We envision a world where everyone has the social support they need. Our mission is to make it happen.
At the systems-level, we provide data and insights to help organizations build more effective networks and partnerships. At the personal-level, we create visibility into patient support networks to help improve their care, health and well-being. Learn more about us and our mission below!
We provide network science tools and insights to accelerate social impact
Visible Network Labs is a team of network scientists, developers, data analysts, evaluators and technologists working with a shared mission: building society’s capacity to leverage and strengthen social connectedness.
Our story starts with our founder: Dr. Danielle Varda
As a RAND policy researcher focused on organizational networks in the public health sector, Dr. Varda had a key insight: Without data to visualize, track & understand networks, they are unlikely to meet their full potential. It was at RAND where she created her first software platform that communities could use to evaluate and improve their networks. With support from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, she successfully launched the first version of the PARTNER platform (programmed in Excel using Visual Basic!). She left her role at RAND to join the CU-Denver faculty and founded the school’s Center on Network Science. As demand for PARTNER grew, Dr. Varda was able to hire her first two employees to build and grow the PARTNER platform.
During this same time period, Dr. Varda’s mother was diagnosed with cancer. Through the treatment process, Dr. Varda noticed that the doctors lacked a way to understand her mom’s social needs and support. It led to another insight: visibility into our social connections is just as important individually as it is for communities and organizations. Her team started work on PARTNERme, a new tool specifically designed to help providers screen patients for adverse social connectedness.
Driven by her mission to expand people’s capacity to use network science for good, Dr. Varda started looking for new ways to scale these solutions. In 2018, she joined the Boomtown Accelerator program and took a leap of faith to found a new social enterprise called Visible Network Labs.
Today VNL is a leader in research and innovation on social connectedness, network science, and systems thinking.
In our first four years, Visible Network Labs has relentlessly worked towards our goal of creating a world with stronger social connections.
PARTNER has gone from a simple excel tool to a complete, cloud-based software platform with more than 7,000 users in all 50 states and 40 nations. In November 2020, PARTNERme won the Prime Health Innovation Challenge, and is undergoing pilot testing at nearly a dozen different locations, including primary care clinics, mental health centers, and pediatric care centers.
Our training continues to grow, and we continue to innovate through our work and partnerships with dozens of community-based organizations all around the world. We remain committed to building the tools and technology needed to strengthen social connectedness for all.
What we do: tools, training and services
PARTNER CPRM is our Community Partner Relationship Management platform, and is the next generation in social network analysis. It helps track and measure a network’s structure, quality and reach over time, so you can adjust your strategy and improve your impact.
PARTNERme is a screening tool for measuring social connectedness and other social needs in a healthcare or mental health setting. With insights on these needs, providers can intervene to improve health & well-being.
Research and data science services
Our experienced team of network scientists, data analysts and researchers can assist you with your network analysis needs in a personalized process. With three tiers of service to choose from, you can find the level of support you need.
Network science capacity building
Building, managing and evaluating cross-sector community networks is no easy task. We offer annual workshops, monthly webinars, online courses, and free resources to build skills and knowledge for network leadership.
Our work is backed by network science with a human-centered touch.
PARTNER was developed and built on solid network science principles and measures. Our dedicated Research & Data Science Team continues to apply the PARTNER platform to new kinds of problems, adding new research-backed features and analysis options along the way. Our Trust & Value metrics are validated through our own survey research, ensuring you’re getting data that matters.
Our team values the power of connective collaboration, and realizes that new, unforeseen solutions can emerge from any partnership. We work with and learn with our clients, taking time to discover what’s important to them, so we can continually adapt our tools, training and services to better meet their needs.
Learn about our validated trust and value scores
We created these metrics through a series of interviews and surveys with network leaders to identify what matters most to practitioners.
Our network of clients & partners reaches all 50 states and more than 40 nations around the world.
Connect with our Team!
Contact the VNL team to demo PARTNER™ or discuss a research or evaluation project. We can help you learn more about our services, help brainstorm project designs, and provide a custom scope based on your budget and needs. We look forward to connecting!
Email our team: hello@visiblenetworklabs.com
Send a message: Contact Us Here
