Network Mapping for Everyone: Practical ways to use network maps in your community

In this workshop we’ll demystify the process and jargon typically associated with network mapping and social network analysis. Social network analysis doesn’t need to be overwhelming, expensive or cumbersome. Instead, it can be used in straightforward ways that support your community to understand itself and take informed steps to build even stronger connections between and within individuals, organizations, and communities. Participants will learn key principles of network mapping, be exposed to tools for gathering and organizing data to discover relationships, explore how to analyze and follow the development of your network over time, all while including your partners throughout the process.

Transcript

1. Network Mapping for Everyone Practical ways to use network maps in your community +
2. Understand why you might use network mapping Get comfortable with the process for gathering data about relationships using surveys Learn how to transform survey data to easily import it into Kumu Analyze a network and demystify some of the SNA jargon Explore ways to engage and empower your community with a network map Objectives for today
5. Which are you?
6. “A network weaver is someone who is aware of the networks around them and explicitly works to make them healthier (more inclusive, bridging divides). Network weavers do this by connecting people strategically where there’s potential for mutual benefit, helping people identify their passions, and serving as a catalyst for self-organizing groups.” ~ June Holley
7. Part 1 - Why network mapping
8. Three buckets to consider Exploring Empowering Evaluating Understanding a new environment or landscape Discovering who the key influencers are in a space General sense-making Determining if and how a network has changed over time Proving the impact of a given intervention or strategy Enabling anyone to improve the health of the network As a resource for self- organizing around shared interests/strategies
9. Find a partner at your table and spend 2 minutes each sharing how you’ve either used or considered using network mapping. Your turn
10. Part 2 - Gathering relationship data
11. There are many ways to ask questions about relationships
12. Who did you grab coffee with outside of work in the last 6 weeks? Who do you go to as a great source of information or help? Who have you collaborated with in the last 6 months? Asking for a list of names
13. 0: Not in my network; I do not know this person 1: On my radar; I know of this person, but rarely communicate or cross paths with them 2: In my peripheral network; I keep in touch with this person and/or occasionally work, socialize or collaborate with them 3: In my core network; I know this person well and/or frequently work, collaborate or socialize with them Using defined relationship strengths
14. Layering multiple types
15. What do you think is most likely to make a difference for (insert issue or problem) AND that you would like to work on? How willing are you to help convene a group working on this? Key strategies and self-organizing
16. List up to 5 other leaders with whom you have a personal or professional relationship. Who do you know who would be a valuable connection for the network? Uncovering the periphery
17. What information is relevant to collect about the people in your network? Some examples: - Bio - Location - Skills and interests - Age - Ethnicity - Organization Don’t forget demographics!
18. Find a partner at your table and spend 5 minutes discussing what relationship and demographic questions feel most valuable for your network, community, or organization. Your turn
19. …and just as many platforms to help you collect that information
20. Traditional survey tools – SurveyMonkey, SurveyGizmo, Google Forms Network-specific survey tools – SumApp, Undercurrent Spreadsheet-based – Excel, Google Sheets Pen and paper – It’s possible (but a pain to input)
21. An example using SurveyGizmo https://www.surveygizmo.com/s3/4719445/Sample-SNA-Survey
22. Part 3 - Transforming relationship data
24. https://alexvipond.github.io/matrix-expander/
26. Part 4 - Analyzing a network
27. 4 ways to think about analysis Squinting Zooming out and blurring the details to focus on overall structure Calculating Using SNA metrics to uncover insights that are difficult to see otherwise Spotting Zooming in and looking for interesting people, structures and connections Comparing Looking at changes over time as well as overlaying important demographics
29. Analyzing a network in Kumu
30. Part 5 - Engaging your community
31. What do you notice? What surprises you? What story does the overall structure tell about our network? Who seems to be at the center of the network? The edges? Do the network insights make sense? Why or why not? How has our network changed over time? What might we do to strengthen connections? To increase diversity? Questions to explore