Funders+Guide+Networks+101



=Part 1: Networks 101=

//** What are networks? **//


 * Basic definition: collections of people connected through relationships
 * What we care about: nurturing “Networks from which Magical Things Emerge” (Eugene Kim)
 * How do networks relate to coalitions? Movements? Collaboration? Collective Impact? (Suzanne) Include typology of organizing forms

**//What are networks good for?//**


 * Network-centric grantmaking strategies generally fall into five broad categories (and often multiple of these at the same time). In the end, all of these are about pathways to scaling impact… acting bigger. Also about sustainability because not just one organization as responsible but a network of stakeholders, including resident partners, participate in reciprocal exchanges and mutual accountability (Audrey).
 * Weave community . For example: Annie E. Casey Foundation’s 10 year Making Connections Initiative invested in strengthening social ties among residents at the neighborhood level as a pathway to healthier communities. The California Endowment’s current Building Healthy Communities initiative is pursuing a similar strategy.
 * Access many and new perspectives . For example, the Wikimedia Foundation tapped their worldwide community of Wikipedians to develop a strategic direction for the Foundation and Wikipedia.
 * Build and share knowledge . For example, the Lumpkin Family Foundation’s goodWORKSconnect network is linking together Illinois nonprofits so they can access resources and address together their capacity building needs.
 * Mobilize people . For example, the Hawaii Community Foundation is supporting a network of 250 individuals and organizations dedicated to asset building in Hawaii. The network is working to catalyze movement for cultivating wealth (beyond just $) across the islands.
 * Coordinate resources and action . For example, the Conservation Alliance for Seafood Solutions catalyzed by the Packard Foundation is coordinating the work of NGOs so they can align their efforts to influence major seafood buyers.

//**Discussion of theories of change:**//


 * A continuum between networks as a means and networks as an end
 * Most are somewhere in the middle, acknowledging that there needs to be some focus on process / means in order to get the benefits of self-organization and some focus on field-level outcomes / ends in order to make progress on / channel efforts toward the given issues Important to note here that so much of networks funding is process funding and outcomes may not be clear at the outset. This can be uncomfortable for funders who have developed discipline around rigorous theories of change, logic models, and evaluation strategies. There's a "letting go" process involved in funding networks, a need for comfort with uncertainty. (Kathy)


 * //What’s the secret sauce?//**


 * A high level discussion of network health. Link to diagnostic tool
 * Also a clear understanding of what "impact" looks like for you and how you're going to try to measure it, or how you're going to get comfortable with not being able to state anticipated impacts up front!. (Kathy)

//** How do networks grow and change over time? **//

There are five phases that networks typically cycle through, and clusters within a network may be at different phases (and thereby have different needs) at the same time. The phases include: Use RE-AMP as an illustration
 * Understand the network
 * Knit the network
 * Organize the Network
 * Grow the network
 * Transition or transform the network

// **Sidebar: Additional Resources** // June Holley’s Network Weaving Guide, Net Gains, Building Smart Communities Through Network Weaving

Go back to the Funders Guide Preliminary Outline.