CFMC NWLC 20100818

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Social Network Support Project: Network Weaver

Learning Community

Community Foundation for Monterey CountyDiana Scearce and Janet Shing

August 18, 2010

Thank youJune Holley of Network Weaving, Monitor Institute, and Packard Foundation

A Few Questions to Begin to Weave Our Network

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What Are Your Network Challenges?

Source of photo: http://hullstudent.com/files/minisites/2288/People.jpg

• Scarce resources

• Time• Regular participation• Diverse participation (e.g. differing

capacity for follow-through)• Increasing participation• Geographic isolation—distance from

core network activity• Leveraging social media• Political infighting—focus on individual

vs. shared interests

Today’s Workshop

Introductions and Your Networks Work

Overview, Context, Goals

What Are Networks? Why Do They Matter for Social Change?

Characteristics of Healthy Networks

Monterey County Networks and Network Weaving

Vision for the Learning Community

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Intelligence emerges as the system connects to itself in new and diverse ways.

- Meg Wheatley

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Today’s Goals

• Understand definitions of networks, how they differ from organizations, functions of networks, characteristics of healthy networks, and qualities of weavers

• Understand scope and expectations of four-part learning community

• Decide or come close to deciding if you would like to continue being part of this learning community

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Overall Training Goals

By the end of the four sessions, participants will

• be inspired to work with a network mindset and to continue weaving and building networks

• have a deeper understanding of network theory, as it applies to social networks, and characteristics of a healthy network

• be able to recognize the qualities of network weavers/leaders; recognize and affirm individual weaver qualities and successes

• understand network life cycles

• appreciate the role of evaluating networks and learn how the network can help evaluate its own progress

• have practiced applying weaver practices and shared their challenges and learnings with each other

• have received an introduction to network mapping software

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Community Foundation’s Interest

in the Social Network Support Project

• Assess community assets, needs, and priorities so CFMC can make appropriate grants and other contributions to community development.

• Describe current network and use as baseline for joint reflection, priority-setting, increased knowledge communication, cooperation, coordination, monitoring, and planning.

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Why You?

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Today’s Workshop







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What Is a Social Network?

A collection of people connected by relationships

Monitor Institute

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network

―adjective: connected, transparent, decentralized―verb: to connect, to spread, to organize into a network―noun: a structural form for organizing

Monitor Institute

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Centralized

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

Monitor Institute. Developed from: Plastrik, Taylor, “Net Gains,” (2006); Anklam, “Net Work,” (2007); Krebs, Holley. “Building Smart Communities,” (2006).Source for Network Graphics: orgnet.com

A Typology of Organizing Structures

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Networks Aren’t New…

Monitor Institute

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…and New Online Spaces for Connecting People

But, There Are New Tools for Sharing Content

Monitor Institute

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Combined With New Understanding of Social Ties

“If someone tells you that you can influence 1,000 people, it changes your way of seeing the world.”

–Dr. James Fowler

Monitor Institute

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Enabling Social Change With a Network Mindset

‘Working wikily’ is an emerging leadership style characterized by greater openness, transparency,

decentralized decision-making, and collective action

Source of network image: orgnet.comMonitor Institute

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What Do We Mean by “Network Mindset”?

CentralizedFirmly controlledPlannedProprietaryTransactionalOne-way

communications

DecentralizedLoosely controlledEmergentOpen, sharedRelationalTwo-way

conversations

Established Ways of Working

Where are you? The answer will be different for different situations

Social Change with a Network Mindset

Monitor Institute

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How Do Coalitions Relate to Networks?

Problem and answer are clear

Whole group decision-making

Whole group planning Whole group acts Reach goal through planned

action

Problem complex; solution unclear

Network does not make all decisions together

Experimenting, sharing results Many collaborative projects Emergent change

Coalition-centric

What is needed for your situation? The answer will likely be a combination of coalition and network models.

Network-centric

Adapted from June Holley

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Why do networks matter for social

change and what can they help you DO?

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Weave Communities

MAVRAC

Monitor Institute

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Access Diverse Perspectives

Monitor Institute

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Access Diverse Perspectives

Monitor Institute

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Build and Share Knowledge

Monitor Institute

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Mobilizing People and Building Movements

Source: Breaking New Ground: Using the Internet to Scale, by Heather McLeod Grant and Katherine Fulton; photos from KaBOOM! website

Monitor Institute

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Coordinate Resources and Action

Monitor Institute

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Why do networks matter for your work?

What are the benefits?

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Why is it Hard to Work with a Network Mindset?

Unlearning past behaviors and frameworks

Dealing with information overload

Brand and message control

Privacy concerns

Learning and leveraging new technologies

Assessing impact

Source of images: Cut Throat Communications, Blog.com, Rutgers University RU FAIR, Kodaikanal International School, flickr

Managing for accuracy

Monitor Institute

Today’s Workshop







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Value

Participation

Form

Leadership

Connection

Capacity

Learning & Adaptation

Clearly articulated give and get for participants Delivers value/ outcomes to participants

Trust Diversity High engagement

Balance of top-down and bottom-up logic Space for self-organized action

Embraces openness, transparency, decentralization Shared leadership

Strategic use of social media Ample shared space: on-line and in-person

Ability surface & tap network talent Model for sustainability

Mechanisms for learning-capture Ability to gather and act on feedback

Governance Reflective of the network’s diversity Transparent

Helpful Sources: M. Kearns and K. Showalter; J. Holley and V. Krebs; P. Plastrik and M. Taylor; J. W. Skillern; C. Shirky


Monitor Institute

Today’s Workshop







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Why is Community Foundation interested in this?

Nonprofit organizations have the potential to increase their effectiveness and have a greater impact in the community and in their field by actively engaging in a network.

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Core

Link Node

Cluster Periphery

Hub

A Few Helpful Definitions

Monitor Institute

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Type of Organization

nonprofit

government

faith-based

fdn/grantmaker

school

unknown

Adult Literacy, Monterey County, June 2009Visualizing the Overall Network

Some school-based and government agencies in the core (1, pink and blue), with nonprofits outside (2, red). Only one faith-based organization (3).

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2

3

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nonprofit

government

other

fdn/grantmaker

religious

school

named, but did not take survey

Greenfield Network, September 2009 Visualizing the Overall Network

Mix of types of orgs in the core but mainly nonprofit and govt (1, red and blue; schools on edge of core - turquiose), relatively small periphery (2, yellow). Relatively few Greenfield-based (3)

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2

3

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Environment, Monterey Bay, November 2009Visualizing the Overall Network


nonprofit organization

educational institution

government agency

grassroots / informal group


Nonprofits, educ inst, and govt make up the core (1 turquoise, blue, and black); couple hubs (2) and many nodes who could easily be brought into core (3)

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2

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Youth, Monterey County, July 2010Visualizing the Overall Network


government

funder

nonprofit

collaborative

other

faith-based


school

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Nonprofits and govt make up the core (1 red and black); schools on periphery (2 yellow); and those working on safety and violence prevention are well-integrated (3)

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3

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Youth Development Network SalinasOctober 2007 - 150 surveyed; 35% (53) responded

A map of all the different networks shows fairly loose connections. Funders and non-profits compose most of the core (1, blue and black nodes), surrounded by sub-clusters of government actors (2, red nodes). Schools are not as well connected (3, yellow nodes spread around the periphery). One can also see a number of poorly connected individual networks (4)

Government Agency

Foundation

Non-Profit

For-Profit

School

Unknown

Religious

Other

All Networks by Organization Type

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Metrics scores are calculated by responses to network questions(e.g., shared resource, collaboration, future collaboration, energize/ideas)

Environment Integration

LauraLeeLienk KennethCoale MarkSilberstein LauraStrohmMarkSilberstein JimSulentich LauraLeeLienk KennethCoaleLauraStrohm LauraLeeLienk LauraKasa LauraLeeLienkLauraKasa LauraKasa KenGray MarkSilbersteinPatriciaClark-Gray AmyWhite AmyWhite RuthBuellDawnHayes MarkSilberstein RuthBuell AmyWhiteBillLeahy BillLeahy PatriciaClark-Gray LauraKasaKenGray BrennanJensen DawnHayes PatriciaClark-GrayCliveSanders JuddPerry CliveSanders BillLeahySteveShimek SteveShimek KirkSchmidt CliveSandersKenGray DavidMack ArmandRuby LauraKasa

MarkSilberstein PaolaBerthoin MaggieHardy

Greenfield Influence

JoeGrebmeier AlfredDiazInfante AndresCruz JoeGrebmeier ElizabethLopezNickSandoval RodolfoGarcia EulogioDonato NickSandoval JudySulsonaAlfredDiazInfante AndresCruz MercedOlivera ElsaQuezada MercedOliveraJudySulsona ElizabethLopez AgapitoVazquez AlfredDiazInfante IrmaGuerroMercedOlivera EulogioDonato ElizabethLopez JudySulsona JoeGrebmeierJohnHuerta JohnHuerta EnriqueHerrera MercedOlivera JohnHuertaYolandaTeneyuque KiraCorser JesusLopez EulogioDonato RobertoGarciaElsaQuezada MarcelaDiaz JoeGrebmeier EvelynVargas AgapitoVazquezEvelynVargas NickSandoval RosalbaGuzman RuthRodriguez AlfredDiazInfanteRuthRodriguez RuthRodriguez RuthRodriguez AndresCruz AndresCruz

YolandaTeneyuque JohnHuerta EulogioDonato

All around Looked to by others

Share and obtain resources from others

Well-positioned for future collaboration New Ideas

Well-positoned as leaders

many people say they shared their resources w these inds

Many people say they worked w them; collabora-tion hubs

People want to work w them

Many people say they obtained resources from them

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Metrics continued…

Literacy Awareness

LesliePayne BobHarper MahnoushHarirsaz LindaCoyne LesliePayneAnnKilty LindaCoyne KristenAtkins MahnoushHarirsaz GildaEstradaLindaCoyne KristenAtkins LesliePayne KatieMurdock LindaCoyneKatieMurdock MahnoushHarirsaz MaryEllison AnnKilty KatieMurdockHectorMandujano AnnKilty PatBeebe AmyWilliams MahnoushHarirsazMaryEllison KatieMurdock KatieMurdock KristenAtkins AnnKiltyGildaEstrada AnnabelleRodriguez JayantiAddleman MaryEllison MaryEllisonAnnaPérez-Rick ElisaHupp LindaCoyne JayantiAddleman KristenAtkinsGiselaSabogal LesliePayne AmyWilliams HectorMandujano DianePate

Youth Connector

ElliotRobinson ShariHastey JoseMoran DavidMaradei ShariHasteyDavidMaradei LaurelLeeAlexander ElizabethMartinez KathiSpeller LaurelLeeAlexanderKatyCastagna LindaMcGlone SteveNejasmich RobertTaniguchi ElizabethMartinezAnnabelleRodriquez KellyMcMillin DanielVillarreal SteveNejasmich JoseMoranJoseMoran ElizabethMartinez AbrahamRosas LaurelLeeAlexander AurelioSalazarShariHastey AnnabelleRodriquez AurelioSalazar DeeBaker DavidMaradeiBobReyes JoseMoran AnnieHoldren LindaMcGlone SteveNejasmichDeanFlippo ElliotRobinson MarciaPerry ElizabethMartinez LindaMcGloneAurelioSalazar BobReyes BarryPhillips AurelioSalazar DianeCadeiSteveNejasmich SteveNejasmich DebiDiaz FrankGomez ElliotRobinsonElizabethMartinez AnnaFoglia

All around great connectors

Go to them for pulse of network

Their sharing links across orgs

Their collaboration connects people who wouldn’t

Their future collaboration links across orgs

Their giving connects the network

Shared resources with - Obtained resources from many people who also obtained res fr many others

Collab Effect - Named many well-connected collaborators that they worked with

Like to Collab - They are eager to work w well connected others

Looks to a diverse group for ideas and resources

What Roles Can You Play?

Catalyst or Organizer

Sponsor

Facilitator /Coordinator

Coach

Technology Steward

Participant

Assessor

Weaver

‘Network weaving’ can cut across many of these roles

Monitor Institute

Weaving is the intentional practice of helping people to build – and connect to – more

relationships of trust and value, mostly by virtue of being genuinely interested in

building and connecting oneself to more relationships of trust and value… Weaving is

genuine human caring and love…

Bill Traynor

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What are the characteristics and skills of an effective network weaver?

Source for Network Graphic: orgnet.com

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• Convene diverse people and groups

• Engage network participants

• Generate cooperation and collective action

• Broker connections and bridge difference

• Build social capital – emphasize trust and reciprocity

What is the Work of Network Weaving?

Source: Adapted from Net Work by Patti Anklam (2007) and “Vertigo and the Intentional Inhabitant: Leadership in a Connected World” by Bill Traynor (2009)Source of picture: flickr

Monitor Institute

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What is the Work of Network Weaving? (cont.)

Source: Adapted from Net Work by Patti Anklam (2007) and “Vertigo and the Intentional Inhabitant: Leadership in a Connected World” by Bill Traynor (2009)Source of picture: flickr

• Nurture self-organization

• Genuinely participate. Influence from the inside

• Leverage technology

• Create, preserve, and protect network ‘space’

Monitor Institute

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June Holley’s Network Weaver Checklist

Do you help build a network culture?

_____ 1. Love to unearth other people’ dreams and visions

_____ 2. Model an approach to relationships that is positive, appreciative and focused on

strengths & gifts

_____ 3. Treat everyone as a peer

_____ 4. Encourage complex reciprocity--sharing information & resources with others without

expecting a return from that person because you know others will share with you

_____ 5. Point out the value of knowing people with different perspectives and from different

backgrounds

_____ 6. Encourage people to see conflicts as opportunities to develop breakthroughs

_____ 7. Encourage people to listen deeply to each other

_____ 8. Insist that people check assumptions about what others are saying

_____ 9. Encourage people to identify shared or overlapping interests or values

_____10. Help people make accurate and realistic assessments of others

_____11. Show people how to build trust through small, low-risk collaborations with others

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• Complete the self-assessment

• Gather in groups of three and

– Assign a time keeper so everyone has

time for a turn

– Share your top strength and challenge/

area for strengthening

– As a group, brainstorm strategies for

how you can overcome that challenge

Instructions:

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What might a network weaver’s job include?

Introduce network concepts and mapping Connecting to enhance the network Move the network to action Build network support structures Help others become Network Weavers

What do you want to work on and/or experiment with??

What else?

Today’s Workshop







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Overall Training Goals

By the end of the four sessions, participants will

• be inspired to work with a network mindset and to continue weaving and building networks

• have a deeper understanding of network theory, as it applies to social networks, and characteristics of a healthy network

• be able to recognize the qualities of network weavers/leaders; recognize and affirm individual weaver qualities and successes

• understand network life cycles

• appreciate the role of evaluating networks and learn how the network can help evaluate its own progress

• have practiced applying weaver practices and shared their challenges and learnings with each other

• have received an introduction to network mapping software

Input for the Learning Community

• What are the topics you want to work on (including topics addressed today to go deeper on)?

• What are live projects / issues you’re dealing with that you’d like to work on with this learning community?

• What do you want to work on or experiment with between now and our next gathering?

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“Networks are everywhere. We just need an eye for seeing them.”

Albert- Laszlo Barbarasi

Business

CFMC NWLC 20100818