With Google maps or Mapquest, one can zoom in to the level of a city block or zoom out to see how that place that relates to the geography of a city or a region. In working for change within complex systems, we similarly need to be able to work at multiple levels and see… Read more
Tag: Networks
New Jobs that Support Collaborative Work
In the late 1990’s, I shifted my work from environmental management consulting towards a focus on sustainability. At the time, most of my friends and family, had not even heard of the word “sustainability” and I struggled to explain it as well as to figure out a way to make a living doing this work…. Read more
Network Analysis (SNA/ONA) Methods for Assessment & Measurement
Patti Anklam, an affiliate of New Directions Collaborative and Principal of Net Work, offered a Leadership Webinar, hosted by the Leadership Learning Community (LLC,) about techniques for social network analysis. In this Guest Blog post, Patti shares an overview of the webinar, with links to listen to it and further resources. Monday’s LLC webinar on… Read more
Imaginal Cells: A Model from Nature for Transforming Systems
The transformation of a caterpillar into a butterfly provides a compelling metaphor for those working to re-imagine and transform organizations and larger systems to be thriving, restorative, and sustainable. This metaphor illustrates how connecting networks of those working for change is the next step to bring about a larger transformation. Elisabet Sahtouris, an evolutionary biologist… Read more
Vermont Farm to Plate Network: Collective Impact to Transform a Food System
I have seen the future of how we can transition to a healthy local food system and it is in Vermont. Picture this: 180 people from all parts of the state’s food system, in one room, reflecting on how they have worked together over the past year in a coordinated way towards goals of doubling… Read more
Vermont Farm to Plate Network Gathering – Year 2
Last year, we had the pleasure of helping design and facilitate the launch of the Vermont Farm to Plate Network, working in collaboration with Curtis Ogden of the Interaction Institute for Social Change (IISC) and the Vermont Sustainable Jobs Fund. During the past year, over 150 organizations have been meeting to advance the Farm to… Read more
Taking the Time to Realize the Full Value of Networks
What I appreciate about my work is that I get to team with various consultants on various projects in various sectors. We, and our clients, are all in an evolving conversation and experiment about how to work in networked ways to create social change. Whether the context is energy efficiency, local food, transportation, or education,… Read more
Gathering to Launch the Vermont Farm to Plate Network
The state of Vermont had committed to double local food production over 10 years, as a way to boost economic development, increase jobs, and increase access to healthy food. The Vermont Sustainable Jobs Fund (VSJF) had gathered input from hundreds of Vermonters to create a Farm to Plate Strategic Plan that defined the sub-goals and… Read more
Five Tips for Care and Feeding of Networks
In a recent strategy project with a cross-sector network working to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, we explored what it takes to coordinate collective action and to capture the full potential of the interconnections within the network. Facilitating goal-oriented teams is fairly straightforward; however, even more value can be created for each participant and the network… Read more
Collective Impact – An Idea Whose Time Has Come
In the Midwest, a group of foundations and non-profits decided to try an experiment – instead of individual foundations placing grants with individual non-profits, they came together to create a coordinated network to pursue the ambitious long-term goal of reducing regional global warming emissions 80 percent (from 2005 levels) by 2050. The Garfield Foundation, one… Read more