8-Feb+Case+Meeting

=**Feb 8 Webinar:** Skills Needed to Assess Network Impact=


 * Overview**: Discussion of the skills needed to effectively assess network impact, and how does this skill set compare to traditional evaluation skills? And, related to this: what's the baseline knowledge needed to do this work?

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 * Presentation Material:**
 * Conversation Highlights:**

//Network evaluation – pitfalls to avoid and what works//
 * **Lack of network expertise**: Evaluators who are comfortable but may not have enough knowledge of networks and network dynamics to evaluate the “network” component of a project in depth. These individuals do a good job identifying what is happening in each individual components of the network, but not in the network as a whole.
 * **Lack of content expertise:**On the other side of the spectrum, evaluators may be very familiar with social network analysis, but have very little knowledge of the sector. Their analysis of the network may be strong, but their interpretation – recommendations about how the network might move forward, the “so what,” what this means from a networked point-of-view – may lack depth.
 * When the evaluator’s recommendations are not very strong, the funder may find itself in the uncomfortable position of having to make those recommendations—and risk playing too strong of a role leading / guiding the network.
 * **Lack of Neutrality**: In some instances, evaluators who are heavily engaged with the network become the “voice” of the network, imposing their point-of-view on network members and the network as a whole.
 * **Definitional Discrepancy**: The evaluator and the foundation need to have a shared understanding of networks

//As with most evaluation, network evaluators can play different roles (see slide #3): outcomes evaluator, process evaluator, and participant observer. Are there any// //others?//
 * __Journalist Observer__: The evaluator meets individually / in small groups with network members, and reports back to the network as a whole. This person observes, assesses, documents, and even influences the network, but is able to maintain his or her neutrality.
 * A funder who engaged this type of evaluator in the past framed the evaluation as a capacity-building exercise. The funder supported evaluation work for the participating organizations and the network as a whole. The network was able to choose their evaluators .They just all happened to choose the same one, which had significant benefits.
 * __Evaluator Team__**:** One approach to overcome either lack of sector knowledge or lack of network knowledge is to have an evaluation team, e.g., a network weaver as well as a consultant who has experience with the sector (or better yet, the network). The consultant can make sense of things, and play the role of the coach / facilitator using data produced by the weaver. For the weaver, the consultant with sector-specific knowledge can help translate the network-specific knowledge into recommendations that are meaningful in that context.

//What attributes and skill are helpful for network evaluation (slide #4 in the presentation) ?//
 * A **balance** of sector-specific and network-specific knowledge (which is easier to even out if there is a team in place))
 * A **combination of anthropologic and journalistic skills** and an **open mind**, without strong preconceptions of what should or shouldn’t work
 * Savvy investigators, e.g., they must know how to frame their questions in a way that is indirect but surfaces new insights about the relationships they are trying to map.
 * High **emotionally intelligence**
 * Rigorous analytic skills. Good pattern recognition and the ability to contextualize / interpret them
 * **Adaptable** – especially important given the dynamic nature of networks
 * It is hard to find all of these characteristics in one person. Prioritize the softer skills that are critical to success in this type of work.

//Next Steps// //Resources//
 * Include **tips on how to hire an evaluator** (e.g., interview questions) in the Funder’s Guide
 * Figure out what a “**Networks 101” might be for evaluators**
 * January issue of American Evaluation Society Journal dedicated to social network analysis and evaluation: [|Social Network Analysis in Program Evaluation : New Directions for Evaluation, No. 107] by Maryann M. Durland, Kimberly A. Fredericks.