Working+Wikily

November 1, 2010 1pm PT
 * Working Wikily: What do we mean by 'networks' and why do they matter for social change? **

During this webinar a group of newcomers to the community of practice gathered for a discussion of networks and why they matter for philanthropy. We talked about the different ways that networks can be vehicles for social impact, challenges to working wikily and how to get started.

Here are the slides used during this meeting:

media type="custom" key="7492551" Following are highlights from the conversation:

**Participants were asked to contribute “words that come to mind when thinking about networks.”** Collaboration and communication and diversity were themes.
 * Relationships
 * Collaboration and communication
 * Communication
 * Interconnection
 * Engagement
 * Great way to get new ideas
 * Diverse and diffuse
 * Diverse
 * Diverse leadership
 * Web
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Peer learning


 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">When discussing challenges to working in networked ways, participants noted the following: **
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Time consuming. But while things may take longer, the change is rooted in a broader number of people and places.
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The intersection of networks with movement building and/or field building. This translation is needed among the staff: How do these different sets of practices intersect? Many are comfortable with the idea of coalitions, but not with how to work in a networked mindset.
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Oftentimes the goals/plan aren't clearly defined ahead of time.
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">It's hard to provide timelines for what networks can/will deliver.
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Facilitating compromise when difference of opinion occur is hard. Similarly its challenging to reach consensus on issues and strategies (and to know when consensus is needed).
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Multiple moving parts, which are challenging to track and coordinate.
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Many networks lack shared tools and language, which makes communication and collaboration difficult.
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">The dynamic nature: People come on and off the bus and find it hard to catch up and reengage.
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">People don't realize they are working in an organizational mindset. They're not awareness of their current model; let alone the potential of working with a network mindset.
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Not all network members necessarily see themselves as players / participants in the network.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">//Weaving Communities:// The Cafornia Endowment's Building Healthy Communities program is connecting 14 communities in California. They've just completed planning period and are now beginning implementation, which will include a statewide network for learning and sharing best practices. Participants are now getting to know each others’ issues (‘scaffolding’ was created to enable connection between sites). Clusters of sites with similar outcomes, strategies, etc. are emerging and connecting with each other.
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">In discussing ways a networked mindset can fuel social change, participants contributed several examples from their work: **

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">//Accessing Diverse Perspectives//: Hawai‘i Community Foundation, Island Innovation Fund is an open competition for awarding innovation grants. It includes a 3 week long mash-up for participants to collaborate and share ideas online. The online space highlights progress and spotlights grantees to share lessons learned, ah-ha moments, etc.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">//Building Knowledge (and Accessing Diverse Perspectives):// The Knight News Challenge was designed to spur media innovations. A secondary component of the model was to connect the network of grantee finalists. However, feedback from grantees indicates that they're less interested in on-line opportunities to comment on others work, and prefer occasional in-person convenings.