Network Leadership Resources
Our Resource Library contains dozens of articles, infographics, and webinars related to building, managing, and evaluating cross-sector community networks. Start by searching for a topic of interest or read our Intro Guide below.
Network Leadership is the practice of building, managing, and evaluating cross-sector community partnership with a network approach. While traditional leadership emphasizes hierarchal styles of leadership, network leaders must manage a dynamic environment without formal roles, hierarchies, or authority. There are a lot of common examples
Network Evaluation Framework
A Network Science Brief from Visible Network Labs Here at Visible Network Labs, we use our own framework for conducting network evaluations. We created it iteratively through dozens of surveys, interviews and evaluations with networks and collaboratives in a variety of sectors. The result is
Network Leadership Values | Our 7 Principles to Follow
As more and more change agents build, manage and evaluate networks to reach their goals, we’ve worked to provide tools training to help the community advance their work. Over time, we took time to think about the moral and ethical dimensions of network leadership to
Network Governance Structures Infographic
Network governance refers to the way a network makes decisions, sets goals, and manages the day-to-day affairs of the organization. Unlike traditional hierarchies, networks are fluid and flexible with many different ways to structure your governance. In this infographic, we introduce four common network governance
Including Multiple Network Members from a Single Organization in PARTNER
One of the most common questions we get early on in projects involves including multiple members from a single organization in PARTNER. Groups that work with 2 or more individuals at a partner nonprofit, for example, want to get both of their perspectives. However this
Tools for Partners to Collaborate Online | Our 9 Favorites
In this age of social distancing, it’s harder and harder to work with partners in our networks to reach common goals. We’ve found great success from a number of tools for partners to collaborate online. Some are community platforms, others help with communication or project
Designing Your Network Strategy – July 2020 Network Leadership Webinar
https://youtu.be/FAoc7a5-d7k Best Practices & Advice for Designing Your Network Strategy. Our July 2020 Network Leadership from the Field Webinar focused on Designing Your Network Strategy. Dr. Danielle Varda, CEO & Founder of Visible Network Labs, leads this 45 minute session by walking through our Network
Benefits of Using a CPRM to Manage Your Network of Partnerships
The Many Benefits of Using a CPRM… A Community Partner Relationship Management System allows you to track, manage & leverage your interconnected network of partnerships. Whether you’re a University managing community partnerships, a Government Affairs Department tracking your policy ecosystem, a CPRM offers many benefits
From Scattered Fragments to the Spokes and Hub in a Wheel
Many churches value local connections and partnerships, but, too often, churches and similar faith-based organizations look to make an impact only among their congregations and immediate constituents. My experience is that these two pieces go hand-in-hand. For local churches to broaden their reach and more
How to Evaluate a Network with PARTNER
Today it’s common to use a network approach to build and leverage cross-sector partners for collaborative impact. However, very few organizations are evaluating these tactics and strategies to demonstrate their progress and find ways to improve. Collaboration in a network requires time, energy and resources
Evaluating a Gates Foundation Community of Practice to Drive Impact
The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation used PARTNER to evaluate their Networks for School Improvement Portfolio to demonstrate their impact and strengthen their programs. Learn more > Case Study Executive Summary The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation Networks for School Improvement use continuous improvement approaches
Ecosystem Strategies Need CPRMs
The Era of the Ecosystem Strategy This is the era of the ecosystem strategy (citation), the latest intervention to build an adaptive workforce, tackle wicked social problems, and solve the problem of insufficient resources when going it alone. For decades the nonprofit sector has called
Infographic: Translating Your Network Map Into Action Steps
Creating a network map is great way to visualize your partner’s connections and see how your network is structured. With the right questions, you can dig much deeper than that. Trust and value questions allow you to measure the quality of connections to identify key
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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!
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