stanford cs 01 29 10

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Social Networks for Social Change

Stanford Continuing StudiesJan. 30, 2010

Heather McLeod Grant & Diana Scearce, Instructors

With Noah Flower, TA

Paris

San Francisco

São Paulo

Seoul

Singapore

Tokyo

Toronto

Zurich

Shanghai

Palo Alto

Johannesburg

Beijing

Chicago

Hong Kong

Cambridge

Delhi

Dubai

Los Angeles

Madrid

Manila

Mumbai

Munich

New York

Moscow

London

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution Share Alike 3.0 Unported License.

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Class Agenda

10:00 Welcome, Introductions, Goals, Agenda

10:40 Network Basics

11:15 Understanding your Network

12:15 Lunch

1:15 Characteristics of Healthy Networks

2:10 Online Networks & Social Media

3:00 Network Leadership & Mindset

3:45 Closing Exercise

4:00 Adjourn

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Who is the Monitor Institute?

part consulting firm, drawing on the talents of our own dedicated team and the resources of the global professional services firm, Monitor Group.

part think tank, analyzing and anticipating important shifts in the rapidly changing context that leaders must navigate.

part incubator of new approaches. We work with clients and partners to test and prove new models for social impact.

We are…

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How can Network Approaches Increase Social Impact?In partnership with the David & Lucile Packard Foundation and other clients, we have been exploring the role of social networks and social media for social change

http://www.packard.org/

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Our Blog and Publications

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– Better understanding of how social networks function, both online and offline

– Practical tools for increasing the effectiveness of your networks for social impact

Objectives for Today’s Class

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Class Agenda




12:15 Lunch





4:00 Adjourn

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What are Networks?Groups of individuals or organizations connected

through meaningful relationships. Can be online or offline or both.

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We’re most Interested in Networks With…

• Many participants• Ability to self-organize • Fueled by new

technologies• Collaborative mindset

and behaviors

Source of photo: http://www.midnightpoutine.ca/archives/flashmob1.jpg

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Networks Have Been Around Forever…

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…New Online Spaces for Building Relationships

New Technologies for Sharing Content…

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Advances in Our Understanding of Networks…

“If someone tells you that you can influence 1,000 people, it changes your way of seeing the world.”

–Dr. James Fowler

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…Combined with Established Group Processes

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/3/31/The_fifth_discipline_cover.jpg

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“… wikis and other social media tools are

engendering a new, networked mindset—a way

of working wikily—that is characterized by

principles of openness, transparency,

decentralized decision-making, and

distributed action. " - Working Wikily 2.0

“Working Wikily” = With a Network Mindset

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What Do We Mean by “Working Wikily”?

CentralizedFirmly controlledPlannedProprietaryTransactionalOne-way

communications

DecentralizedLoosely controlledEmergentOpen, sharedRelationalTwo-way

conversations

Established Ways of Working

Where are you? The answer will be different for different situations

Working Wikily

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Obama Used Networks to Mobilize 13 M Supporters

“One of my fundamental beliefs…is that real change comes from the bottom up. And there’s no more powerful tool for grass-roots

organizing than the Internet.”– Barack Obama

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His Administration is Experimenting with Gov. 2.0

“We live in an age of democratic experimentation — both in our official institutions and in the many informal ways in which the public is consulted”

–James Fishkin, Stanford political scientist

Source: Whitehouse.gov; NY Times

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250K Individuals Coordinated Protests

“Ordinary folks are using the power of the Internet to organize. In the old days, organizing large groups of people required an organization. Now

people can coordinate themselves.”– Wall Street Journal, April 15, 2009

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“If anyone had questions about the power of citizen media, those questions were answered by the Iran protests.”

–Hamid Tehrani (Iran editor for Global Voices)

Source: ethanzuckerman.com/blog Twitter, youTube Time Magazine

Twitter “Emboldened” Iranian Election Protesters

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“While newspaper circulation has long been in decline, the latest figures show the drop is accelerating…Weekday circulation declined

7.1% for the six months that ended March 31, compared with the previous year.”– New York Times, April 27,2009

We’re Witnessing the Death of Old Models…

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…And New Models Are Emerging

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The Way Our Work Gets Done Is Changing

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82% of Nonprofits operate on less than $1M in budget

– Center for Nonprofits ‘07

Nonprofits Need to Find Ways to Work Wikily

Networks are one answer for increasing scale, efficiency, coordination, and impact

Source: “Index of National Fundraising Performance, 2009 First Calendar Quarter Results”, Target Analytics, 2009, Alliance Trends

Increasing Number of Nonprofits

Many Nonprofits Not at Scale

More Competition for Resources

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Isolation

Unmet needs

Lack of power

Duplication and fragmentation of effort

Lack of shared knowledge

Untapped talent and wisdom

Suboptimal impact and challenges with growth

Networks Can Address Diverse Challenges

Build community

Engage people

Advocate for policy change

Coordinate resources and services

Develop and share knowledge

Innovate

Get to scale

Working Wikily PotentialProblem

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Build Community

2008:162 Countries

400,000 Ministers / Priests

2008:162 Countries

400,000 Ministers / Priests

1980: 205 Members

1980: 205 Members

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Engage People

2008: 400,000 Volunteers in 104 Countries

2008: 400,000 Volunteers in 104 Countries

1985:Single-site Effort in US

1985:Single-site Effort in US

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Advocate for Policy Change

1998: Email to100 friends

1998: Email to100 friends

2009: 5+ Million Members

2009: 5+ Million Members

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Coordinate Resources and Services

Total Loans2009: $66 million




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Develop and Share Knowledge

14 Countries1,300 Trained Volunteers

Interagency Program Integrated Fire Management

14 Countries1,300 Trained Volunteers

Interagency Program Integrated Fire Management

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Innovate

“Open Sourcing Social

Solutions”

“Open Sourcing Social

Solutions”

Internal, Proprietary R&D Labs

Internal, Proprietary R&D Labs

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…transforming

communities through

collaborations to address root causes of poverty and

homelessness

Source: Jane Wei-Skillern and Kerry Herman, “Habitat for Humanity—Egypt,” Harvard Business School Cases, October 3, 2006.

- EGYPT-

Get to Scale

Typical HFH country programs produce 200

houses each year

Typical HFH country programs produce 200

houses each year

In Egypt, HFH builds 1,000 houses a year, on averageIn Egypt, HFH builds 1,000 houses a year, on average

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Class Agenda




12:15 Lunch





4:00 Adjourn

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How Are Networks Structured?

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The Green and Healthy Building Network: 2005

Source: Barr Foundation “Green and Healthy Building Network Case Study” by Beth Tener, Al Neirenberg, Bruce Hoppe

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Source: Barr Foundation “Green and Healthy Building Network Case Study” by Beth Tener, Al Neirenberg, Bruce Hoppe

The Green and Healthy Building Network: 2007

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Core

Link Node

Cluster Periphery

Hub

A Few Helpful Definitions

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Centralized

Decentralized

Note: These categories often overlap. Most of the examples fit in to multiple categories.

Nonprofit organizations (without explicit network structure)

Membership organizations (Organizations with network component)

Nonprofits with explicit network strategy and structure

Coalition / Alliance (network of organizations)

Networks of networks

Ad hoc networks

Developed from: Plastrik, Taylor, “Net Gains,” (2006); Anklam, “Net Work,” (2007); Krebs, Holley. “Building Smart Communities,” (2006).Source for Network Graphics: orgnet.com

A Typology of Organizing Structures

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How do Movements and Campaigns Relate?

Sources: Movement def’n- Lokman Tsui on Marshall Ganz (www.lokman.org). Campaign def’n- Kotter Philip, Ned Roberto and Nancy Lee. Social Marketing: Improving the Quality of Life. Movement image - commondreams.org. Network graphics: orgnet.com

Movement Campaign

A large, informal grouping that brings people together around shared values, provides structure and

strategy for collective action, results in ‘new rules’

An effort to persuade others to accept, modify, or abandon certain ideas, attitudes, practices, or

behavior. Organized and led by a formal group and/or coalition

Pro-Choice MovementChoose Justice:

Campaign to Protect Roe

Networks are enabling vehicles for building movements and campaigns

http://www.lokman.org/

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Social Network Analysis: A Brief History

1930s 1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s 2000s

First “sociograms” drawn

“Social networks” term coined

Source of sociogram image: Journal of Social Structure; Source of six degrees and weak ties images: Wikimedia commons; Source of online platform: KeyHubs

Milgram - “Small World Experiment”

Granovetter -“The Strength of Weak Ties”

Explosion of cheap / free online platforms

Growth of organizational network

analysis

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/2a/Weak-strong-ties.svg

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/94/Six_degrees_of_separation.png

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Network Mapping Can Be High-Tech…

http://www.netminer.com/NetMiner/img/pic_08_big.jpg

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Source: June Holley

Or Low-Tech

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Visualize the network: see connections within the system

Make visible network resources, and see flow of resources

Spark strategic conversation among participants

Assess the “health” of a network, diagnose Assess change in network over time

What’s Possible from Network Mapping?

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Using Network Maps to Increase Service Coordination

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A map of the different networks shows fairly loose connections

Government

Foundation

Non-Profit

For-Profit

School

Unknown

Religious

Other

Network by Organization Type

Maps Were Used to Analyze the Network

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Frame the Problem

CollectData

AnalyzeData

Validate &DiscussResults

IdentifyNextSteps

Follow up

• Goal• Problem/

Opportunity• Hypotheses• Who/

Boundaries• Relationships/

Flows• Demographics

• Surveys• Interviews• Focus groups• Data mining

• Specialized network mapping software helps to understand data:

• Visually (Maps)• Quantitatively

(Metrics)

• Preliminary review

• One-on-one interviews

• Interactive feedback session

• Formal presentation

• Planning• Training• Organizational

Changes• Specific

interventions

Framework developed by Roberto Cremonini, Barr Foundation

How is Network Mapping Done?

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Class Agenda




12:15 Lunch





4:00 Adjourn

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Class Agenda




12:15 Lunch





4:00 Adjourn

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Value

Participation

Form

Leadership

Connection

Capacity

Learning & Adaptation

Clearly articulated give and get for participants Delivers value/ outcomes to participants

Trust Diversity High engagement

Balance of top-down and bottom-up logic Space for self-organized action

Embraces openness, transparency, decentralization Shared or facilitative leadership

Strategic use of social media Ample shared space: on-line and in-person

Ability surface & tap network talent Model for sustainability

Mechanisms for learning-capture Ability to gather and act on feedback

Governance Reflective of the network’s diversity Transparent

Helpful Sources: M. Kearns and K. Showalter; J. Holley and V. Krebs; P. Plastrik and M. Taylor; J. W. Skillern; C. Shirky

Characteristics of Healthy Networks: Overview

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Characteristics of Healthy Networks: Value

Value Clearly articulated give and get for participants Delivers value/ outcomes to participants

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Characteristics of Healthy Networks: Participation

Participation Trust: strong relationships Diversity: bridging and valuing differences High level of voluntary engagement

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Characteristics of Healthy Networks: Form

Form Balance of top-down and bottom-up logic Space for self-organized action

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Embraces openness, transparency, decentralization Shared leadershipLeadership

Characteristics of Healthy Networks: Leadership

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Governance Reflective of the network’s diversity Transparent

Administrators 1,648 as of

4/29/09

Bureaucrats29 active as of

12/22/08

Stewards37 as of 3/3/09

Arbitration Committee

16 as of 3/21/09

Registered Users

9,540,944 as of 4/29/09

Characteristics of Healthy Networks: Governance

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Characteristics of Healthy Networks: Connection

Connection Strategic use of social media

What’s your connection to mountaintop removal?

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Connection Ample shared space: on-line and in-person

Characteristics of Healthy Networks: Connection

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Characteristics of Healthy Networks: Capacity

Ability surface & tap network talentCapacity

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Characteristics of Healthy Networks: Capacity

Model for sustainabilityCapacity

Free

‘Digital socialism’

‘Freemium’

Pay your way / pay as you go

Membership

Funder / grant driven

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Mechanisms for learning-capture / storytelling Ability to gather and act on feedback

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Hawaii Island Success: Youth have the capacity to malama the next generation

Goal: All youth are surrounded by effective, integrated

community and relationship

based support they can count on

Goal: Youth are part of and contribute to a thriving community

Action: All systems serving

youth exert a positive and

strengthening influence on

youth and their families

Action: Youth receive support

from parents and other caring

adults

Action: Community organizations actively work with community members to find and engage disconnected youth

in hopes of continuing a positive relationship

Action: Youth create

opportunities to belong, learn new skills, grow, lead, receive support,

participate in decision making and contribute to

civic life

Action: Adults are responsible to malama the

process of growth by being easily accessible and modeling these

positive behaviors

Action: Youth create and

convey positive images of

themselves

Action: Youth have the capacity for commitment

and self discipline

Action: Public and private sectors collaborate to create high

demand sectors where job

numbers, wages and advancement opportunities are

increasing

Action: Youth obtain help to develop financial literacy, manage money and

build assets

Action: Efforts are made to diversify the economy in

Hawaii

Goal: Youth have expanded opportunities for family sustaining

work/occupation

Goal: Youth are prepared for meaningful work, higher

education and/or traditional practices

Action: Teachers create an

environment in their

classrooms where kids can

succeed

Action: Teachers have

training & mentors that allow them to

become effective

Action: Teachers have the necessary training and resources to allow kids to

succeed

Action: Ensure multiple

opportunities and diverse avenues to

acquire academic, vocational,

social, life and resiliency skills

Indicator: % of youth reporting

close neighborhood

ties

Indicator: % of youth with at least 1 adult

they can turn to for

support/advise

Indicator: % parents who

actively participate in public school

Indicator: % of youth reporting close family ties

Indicator: % of youth who

volunteer or mentor

Indicator: High level of

interaction between school and community

members

Indicator: Number of youth who age out of

foster care annually with employment, housing or schooling

Indicator: Youth employment in

high growth sectors and geographies

Indicator: Increase in

youth employment and average salaries

Indicator: # of new businesses in sustainable

agriculture, renewable

energy, green architecture

Indicator: New jobs created by

sector and geography

Indicator: # of public/private

partnerships in new industries

Indicator: Number of

teachers with classroom

competence

Indicator: Teachers

with family supporting

wages

Indicator: % students who

meet and exceed expectation in 3rd

Grade

Indicator: Youth with

basic literacy and numeric

skills

Indicator: % of high school

students going to college

and/or trade apprenticeship

Indicator: Good teachers and

principals with 5+ years exp. In same schoolWork in Progress

Characteristics of Healthy Networks: Learning & Adaptation

http://www.hawaiicommunityfoundation.org/index.php?id=127










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How healthy is your network?

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Class Agenda




12:15 Lunch





4:00 Adjourn

Exercise:

How comfortable are you with social media tools?

Somewhere in between?

Competing with Ashton Kutcher for Twitter followers?

Just got a Facebook account this week?

Stand accordingly…

VER

YN

OT

AT A

LL

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There’s a lot of new tools to use out there.

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Social Media Milestones This Year

Jan. 20th: Obama takes office as the first president to have campaigned through social media. CNN partners with Facebook to broadcast online users’ live commentary.

March 28th: Earth Hour 2009 uses social media and mobilizes ten times the number of people as in 2008.

April 17th: Ashton Kutcher beats CNN.com in a race to become the first to gain 1 million Twitter followers.

May 25th: Target gives Facebook users the choice of how to give away $3 million in company donations among 10 charities.

June 13th: Iran’s Green Revolution protestors make heavy use of social media for organizing and promoting the cause.

October 9th: The “Sweet Seeds for Haiti” initiative in Facebook’s popular Farmville game raises over half a

million in donations.

October 18th: The UN End Poverty Now campaign uses social media to mobilize 173 million participants worldwide.

November 1st: Kiva reaches $100 million in micro-loans distributed through its online

giving marketplace.

As presented in “Social Media Blueprints 1.0” by ThinkSocial at the Paley Center for Media.

Today: $22 million in SMS donations have arrived at the Red Cross for relief work in Haiti, with a peak rate of $500K/hour during the NFL playoffs.

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Social Sector Use of New Media Tools

A few key statistics:

“If you think about it, often working on shoestring budgets and heartstring issues, the combination of nonprofits and social media makes perfect sense. Two of the biggest benefits of social media: efficiency and connectivity.”

Blake Bowyer, EyeTraffic Media

According to a longitudinal study that included the 200 largest American charities, nonprofits are outpacing both business and academia in using social media to fundraise, market, and organize.

Source: “Still Setting the Pace in Social Media” by Nora Barnes and Eric Mattson at the U. Mass Dartmouth Center for Marketing Research.

45% say social media is important for fundraising

89% of the respondents use social media

81% consider social media in their strategy

79% use social networking and video blogging

57% publish a blog

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Stories of Innovation and Impact

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Beth Kanter’s Framework on Getting StartedThere are now frameworks available from social media experts on how today’s tools can be used in a disciplined way, such as the one below from Beth Kanter:

Beth Kanter publishes her ongoing thoughts about social media in the social sector at http://beth.typepad.com/.

http://beth.typepad.com/

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Further Resources

Beth’s Blog: How Nonprofits Can Use Social Media “A place to capture and share ideas, experiment with and exchange links and resources about the adoption challenges, strategy, and ROI of nonprofits and social media.” (By Beth Kanter.)

WeAreMedia Project: The Social Media Starter Kit for Nonprofits A wiki with a growing collection of social media strategies, tools, and best practices. (Established by the Nonprofit Technology Network and curated by Beth Kanter.)

Social by Social: A Practical Guide to Using New Technologies to Deliver Social ImpactA book and free online guide aimed at helping nonprofits of every size and type put social media to practical use.

New Organizing Institute’s BootcampA week-long intensive training session on campaigning, new media, online organizing, data and technology.

Conferences: • Nonprofit Technology Network (N-TEN)• Net-Squared: Remixing the Web for Social Change• Personal Democracy Forum

Additional resources are listed in the Resources section of the Working Wikily blog at http://workingwikily.net/resources.html

http://beth.typepad.com/beths_blog/

http://www.wearemedia.org/

http://www.wearemedia.org/

http://www.socialbysocial.com/

http://www.neworganizing.com/

http://www.neworganizing.com/

http://www.nten.org/

http://ww.netsquared.org/

http://personaldemocracy.com/technology-politics-social-media-conference-personal-democracy-forum-new-york-0

http://workingwikily.net/resources.html

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Class Agenda




12:15 Lunch





4:00 Adjourn

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Value

Participation

Form

Leadership

Connection

Capacity


Clearly articulated give and get for participants Delivers value/ outcomes to participants

Trust Diversity High engagement

Balance of top-down and bottom-up logic Space for self-organized action

Embraces openness, transparency, decentralization Shared leadership

Strategic use of social media Ample shared space: on-line and in-person

Ability surface & tap network talent Model for sustainability

Mechanisms for learning-capture Ability to gather and act on feedback

Governance Representative of the network’s diversity Transparent

Helpful Sources: M. Kearns and K. Showalter; J. Holley and V. Krebs; P. Plastrik and M. Taylor; J. W. Skillern; C. Shirky

Characteristics of Healthy Networks: Overview

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The Network Mindset

Organization Orientation Network Orientation

Mindset

Strategy

Behaviors

Competition

Grow the organization

Compete for resourcesProtect knowledge

Competitive advantageHoard talent

Collaboration

Grow the network

Share resourcesOpen source IP

Develop competitorsCultivate leadership

Source: Heather McLeod Grant and Leslie R. Crutchfield, “Forces for Good,” (2007).

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How is Leading with a Network Mindset Different?

Position, authorityIndividualControlDirectiveTransactionalTop-downAction-oriented

Role, behaviorCollectiveFacilitationEmergentRelational, connectedBottom-upProcess-oriented

Organizational Leadership

Organizational Leadership

What would it take for you to work more wikily?

Network LeadershipNetwork

Leadership

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Network Leadership Roles

Sources: Peter Plastrik and Madeleine Taylor, Net Gains (2006); Beth Kanter; Stephanie Lowell , Building the Field of Dreams (2007); White, Wenger, and Smith, Digital Habitats (2009)

Organizer

Funder

Facilitator / Coordinator

Weaver

Technology Steward

Establishes value proposition(s) Establishes first links to participants

Provides initial resources for organizing the network

Works to increase connections among participants May focus on growing the network by connecting to new participants Can be multiple people with formal and informal roles

Facilitates the network use of online technology to learn, coordinate, connect or share information together

Helps participants to undertake collective action Ensures flow of information and other resources

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• Convene diverse people and groups

• Engage network participants

• Generate collective action

• Broker connections and bridge difference

• Build social capital – emphasize trust

• Nurture self-organization

• Genuinely participate

• Leverage technology

• Create, and protect network ‘space’

What is the Work of Network Leadership?

Source: Adapted from Net Work by Patti Anklam (2007) and “Vertigo and the Intentional Inhabitant: Leadership in a Connected World” by Bill Traynor (2009)Source of picture: flickr

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A Few Challenges Faced by Network Leaders

Unlearning past behaviors and frameworks

(organizational mindset)

Dealing with information overload

Letting go of control Engaging and inspiring network participants

without being controlling

Learning and leveraging new technologies

Making the case; measuring success

Source of images: Cut Throat Communications, Blog.com, Rutgers University RU FAIR, Kodaikanal International School, flickr

Determining network boundaries

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What are the characteristics and skills of an effective network leader

(and leader of ‘net work’)?

Source for Network Graphic: orgnet.com

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Assessing Your Network Leadership

What is your network leadership work? What roles do you play?

What are the skills and characteristics that will help you succeed?

Which are your strengths? Which do you need to work on?

What are 3 steps you can take to strengthen your network leadership? Be specific.

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Class Agenda




12:15 Lunch





4:00 Adjourn

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Eight Lessons We’re Learning

1. Design your experiments around a problem, not the tools

2. Experiment a lot, make only new mistakes

3. Set appropriate expectations for time and effort required

4. Prioritize human elements like trust and fun

5. Understand your position within networks

6. Push power to the edges

7. Balance bottom-up and top-down strategies

8. Be open and transparent

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Mom’s rising is new organization designed using network principles:

open, flat, flexible, collaborative, adaptive, fast

So, Whether You’re Launching New Networks…

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AJLI: an older organization using network principles to transform itself

…or Transforming Old Organizations…

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The Choice is Yours

VP VPVP

Manager

ExecutiveDirector

Board

Manager

Manager Manager

Manager

Manager Manager

Manager

MEMBERS

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Additional Resources:

Blog (twitter): www.workingwikily.net

Thank You!

Website:www.monitorinstitute.com

:

Networks Resources page: www.workingwikily.net/resources.html

http://www.workingwikily.net/

http://www.monitorinstitute.com/

http://www.workingwikily.net/resources.html

stanford cs 01 29 10

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