News Brief: Network Weaving, Collaboration, Transparency

On Network Weaving…

A recent webinar talked of the role of networks in creating scale. Nonprofits have been quicker than enterprises in their understanding of their emerging role as facilitator. Social network analysis has been key in letting organizers see their network more clearly, and will hopefully help them answer key questions such as what are the relationships like and how easy is it to break in to a network.

On Collaboration and Technology…

Data is one of the new platforms for change. Philanthropy 2173 gives four examples of data making a difference, including a Web page that crowdsources data on Japanese radiation and a site that matches analysts with nonprofits to unlock what the nonprofits already know. 

Data, sharing information and collaboration often come together to effect change. In the new Project HealthDesign from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, patients are encouraged to share more day-to-day information in order to facilitate better diagnoses.

Information by itself may not be enough. The Communications Network blog talks about Tina Rosenberg’s concepts of peer pressure. Though the word often has negative connotations, valuable information can be gleaned from the idea that it’s not just the information that will bring about change, it’s the information coming from the right source.

Facilitating cooperation is also about perspective, positivity, play, and preference, as explained in The P's of Regenerativity. Curtis Odgen explains how these important concepts help us to understand the system behind whatever form of collaboration you are participating in.

On Transparency… 

A survey on how organizations handle failure shows that some organizations value discussing failure openly while others feel that only internal discussion is necessary. The broader question of whether organizations can learn from the failure of similar organizations does not appear to enter into most organizations’ decision-making processes regarding their openness on the Web.

Top Articles:

• Net Work Investment
  • Author: Patti Anklam
  • Date: July 7, 2011
  • Source: Patti Anklam

• What I meant when I said "Data are new platform for change"
  • Author: Lucy Bernholz
  • Date: June 23, 2011
  • Source: Philanthropy 2173

• Noodles of ODLs
  • Author: Steve Downs and Patricia Flatley Brennan
  • Date: June 17, 2011
  • Source: Pioneering Ideas

• When Information Isn't Enough
  • Author: Bruce Trachtenberg
  • Date: June 28, 2011
  • Source: The Communications Network

• The Ps of Regenerativity
  • Author: Curtis Odgen
  • Date: June 29, 2011
  • Source: The Interaction Institute for Social Change

• Communications Network Survey Provides Some Transparency Benchmarks
  • Author: Michael Remaley
  • Date: July 1, 2011
  • Source: PhilanTopic