Network Innovation Summit

Exploring the Future of Networks | Spring 2021

At no time in history has humanity been more connected than we are now. As we move through this historic time, it will become increasingly important for us to understand and effectively leverage our interconnections—to thoroughly understand and implement solutions to the complex myriad of challenges that will arise in the wake of what’s happening in the world. Sign up for VNL Event Updates to join us for next year’s Network Innovation Summit in 2021
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Thank You for an Incredible 2020 Summit!

At our first annual Network Innovation Summit in May 2020, we engaged with leading experts on network thinking and collaborated with network innovators from around the world. In partnership with the University of CO Denver, Center on Network Science, we explored how our field can help lead humanity through this pivotal time.

Take some time to learn about our amazing group of sponsors and speakers, view our solution pitches, recordings and slides, and sign up below for event updates to hear more about our future events and programs. We hope to see you again for our next Summit in the spring of 2021.

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Recordings & Slides
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Thanks to our Network Innovation Summit Sponsors!

As a community of network innovators, we are uniquely positioned to generate valuable insight and expertise that our communities, our governments, all of humanity desperately need at this critical time.

What questions are we asking & exploring?

What are the systemic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic across sectors?

How do we maintain social health in a climate of self-isolation?

How can we more effectively track and share critical resources and information across sectors?

How can we gather accurate information, share data, and also respect privacy?

How do we address health access, social equity, and racial divides in an interconnected society?

The NIS Schedule At-A-Glance

To see the entire, detailed Network Innovation Summit schedule, click here.

Framing the Future

We start by framing the day around several big questions about the future of networks and times of crisis, including a special panel on the COVID crisis. A series of TED Talk inspired sessions led by network thinkers and leaders.

Defining Problems

We’ll then break into smaller panel discussions with experts focused on education, health, philanthropy, rural communities, criminal justice, housing and social services to identify and map the systemic problems in each sector.

Designing Solutions

Finally we’ll shift to innovate on solutions to the problems defined in each group. We’ll frame our work with an inspirational example of network problem-solving followed by a design-sprint workshop to create future solutions.

Meet our Network Innovation Summit Speakers

Shreya Nallapati
Founder & Executive Director
#NeverAgainTech
Dr. Somava Saha
Executive Lead, Well Being & Equity (WE) in the World
Dr. Charles Rutheiser
Senior Associate-Annie E Casey Foundation
Rachel Beisel
Senior Vice President & Chief Marketing Officer,
Cable Labs
Emily Lockwood
Senior Program Officer,
Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
Dr. Danielle Varda
CEO Visible Network Labs, Co-Director, CU Center on Network Science
Chris
Bui
Senior Program Officer, Colorado Health
Foundation
Jason
Greer
CEO, Colorado Community Managed Care Network
Christi
Tran
Senior Advisor for Network Approaches, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation
Pat
Smith
Chief Executive
Director,

Serve Denton
Dr. Kameron Hodgens
CEO, The Glasser/Schoenbaum Human Services Center
Jill Hunsaker Ryan, MPH
Executive Director, CO Dept. of Public Health & Environment
Delaney
Keating

Managing Director,
Startup Colorado

Heidi
Ganahl
Regent, CU Denver
Founder, Fight Back Foundation
CEO, SHE Factor
Dr. Robyn
Mobbs
Co-Director, Center on Network Science,
University of CO Denver
Lisa
VanRaemdonck
Director, School of Public Affairs Institute, University of CO Denver

VNL Learning Lab Testimonials

  • “I really enjoyed the anecdotes and stories, and appreciated the guided practice of reframing and collaborating. It gave us real practice. Roleplaying was great too because we were able to learn about how things could be improved, what went wrong, and how to fix it. The sessions were helpful and informative, thank you!”

    -Previous Training Attendee

  • “Power and equity are both concepts I picked up that I will be bringing back. Also, network structure’s impact on outcomes made me think about my own network structure and what was happening. I liked this set of speakers! Thank you, it was a great three days. The instruction was very helpful and the group was the perfect size!”

    -Previous Training Attendee

2020 NIS In-Progress Detailed Schedule

Take your time arriving at our virtual venue, finding a table, and watching a tutorial on how to interact throughout the day.  Get yourself a coffee or tea, find a comfortable chair, get your camera and microphone on, and see who else is in the room!

Meet Dr. Danielle Varda, CEO of Visble Network Labs and CO-Director of the Center on Network Science at the University of CO Denver, as she opens the summit with a brief comment to set the context in the field of network science.

Jonathan Mischke, VP of Branding and Marketing at VNL, will set the tone for the day by grounding us all around the enormity of the task ahead of us – to deeply understand the impact of a hyper connected world, as both a systems problem and the ultimate path to solutions.

Meet the other amazing network innovators who are joining together for the NIS. These peers represent practitioners, thought leaders, and researchers. They come from the public, private, and nonprofit sectors. You will get the chance to work with them through the day and in this morning network activity, you will get the chance to meet a few!

Dr. Charles Rutheiser from the Annie E Case Foundation will lead the day by introducing a series of “Big Questions” that we face in the future of networks, especially in times of extrodinary crisis such as our shared experience of the COVID-19 Global Pandemic.

Join thought leaders from tech, data science, and community building to frame why we cannot wait another day to address the Future of Networks.

Join thought leaders from tech, data science, and community building to frame why we cannot wait another day to address the Future of Networks.

Join this dynamic hour as we dig in to the network effects that enabled COVID-19 to bring the global community to a screeching halt, and how the ripple effects of this event are transcending into every aspect of our social, health, and economic lives.

This 45 minute panel of speakers will dive deep into how the big questions presented in the morning have systemic implications for Health, Education, Philanthropy, and Rural Communities, especially in times of crisis.

Speakers include: Jason Greer (CEO of CO Community Managed Care Network), Chris Bui (Program Officer, CO Health Foundation), Emily Lockwood (Program Officers, Bill and Malinda Gates Foundation K-12 Team), and others.

In this 45 minute working session, your team will have the opportunity to engage in a collaborative, interactive systems mapping exercise. The goal of this session is to provide a forum for attendees to think through the implications of connected systems and how the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted the sectors and outcomes we are most involved in.

You won’t want to miss this inspiring talk by Shreya Nallapati, Founder of #NeverAgainTech on how she turned the impossible into a network of innovative solutions to address the problems of school shooting head on.

Break into small groups for a fast-paced hackathon style workspace to iterate on potential solutions to the big questions presented early in the day. Pitch your ideas to a panel of judges and go home with a prize for innovative ideas.

More details to come soon!