This document discusses networks and their effectiveness. It provides examples of how networks have been used to mobilize people, innovate, develop knowledge sharing and more. The document examines network structures and strategies for network development. Diagnostics are provided to assess network health in areas like purpose, leadership, communications and resource management. The document emphasizes that networks are changing how organizations work and advocates developing a "network mindset" and weaving approach to strengthen connections.

1. 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

2. Network Basics

3. Networks Are Changing the Way the World Works

4. 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.

5. “ 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

6. “ 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

7. 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

8. 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

9. Networks Have Been Around For A Long Time…

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

11. “ 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

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

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

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

15. Issue: Develop and Share Knowledge

16. Issue: Innovate

17. Issue: Mobilize People and Effort

18. Issue: Mobilize People and Effort

19. Issue: Coordinate Resources and Services

20. 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-

21. 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

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

23. 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

24. Understanding Your Network

25. How are Networks Structured?

26. A Few Helpful Definitions Core Hub Link Node Cluster Periphery

27. Network Structures can Take Many Forms

28. 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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

36. Social Network Mapping: A Tool for Visualizing Your Network

37. 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

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

39. … Or More High-Tech

40. 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?

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

42. 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

43. 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

44. Network Effectiveness: Strategies for Network Development

45. 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

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

47. 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)

48. 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

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

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

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

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

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

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

55. How healthy is your network?

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

57. 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

58. 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

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

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

61. 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?

62. Network Aptitude and Mindset

63. 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)

64. 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)

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

66. 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

67. 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)