Resources+-+Case+Studies+-+Barr+Foundation--Boston+World+Cup

//Overview://
South Africa Partners (SA Partners) is a Boston-based non-profit organization dedicated to the development of long-term, mutually beneficial partnerships between the U.S. and South Africa in the areas of health, education, and economic development. Growing out of the anti-apartheid movement, SA Partners seeks to support efforts that promote South Africa's equitable and sustainable development, while building bridges between our two countries ([|Website]).

World Cup Boston 2010 grew out of informal conversations between the [|Barr Fellows]. During their learning journey in South Africa, some Fellows thought of the upcoming Soccer World Cup as an opportunity to strengthen community in Boston. There was a possibility to bring Boston communities together around youth and sports programs, and to build connections with immigrant communities in Boston that play a lot of soccer. SA Partners also saw World Cub Boston 2010 as a way to built connections with South Africa and to change perceptions of South Africa within Boston, by engaging a range of city agencies, nonprofit organizations, and neighborhoods in activities that made them feel more connected to each other, to the City of Boston, and to South Africa. World Cup Boston was an opportunity to build connections between people who do not normally interact – and in ways that could be visible in common city spaces.

World Cup Boston 2010 came at a time that SA Partners was looking to move in different directions, since they were in the process of helping their partners in South Africa become more independent. They wanted to build on the work they had done as program managers in South Africa; as such, World Cup Boston was a great introduction to Boston and the leaders of Boston.

SA Partners obtained a Planning Grant from the Barr Foundation. While SA Partners were not well versed in network approaches, the grant allowed them to hire a consultant who understood concepts of network weaving. SA Partners then more funding and pro-bono support from corporate partners for implementation/weaving.

//What they did://

 * South Africa Partners role was to convene people with different interests (e.g., youth sports, neighborhoods, soccer, and South Africa)—a natural fit since convening is core to their regular work.
 * SA Partners met with a Steering Committee on a monthly basis to discuss the various activities they might initiate, like soccer tournaments and a literacy program at the Boston public library. The initial committee consisted of less than 10 people with very different affiliations, e.g., the New England Revolutions and The Children's Museum.
 * The Steering Committee was not only a sounding board for SA Partners, but also a champion for World Cup Boston within the community. The group expanded pro-actively, as more and more individuals asked to join. They joined for their own self-interest-- because the initiative would help them enhance their work / expand their networks. There was no other reason for people to get involved because for the most part SA Partners was not offering any money. Each new committee member – indeed, each new participant – had to convince his or her organization that “This is going to be great for us.”
 * As a small, under-resourced organization, SA Partners needed to stretch every dollar. They recruited Adidas as a merchandise partner, and gathered tremendous media support, which in turn helped them access more resources.
 * Over the course of 18 months, World Cup Boston grew from 12 to 33 community partners, from 3 to 25 contributors (with substantial in-kind contributions), from 6 (initially proposed) to 33 events, 297 volunteers, and over 10000 participants.

//Lessons Learned://

 * SA Partners had a website, but it did not have the kind of flexibility that would be required to do social marketing online. Future weaver organizations should definitely invest in a flexible, user-friendly website.

//Questions Addressed://

 * //How to invest in network weaving?//
 * // How to support distributed action? //
 * // How to cultivate leadership in networks? //

Sources:
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 * Notes from conversation with Network Weaver Mary Tiseo
 * Building the Field of Dreams, Stephanie Lowell, 2006.