Social Network Analysis (SNA) surveys are often the first and most important step in understanding how relationships drive collaboration, resource sharing, and system performance. But crafting the right questions—ones that respondents can actually answer clearly—takes time, expertise, and testing. This guide is built for public
Loneliness has been called the new public health epidemic. Across the globe, communities are seeing the impacts of social isolation on both mental and physical health—higher rates of depression, weakened immune systems, even increased risk of heart disease and high blood pressure. Solving this challenge
In every community or organizational network, there are key individuals who help keep the system connected and effective. These people are known as network brokers—individuals who sit at strategic points in a network and play a crucial role in facilitating collaboration, resource-sharing, and information flow.
Public health departments. Nonprofits. Foundations. City agencies. Whatever your mission, building and managing partnerships is central to making an impact. But in today’s climate of shrinking budgets, increased demand, and stretched teams, maintaining those partnerships can feel overwhelming. At Visible Network Labs, we call this
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
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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