1. Beijing
Cambridge
Chicago
Delhi
Dubai
Hong Kong
Johannesburg
London Network Effectiveness:
Los Angeles
Madrid An Interactive Working Session for Packard
Manila
Moscow
Foundation Grantees
Mumbai
Munich
May 27, 2009
New York
Palo Alto
Paris
Heather Grant
San Francisco heather_grant@monitor.com
São Paulo Diana Scearce
Seoul
diana_scearce@monitor.com
Shanghai
Singapore
Tokyo
Toronto
Zurich This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution Share Alike 3.0 Unported License.
1

2. Network Basics
2

3. Networks Are Changing the Way the World Works
Source for Network Graphic: orgnet.com
3

4. Obama Used Networks to Mobilize 13 M Supporters
“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
4

5. 10K+ Activists Protested Elections in Moldova
“…six people, 10 minutes for brainstorming and decision-making,
several hours of disseminating information through networks, Facebook,
blogs, SMSs and e-mail.”
–Natalia Morar, ThinkMoldova
5

6. We’re Witnessing the Death of Old Models…
“While newspaper circulation has long been in decline, the latest
figures show the drop is accelerating…Weekday circulation declined
7.1% for the six months that ended March 31, compared with the
previous year.”
– New York Times, April 27,2009
6

7. …And New Models Are Emerging
7

8. As a Result, the Way Our Work Gets Done Is Changing
8

9. Many Nonprofits Need to Find Ways to Leverage Networks
Increasing Number of Nonprofits
More Competition for Resources
Many Nonprofits Not at Scale
(82% of nonprofits operate on annual budgets of
under $1 million)
Networks are one answer for increasing
efficiency and impact
Source: “The Non-Profit Sector in Brief,” National Center for Charitable Statistics, 2008.
9

10. What Do We Mean by Networks?
• Groups of individuals or organizations
• Connected around a common purpose
• Lots of participants
• Ability to self-organize
• Fueled by new technologies
Source for Network Graphic: orgnet.com
10

11. Networks Have Been Around for a Long Time…
11

12. There Are New Technologies for Sharing Content…
…and new online spaces for building relationships
12

13. Advances in the Science of Networks and Complexity
Source for Network Graphic: orgnet.com
13

14. Combined with Established Practices for Engaging Groups
Source for Network Graphic: orgnet.com
14

15. The Result = “Working Wikily”
“… wikis and other social media tools are
engendering a new, networked mindset—a way
of working wikily—that is characterized by
principles of openness, transparency,
decentralized decision-making, and
distributed action. quot;
- Working Wikily 2.0
Source for Network Graphic: orgnet.com
15

16. What Do We Mean by “Working Wikily”?
Established Ways of
Working Wikily
Working
 Centralized  Decentralized
 Firmly controlled  Loosely controlled
 Planned  Emergent
 Proprietary  Public
 One-way  Two-way
communication conversation
Where are you on these continuums? The answer will be
different for different situations
16

17. Working Wikily Can Address Diverse Challenges
Problem Working Wikily Potential
 Isolation  Build community
 Unmet needs  Engage people
 Lack of power  Advocate for policy change
 Duplication and fragmentation of  Coordinate resources and services
effort
 Lack of shared knowledge  Develop and share knowledge
 Untapped talent and wisdom  Innovate
 Suboptimal impact and  Get to scale
challenges with growth
17

18. Build Community
1980: 2008:
205 Members 22,000 Members
attending each week
18

19. Engage People
1985: 2008: 400,000
Single-site Effort Volunteers in
in US 104 Countries
19

20. Advocate for Policy Change
1998: Email to 2008: 3.2 Million
100 friends Members
20

21. Coordinate Resources and Services
Total Loans Total Loans
2006: $1 million 2009: $66 million
21

22. Develop and Share Knowledge
14 Countries
1,300 Trained Volunteers
Interagency Program
Integrated Fire Management
22

23. Innovate
Internal, “Open Sourcing
Proprietary Social
R&D Labs Solutions”
23

24. Get to Scale
- EGYPT-
…transforming
communities through
collaborations to address root
causes of poverty and
homelessness
Typical HFH country In Egypt, HFH builds 1,000
programs produce 200 houses a year, on
houses each year average
Source: Jane Wei-Skillern and Kerry Herman, “Habitat for Humanity—Egypt,” Harvard Business School Cases, October 3, 2006.
24

25. Working Wikily Isn’t Easy…
Common Challenges Faced by Network Leaders:
 Communicating the value of networks
 Designing and catalyzing networks
 Determining network boundaries
 Building trust among participants
 Participant engagement and communications
 Managing and adapting to evolution and growth
 Tracking and evaluating impact
 Letting go of control
Source for Network Graphic: orgnet.com
25

26. Eight Lessons We’re Learning About “Working Wikily”
1. Design your experiments around a problem to solve, not
the tools
2. Experiment a lot, invest in understanding what works and
what doesn’t, and make only new mistakes
3. Set appropriate expectations for time and effort required
4. Prioritize human elements like trust and fun
5. Understand your position within networks and act on this
knowledge
6. Push power to the edges
7. Balance bottom-up and top-down strategies for
organizing people and effort
8. Be open and transparent; share what you are
doing and learning as a matter of course
26

27. Understanding Your Network
Source for Network Graphic: orgnet.com
27

28. How Are Networks Structured?
28

29. A Few Helpful Definitions
Cluster Periphery
Core
Hub
Link Node
29

30. Network Structures Can Take Many Forms
Source for Network Graphics: orgnet.com
30

31. A Typology of Organizing Structures
Centralized  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
Decentralized
Note: These categories often overlap. Most of the examples fit in to multiple categories.
Developed from: Plastrik, Taylor, “Net Gains,” (2006); Anklam, “Net Work,” (2007); Krebs, Holley. “Building Smart Communities,” (2006).Source for Network Graphics: orgnet.com
31

32. Nonprofits without Explicit Network Structure
Good for:
• Speed of execution, efficiency
• Quality control, reliability
• Service-delivery
• Accountability
32

33. Membership Organizations
Good for:
 Engaging, mobilizing large
groups
 Fundraising
 Question: Is the nature of
membership changing?
33

34. Nonprofits with Explicit Network Structure (Hub-Spoke)
Good for:
 Coordination of activity
 Controlled knowledge transfer
 Resource sharing
34

35. Nonprofits with Explicit Network Structure (Multi-Hub)
Good for:
 Rapid diffusion of knowledge
 Rapid mobilization
 Efficient access to knowledge or local
relationships
35

36. Coalition / Alliance
Good for:
 Complex coordination & co-
creation
 Contained knowledge transfer
 Organizing around joint goals
36

37. Networks of Networks—Organizations
Good for:
 Innovation
 Environment scanning
 Movement building
 Resilient & adaptive action
Source for Network Graphic: orgnet.com
37

38. Ad Hoc Networks—Individuals
Good for:
 Connecting people/ info across
networks
 Spontaneous, quick action
 Aggregating small gifts/ actions
Source for Network Graphic: orgnet.com
38

39. Social Network Mapping:
A Tool for Visualizing Your Network
39

40. 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
Source for Network Graphic: June Holley
40

41. Network Mapping Can Be Simple and Low-Tech…
Source: June Holley
41

42. …Or More High-Tech
42

43. How Is Network Mapping Done?
Frame Validate & Identify
Collect Analyze
the Discuss Next
Data Data
Problem Results Steps
• Goal • Surveys • Specialized • Preliminary • Planning
• Problem/ • Interviews network review • Training
Opportunity • Focus groups mapping • One-on-one • Organizational
• Hypotheses • Data mining software helps interviews Changes
• Who/ to understand • Interactive • Specific
Boundaries data: feedback interventions
• Relationships/ • Visually (Maps) session
Flows • Quantitatively • Formal
• Demographics (Metrics) presentation
Follow up
Framework developed by Roberto Cremonini, Barr Foundation
43

44. Using Network Maps to Increase Service Coordination
44

45. Process Used to Map the Youth Development Network
 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
45

46. Maps Were Used to Analyze the Network
A map of the different networks shows fairly loose connections
Network by Organization Type
Government
Foundation
Non-Profit
For-Profit
School
Unknown
Religious
Other
46

47. Now, you’re going to map your
networks
 Choose which network you want
to focus on
 Clarify
if it is “unbounded” or
“bounded”
47

48. Making Sense of Your Network Structure
Directions:
Decide what network you want to focus on today.
Draw a map of your network.
Reflect on the questions below.
1. What type of structure does your network most closely resemble?
2. How did you get to this structure?
3. How’s it working? Does it match your purpose?
4. How might your structure evolve / improve?
Source for Network Graphics: orgnet.com
48

49. Network Diagnosis:
Characteristics of Healthy Networks
49

50. Characteristics of Healthy Networks: Overview
 Clearly articulated purpose
Purpose  Delivers value/ outcomes to members
 Trust
Participation  Diversity
 High engagement
Strategy and  Balance of top-down and bottom-up logic
Structure  Space for self-organized action
 Leadership with “network mindset”
Leadership  Distributed leadership
 Governance by a group representative of the network’s diversity
Governance  Openness
Communications &  Strategic IT
Technology  Ample shared space: on-line and in-person
Resource  Ability surface network talent
Management  Ability to tap excess capacity
 Learning-capture
Assessment
 Ability to gather and act on feedback
Helpful Sources: M. Kearns and K. Showalter; J. Holley and V. Krebs; P. Plastrik and M. Taylor; J. W. Skillern; C. Shirky
50

51. Characteristics of Healthy Networks: Purpose
 Clearly articulated purpose
Purpose  Delivers value / outcomes to members
51

52. Characteristics of Healthy Networks: Participation
 Trust: strong relationships
Participation  Diversity: bridging and valuing differences
 High level of voluntary engagement
52

53. Characteristics of Healthy Networks: Strategy, Structure
Strategy and  Balance of top-down and bottom-up logic
Structure  Space for self-organized action
53

54. Characteristics of Healthy Networks: Leadership
 Leadership with “network mindset” (e.g., opportunity seeking,
Leadership facilitative, shares responsibility, connector)
 Distributed leadership
“Oppenheimer [the
founder] was eager to
help [other potential
interactive museums]
beg, borrow, and steal
his ideas.”
Source: Heather McLeod Grant and Leslie R. Crutchfield, “Forces for Good,” (2007).
54

55. Characteristics of Healthy Networks: Governance
 Governance by a group representative of network’s diversity
Governance  Openness to new ideas and new participation
Arbitration
Committee
16 as of 3/21/09
Stewards
37 as of 3/3/09
Bureaucrats
29 active as of
12/22/08
Administrators
1,648 as of
4/29/09
Registered Users
9,540,944 as of
4/29/09
55

56. Characteristics of Healthy Networks: Communications, IT
Communications  Strategic IT
& Technology  Ample space: on-line and in-person
What’s your connection
to mountaintop
removal?
56

57. Characteristics of Healthy Networks: Communications, IT
Communications  Strategic IT
& Technology  Ample shared space: on-line and in-person
57

58. Characteristics of Healthy Networks: Resource Mgt.
Resource  Ability to surface network talent
Management  Ability to tap excess capacity – talent, access, money
58

59. Characteristics of Healthy Networks: Assessment
 Mechanisms for learning-capture / storytelling
Assessment  Ability to gather and act on feedback
Hawaii Island Success: Youth have the capacity to malama the next
generation
Goal: All youth are surrounded Goal: Youth are part of and Goal: Youth have expanded Goal: Youth are prepared for
by effective, integrated contribute to a thriving community opportunities for family sustaining meaningful work, higher
community and relationship work/occupation education and/or traditional
based support they can count on practices
Action: All Action: Youth Action: Youth Action: Adults are Action: Public and Action: Efforts are Action: Action:
systems serving receive support create responsible to private sectors made to diversify Teachers Teachers have
youth exert a from parents and opportunities to malama the collaborate to the economy in create an the necessary
positive and other caring belong, learn new process of growth create high Hawaii environment in training and
strengthening adults skills, grow, lead, by being easily demand sectors their resources to
influence on receive support, accessible and where job classrooms allow kids to
youth and their participate in modeling these numbers, wages where kids can succeed
families decision making positive behaviors and advancement succeed
and contribute to opportunities are Action: Ensure
civic life increasing Action: multiple
Action: Community organizations opportunities
actively work with community members Teachers have
Action: Youth Action: Youth Action: Youth obtain help to develop training & and diverse
to find and engage disconnected youth have the capacity create and avenues to
in hopes of continuing a positive financial literacy, manage money and mentors that
for commitment convey positive build assets allow them to acquire
relationship and self discipline images of academic,
become
themselves effective vocational,
social, life and
resiliency skills
Indicator: % of Indicator: % of Indicator: % of Indicator: High Indicator: Youth Indicator: Indicator: Indicator:
youth reporting youth with at youth who level of employment in Increase in Number of Teachers
close least 1 adult volunteer or interaction high growth youth teachers with with family
neighborhood they can turn to mentor between school sectors and employment and classroom supporting
ties for and community geographies average salaries competence wages
support/advise members
Indicator: Indicator: % Indicator:
Number of youth Indicator: # of Indicator: New
students who Youth with
Indicator: % Indicator: % of who age out of new businesses jobs created by
meet and exceed basic literacy
parents who youth reporting foster care in sustainable sector and
expectation in 3rd and numeric
actively close family ties annually with agriculture, geography
Grade skills
participate in employment, renewable
public school housing or energy, green Indicator: % of
schooling architecture Indicator: # of high school
public/private Indicator: Good students going
partnerships in teachers and to college
new industries principals with 5+ and/or trade
years exp. In apprenticeship
same school
Work in Progress 2
59

60. How healthy is your
network?
60

61. Network Communications
61
61

62. Network Leadership and Mindset
62
62

63. Characteristics of Healthy Networks: Overview
 Clearly articulated purpose
Purpose
 Delivers value/ outcomes to members
 Trust
Participation  Diversity
 High engagement
Strategy and  Balance of top-down and bottom-up logic
Structure  Space for self-organized action
 Leadership with “network mindset”
Leadership  Distributed leadership
 Governance by a group representative of the network’s diversity
Governance  Openness
Communications &  Strategic IT
Technology  Ample shared space: on-line and in-person
Resource  Ability surface network talent
Management  Ability to tap excess capacity
 Learning-capture
Assessment
 Ability to gather and act on feedback
Helpful Sources: M. Kearns and K. Showalter; J. Holley and V. Krebs; P. Plastrik and M. Taylor; J. W. Skillern; C. Shirky
63

64. Characteristics of Healthy Networks: Leadership
 Leadership with “network mindset” (e.g., opportunity seeking,
Leadership facilitative, shares responsibility, connector)
 Distributed leadership
“Oppenheimer [the
founder] was eager to
help [other potential
interactive museums]
beg, borrow, and steal
his ideas.”
Source: Heather McLeod Grant and Leslie R. Crutchfield, “Forces for Good,” (2007).
64

65. The Network Mindset
Organization Orientation Network Orientation
Mindset Competition Collaboration
Strategy Grow the organization Grow the network
Compete for resources Share resources
Protect knowledge Open source IP
Behaviors
Competitive advantage Develop competitors
Hoard talent Cultivate leadership
Source: Heather McLeod Grant and Leslie R. Crutchfield, “Forces for Good,” (2007).
Source: Forces for Good by Heather McLeod Grant and Leslie R. Crutchfield (2007)
65

66. Network Leadership Roles
Network Leadership could be one person doing many things, or many
people each doing one thing.
 Establishes purpose and value propositions
Organizer
 Establishes first links to participants
Funder  Provides initial resources for organizing the network
Weaver  Works to increase connections among participants
 May focus on growing the network by connecting to new participants
Facilitator  Helps network participants negotiate collective action plans
 Helps participants to undertake collective action
Coordinator
 Ensures flow of information and other resources
Coach  Advises organizers, weavers, facilitators, and coordinators
Steward  Informally helps to build the network without a formal role
Source: Peter Plastrik and Madeleine Taylor, “Net Gains: a Handbook for Network Builders Seeking Social Change.” (2006)
Source: Building the Field of Dreams by Stephanie Lowell (2007)
66

67. Tasks of Network Leadership: What Network Leaders Do
Building and Developing
the Network
Connecting Capacity Building/
Members Coaching
Allocating Catalyzing
Resources Action
Building
Communicating
Consensus
Managing Facilitating
Technology Process
Helpful Sources: Peter Plastrik and Madeleine Taylor, “Net Gains: a Handbook for Network Builders Seeking Social Change.” (2006) and June Holley, “Network
Weaver Checklist,” (2006).
67

68. Competencies of Network Leadership
• People oriented / natural connector
• Comfortable with ambiguity
• Humility / low ego
• Systems thinking / see patterns
• Ability to identify talents in others
• Skilled at group processes /
facilitation (good listening)
• Conflict resolution skills
• Comfort with technology
• Adaptive
• Seeks opportunity to share and
spread responsibility
Source: Building the Field of Dreams by Stephanie Lowell (2007)
68

69. Working Wikily Isn’t Easy…
Challenges Faced by Individuals / Network Leaders:
 Unlearning past behaviors and frameworks
(organizational mindset)
 Letting go of control
 Managing time and network expectations
 Setting boundaries around work
 Dealing with information overload
 Learning and leveraging new technologies
 Measuring your success
Source for Network Graphic: orgnet.com
69

70. Network Weaver Checklist
 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?
Source for Network Graphic: orgnet.com
70

71. Strengthening Your Network
71
71

72. Characteristics of Healthy Networks: Overview
 Clearly articulated purpose
Purpose  Delivers value/ outcomes to members
 Trust
Participation  Diversity
 High engagement
Strategy and  Balance of top-down and bottom-up logic
Structure  Space for self-organized action
 Leadership with “network mindset”
Leadership  Distributed leadership
 Governance by a group representative of the network’s diversity
Governance  Openness
Communications &  Strategic IT
Technology  Ample shared space: on-line and in-person
Resource  Ability surface network talent
Management  Ability to tap excess capacity
 Learning-capture
Assessment
 Ability to gather and act on feedback
Helpful Sources: M. Kearns and K. Showalter; J. Holley and V. Krebs; P. Plastrik and M. Taylor; J. W. Skillern; C. Shirky
72

73. How Networks Progress and Evolve
1. Scattered Clusters 2. Hub and Spoke
3. Multi-Hub Small World 4. Core Periphery
Source: Valdis Krebs and June Holley, “Building Smart Communities through Network Weaving,” (2006). Source for Network Graphics: orgnet.com.
73

74. A Few Strategies for Strengthening Your Network
Nurture quality connections so projects
can be high risk & high impact
Bridge difference. Connect people and
ideas that normally don’t go together
Support overlapping projects or
collaborations, many very small,
initiated by many
Map the network in order to visualize
structure, diagnose strengths and
weaknesses, and identify strategies for
growing the network
Grow and engage periphery to bring in
new resources and innovation
Source: Adapted from June Holley, www.networkweaving.com. Source for Network Graphic: orgnet.com
74

75. The Green and Healthy Building Network: 2005
Source: Barr Foundation “Green and Healthy Building Network Case Study” by Beth Tener, Al Neirenberg, Bruce Hoppe
75

76. The Green and Healthy Building Network: 2007
Source: Barr Foundation “Green and Healthy Building Network Case Study” by Beth Tener, Al Neirenberg, Bruce Hoppe
76