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A tweak on the Monitor Institutes Network Effectiveness training for the Surfrider International Conference September 2009
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Network Effectiveness:
An Interactive Working SessionSeptember 2009
Ed Mazzarella
Chad Nelsen
(Adapted from the Monitor Institute*)
*Network Effectiveness: An Interactive Working Session for Packard Foundation Grantees,Monitor Group. May 27, 2009. Heather Grant & Diana Scearce. On SlideShare: http://bit.ly/GvLJy
Goals
• Understand network thinking• Understand your/our network• Understanding network effectiveness
Session Agenda
• Network Basics – 30 minutes• Mapping Exercise – 45 minutes• Network Effectiveness – 30 minutes• Surfrider Global Network – 15 minutes
Network Basics
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 modelOrganization-centric modelOrganization-centric modelOrganization-centric model Network-centric modelNetwork-centric modelNetwork-centric modelNetwork-centric model
We are Moving to a More Networked World
Organizations aren’t going away. We need to learn how to balance the interface between organizations and networks.
“You can have the best technology in the world, but if you don’t have a community who wants to use it and who are excited about it, then it has no purpose.”
– Chris Hughes, Obama’s New-Media Campaign
“One of my fundamental beliefs…is that real change comes from the bottom up. And there’s no more powerful tool for grass-roots organizing than the Internet.”
– Barack Obama
Obama Used Networks to Mobilize 13 M Supporters
Networks are one answer for increasing scale, efficiency, coordination, and impact
Many Nonprofits Not at ScaleThe vast majority of nonprofits have annual budgets of under $1 million2
Increasing Number of NonprofitsAs 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 ResourcesThe 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
The Network Mindset
Organization Orientation Network Orientation
Mindset
Strategy
Behaviors
Competition
Grow the organization
Compete for resourcesProtect knowledge
Competitive advantageHoard talent
Collaboration
Grow the network
Share resourcesOpen source IP
Develop competitorsCultivate leadership
Source: Forces for Good by Heather McLeod Grant and Leslie R. Crutchfield (2007)
Networks Have Been Around For A Long Time…
…and new online spaces for building relationships
There are New Technologies for Sharing Content…
“We are living in the Golden Age of network theory, where sociology, math, computer science and software engineering are all combining to allow the average user to visualize, understand, and most importantly, rely on the social and business networks that are part of their lives.”
- Clay Shirky
Source: “Work on Networks” by Clay Shirky (2003)
Our Understanding of Networks is Getting Better
As a Result, the Way Our Work Gets Done is Changing
Networks Can be Used to Address Many Issues
Get to Scale
Mobilize People and Effort
Innovate
Build Community / Strengthen Ties
Develop and Share Knowledge
Increased flow of information/ ideas/ best practices
Stronger, broader connections
Greater media coverage
More participant engagement
Network expansion/ scale
Action on an issue
Enhanced Outcomes from Network Approaches
Collaborative Technologies
Working
Wikily
Collaborative Processes
Low High
GroupProcess
Skills
Low
High
TechnologicalSkills
Network Strategy Integrates Different Tools, Approaches
Understanding Your Network
How are Networks Structured?
Core
Link Node
Cluster Periphery
Hub
A Few Helpful Definitions
Network Structures can Take Many Forms
Centralized / Hierarchical
Decentralized
Note: These categories often overlap. Most of the examples fit in to multiple categories.
Nonprofit organizations (without explicit network structure)
Membership organizations (Organizations with network component)
Nonprofits with explicit network strategy and structure
Coalition / Alliance (network of organizations)
Networks of networks
Ad Hoc Networks
Developed from Multiple Sources: Net Gains by Plastrik and Taylor (‘06); Net Work by Anklam (‘07); Building Smart Communities by Krebs and Holley
A Typology of Organizing Structures
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
What’s Possible from Network Mapping?
EXCERCIZE 1: MAP YOUR NETWORK
PART II:
Network Effectiveness
Purpose
Membership
Strategy and Structure
Leadership
Communications & Technology
Resource Management
Assessment
Clearly articulated purpose Delivers value/ outcomes to members
Trust Diversity High engagement
Balance of top-down and bottom-up logic Space for self-organized action
Leadership with “network mindset” Distributed leadership
Strategic IT Ample shared space: on-line and in-person
Ability surface network talent Ability to tap excess capacity
Learning-capture Ability to gather and act on feedback
Governance Governance by a group representative of the network’s diversity Openness
Helpful Sources: M. Kearns and K. Showalter; J. Holley and V. Krebs; P. Plastrik and M. Taylor; J. W. Skillern; C. Shirky
Network Effectiveness: Characteristics of Healthy Networks
Exercise 2:
How healthy is your network?
You’ve diagnosed your network’s areas of strength and weakness.
Now, what do you do?
Answer: It depends…
26
Nine Competencies of ‘Working Wikily’
Systems Thinking
Allocating Resources
Inspiring
Bridging Difference
Connecting
Coordinating
Capacity Building
Building Consensus
Facilitating
Determining the boundaries, size of the network
Communicating the value of networks
Internal organizational resistance
Building trust among participants
Scaling and meeting resource demands
Tracking and evaluating impact
Letting go of control; not worrying about “credit”
Common Challenges Faced by Network Leaders
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 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
Source: Working Wikily, by Gabriel Kasper and Diana Scearce (2008), Monitor Institute
Network Resources
• http://www.workingwikily.com/• http://beth.typepad.com/beths_blog/• http://nonprofitorgs.wordpress.com/• http://oceanswavesbeaches.blogspot.com/
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