Networks and

Network Building

Networks are social structures made up of nodes of individuals, groups, or organizations that are consciously or unconsciously connected to one another by common interests or attributes. Network building is a process that fosters, cultivates, and develops these connections and relationships in order to maximize the potential for people to actualize a shared intention. The use of social media in network building dramatically increases the breadth and scale of networks, allowing for innovative and sometimes unpredictable outcomes to emerge.

Three types of social change networks have been identified: the connectivity (emergent) network which connects people to allow easy flow of and access to information and transactions; the alignment network which aligns people to develop and spread an identity and a collective value proposition; and the production (action) network which fosters joint action for specialized outcomes by aligned people.

IISC: Collaboration and Network Building

IISC’s collaborative methodology is an approach to designing and facilitating processes that maximize stakeholder involvement to move a group from shared vision to collective action. It is rooted in the belief that sustainable success is balanced across three dimensions – results, process, and relationship. Working together, people build connections, create shared meaning, and build the necessary agreements to achieve their common goals.

IISC works with groups to identify what kinds of networks will help them achieve their purpose and what kinds of tools, processes and partnerships will build and strengthen their network. Our collaborative methodology is particularly powerful in the development of alignment and action networks. We bring our deep experience in the design and facilitation of collaborative and innovative learning spaces to the complex work of fostering connectivity networks. These kinds of networks tend to be emergent and become decentralized, self-sustaining, and self-organizing in ways that defy the planning logic that has defined the social sector.

This network approach creates the conditions for the kind of innovation and experimentation needed to tackle society’s most intractable problems and reflects a new approach to movement building.

Click here for a list of resources on network building for social change.