biggest barriers in nonprofits is finding the time to collect data, the time to analyze, and the time to act on it. Unless someone is put in charge of data, and itās a key part of their job description, acceleratingĀ along the path towards empowered data-informed culture is going to be hard, if not impossible.ā
http://www.flickr.com/photos/mkrigsman/3428179614/Tear Down Those SilosLublin says that it is important not to silo your data analysts. āYou canāt treat them like accountants that sit quietly in the background and assign categories to expenses. Iāve made sure that our data analyst shares an office and works interactively with staff.ā He is responsible for making sure that departmental and overall organizational goals are aligned, and that social media data are seamlessly integrated into achieving key organizational results. Filbin says, āMy goal is to make sure that every person and department has access to the data theyĀ need in order to create actionable changes in their work. Each person has an automated dashboard that has different levels of detail and relates to organizational results.ā
Fail Fest And Pink Boas: Donāt Be Afraid To FailDoSomething.org doesnāt use its data to pat itself on the back or make the staff feel good. Lublin notes that theyāre not afraid of failure. They hold regular āFail Festā meetings, where each person on staff has to present a campaign or program failure. They share three things they learned about themselves and three things the organization learned. To remove the stigma from failure, Lublin says, āWe have to wear pink boas when we present.ā http://www.flickr.com/photos/ruminatrix/2734602916/in/faves-cambodia4kidsorg/
The Stages of Becoming Data Informed: Crawl, Walk, Run, FlyObviously, not all nonprofits are born with the data-informed gene. And itās not a culture you can acquire along with your analytics software. Itās an evolutionary process that happens in stages. These include:Crawl: At this stage, the organization does not know where to start. It collects data from time-to-time, but doesnāt do formal reporting. What data is collected doesnāt relate to decision-making. There are no systems in place, no dashboards, and no collection methods. Staff is often overwhelmed by the thought of measurement and the task falls to the bottom of the to-do list. There is no process for analyzing success or failure. Decisions are all passion-driven.Walk: At this stage, the organization is regularly collecting data but not in a consistent manner. For example, different people and departments may be collecting data but not sharing it. Or data is focused on theĀ metrics that are specific to social media channels but not linked to high-level organizational results or mission-driven goals across programs and could, in fact, be the wrong data. Discussions on how to improve results are rarely part of staff meetings, nor are there linkages to organizational experience. The organization does not understand the fine distinction between being data-driven and the intelligent use of data. Run: At this stage, the non-profit has an organization-wide system and dashboard for collecting measurement data that is shared with different departments. Decisions are not based solely on a data or intuition, but multiple sources. Managers hold weekly check-ins to evaluate whatās working and whatās not across communications channels, as well as, any specific social media feedbackĀ received that would help shape our future campaigns or social media use. At this stage it monitors feedback from target audiences in real time but supplements that information with trend or survey data. The organization may work with measurement consultants or specialists to improve skills and capacity and it provides training and professional development for staff to learn how to use measurement tools.Fly: At this phase the non-profit has established key performance indicators that are used across programs. The organization has a staff person responsible for managing the organizationās data, but staff are empowered to check and apply their own data. In addition to providing weekly check-ins, the organizational dashboard includes key performance metrics related to goals. The organizational dashboard is shared across departments and there is a process for analyzing, discussing, and applying results. They use data visualization techniques to report the data analysis but also to reflect on best practices culled from the data. There is no shame or blame game because of āfailures,ā instead these are embraced as learning opportunities. There is a regular report to senior leadership that details high level successes, challenges, and recommendationsĀ for moving forward. Staff performance reviews incorporate how well the organization is doing on KPIs. Leadership celebrates successes by sharing measurement data across the organization.
Becoming Data-Informed: Change Is Easy With Baby StepsChanging an organizationās culture to a more data-informed approach must begin with baby steps. While it does not have to be difficult to orchestrate, it does need to start from the top. Unless senior management can agree on the definitions of success and how they will be measured, you can waste a tremendous amount of time accumulating data but not using it. In Chapter 4, we describe the basic steps of any measurement program and discuss how to set up a measurement pilot program. Chapter 5 discusses how to identify the value of success. Getting started on the path to becoming a data-informed nonprofit is a matter of having some important internal conversations. It is not just about having new inspiration about measurement or working with new tools; it means thinking differently about the organization and how it works.Begin at the End: Discuss and Identify ResultsIf your organization doesnāt know exactly what youāre going to measure, you canāt become data-informed. Unless you have a discussion upfront of what success looks like, youāll end up collecting data, but it wonāt help you make decisions. You will waste your time. So begin at the end by carefully identifying desired outcomes. Donāt be afraid of a bit of healthy disagreement. The best measurement programs are borne ofāand benefit fromālively conversations about what really matters to the organization and who can āclaim creditā for what. You need to keep your āmissionā hat on and keep the conversation focused on the ultimate goals of the organization. Just keep repeating, itās not about ācreditāāitās about achieving the mission. You will also want to manage expectations: What is realistic to expect given your current investment in social media, or compared to peer organizations? What do short-term, medium, and longer-term results look like?You might need to bring in an outside consultant to facilitate a meeting to help get consensus on what you want to measure or clarity on results. Or you may need to bring in a measurement expert to help you clarify what you want to measure and why. This doesnāt have to be expensive. For example, as we discuss in Chapter 8, the Analytics Exchange helped the American Leadership Forum by supplying an analytics volunteer to help create a framework and system for gathering data. Become a Curator of MetricsIf you are the person responsible for implementing social media for your organization, either part time or as your whole job, you need to become what John Lovett defines as a āCurator of Metricsā in his book Social Media Metrics Secrets.This is someone, like Carie Lewis from the Humane Society whom we introduced you to do in Chapter 1, who knows the difference between different types of metrics and ensures that her organization is using data in an intelligent way. A curator of metrics knows how to help guide their organization into choosing the right metrics, and knows how to report insights in a way that connects them to organizational goals.Use Experiments To Make The Case To EvolveOne way to evolve into a data-informed organization is through implementing a series of social media measurement experiments, as described below and in Chapter 4. Each one needs to have solid metrics, and should be designed to provide results that will help you make the case to evolve. Keep the end in mind when agreeing on how experiments will be structured, run, and measured. The experiments should not be willy-nilly, but help you develop and test your strategies and tactics ā and lead the way to best practices. Take a Baby Step: My First Data Collection ProjectTo get started, select a project, event, small campaign, or program that is a high priority on your organizationās work plan for the year, that incorporates social media, and that you can apply a couple of good metrics to. Be mindful of other organizational deadlines that may divert energy and focus from this important first baby step. You might find it difficult to set aside quality time to focus on it. Donāt try to measure every objective or collect all potential relevant data. Make it easy to manage. You should also have a very clear idea about what you want to learn. Keep in mind that you are going to take your report and use it to make the case for a more comprehensive measurement program. Itās important to make sure that anyone who is going to use the data, or sit in a meeting and review the data, buys into your metrics. That could be the Executive Director, a program manager, the board of trustees, or other people in your department. If there are many different decision makers you may need to do a formal survey to make sure that everyone ends up on the same page. Sara Thomas, who handles social media for the Ocean Conservancy, says, āIt was really useful to bring in my entire department on the effort rather than working solo on the project. This helped with buy-in.āLearn from Your ResultsOnce you collect your data, analyze it and understand how it can help inform decisions. Make sure you educate through examples. Show how adding a data-informed approach to your social media or all media or programs can avoid ineffective campaigns and increase audience satisfaction.More importantly, you donāt just need to develop discipline around collecting data, what you want is the discipline to look at what youāve collected and generate insights. That requires reflection, not just counting.Doing a measurement pilot will help create the discipline of stepping back from whirlwind of social media tactical implementation, but also wrestle with larger questions about how social media fits into an organizationās overall efforts. Which vehicles and channels gain us the most traction? How should we adjust our workload internally to reflect those results? How are our social media activities helping us meet our overall strategic goals? How are our efforts using social media supporting our programs?Reflecting does not have to be a private activity. It can be done in connected, transparent ways. The organizationās blog or website can be a place to share lessons learned with readers, and ask them for their feedback and suggestions as well. The result: a powerful way to learn and improve over time.ConclusionTo start the shift to a data-informed culture, you must begin with small incremental steps with the full support of leadership. Itās important to think big, looking at key results, but since many outcomes deal with long-term changes, you canāt get there overnight, nor can your organization transform its culture overnight. Keep the steps small and manageable. As your organizationās culture begins to shift, then when you present reports on social media activities, you get better questions from your executive director or board. You donāt get asked how many fans do we have or what does that mean? You get questions that help you Kanter, Beth. (October, 2011) Are You A Curator of Metrics? [Blog post]. Retrieved from http://www.bethkanter.org/curator-metrics/Thomas, Sara, private conference call peer learning group with David and Lucile Packard grantees with Beth Kanter, September, 2011
