Healthy networks don’t happen by accident. They are intentionally designed ecosystems that evolve through clear goals, purposeful structure, and a relentless focus on relationships. Drawing on ten key topics from VNL’s Insights Library, below are condensed lessons you can apply today—whether you’re launching a new
Our first SNA case study explores network resilience and fragmentation across 43 Florida Healthcare Collaboratives. Here’s what they found.
Networking and collaboration are often heralded as essential strategies for strengthening social impact. However, for small nonprofits and grassroots organizations, participation in these partnerships can impose significant burdens—diverting time and resources away from their mission-critical work. Larger institutions, while well-resourced to engage in networking efforts,
Cross-sector partnerships bring together organizations from government, business, and nonprofit sectors to tackle complex societal challenges. Yet, while collaboration can unlock new resources and ideas, it also presents challenges in coordination, communication, and trust-building. Social Network Analysis (SNA) is a powerful tool for visualizing and
Collaboration is essential for solving complex challenges. Whether in public health, philanthropy, or community development, partnerships bring together diverse expertise, resources, and perspectives. However, too much collaboration can become a problem. Collaboration overload occurs when organizations manage too many partnerships at once, leading to inefficiencies,
In the face of increasingly complex healthcare challenges, inter-organizational collaboration is often touted as the key to success. But what does it truly take to build and lead effective collaborations across organizational, governmental, and sectoral boundaries? A newly published peer-reviewed article, Leading Public Sector Interorganizational
In social network analysis (SNA), visualizing relationships is as important as analyzing them. A well-organized network map can reveal hidden patterns, highlight key connections, and tell a compelling story about your network. But with so many ways to arrange nodes (members) and edges (relationships), how
America is increasingly defined by its political divides. From social media echo chambers to neighborhood dynamics, political polarization has not just crept into our public discourse but has become a core characteristic of our social networks. As individuals, we increasingly organize our connections—whether online or
In today’s interconnected world, successful collaboration is key to achieving organizational and community objectives. Whether you’re leading a grassroots advocacy campaign, coordinating disaster relief, or driving innovation within your organization, the structure of your network plays a crucial role in determining your success. Network science
At the recent 2024 Sunbelt Network Analysis Conference, we had the opportunity to present on a crucial topic: “Making Metrics Meaningful: Reporting SNA Results to Community Stakeholders for Sensemaking and Action.” This session focused on the importance of translating social network analysis (SNA) results into
Click one of the links below to download a free resource to strengthen your community partnerships, collaborative network, and strategic ecosystem.
Advice for building, managing, and assessing cross-sector networks or coalitions of partners.
A template to map the connections and interactions between key stakeholders in your community.
A worksheet and guide to help you think through and develop your network or ecosystem strategy.
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