Derrick Rhayn
Derrick Rhayn is the Chief Catalyst at Networks for Change, a Seattle consulting firm specializing in building the capacity of social change networks and nonprofit organizations through consulting, training, and coaching. As a ‘network weaver,’ Derrick focuses on facilitating increased connectivity within networks and nonprofits as a way of unleashing their potential, mobilizing their hidden assets, and generating innovative solutions with an orientation towards systems change.
Derrick has spent his entire career in the nonprofit sector, and has a passion for fund development, emerging economic models, and food systems. He is currently working with groups focused on circular economy, regional food systems, cooperative economics, impact investing, and community development finance.
Janne K. Flisrand
My own work makes cities great places for the people who live there. I work so everyone has a secure home, for streets that put people first, and to stop climate change. I'm trained as an applied urban anthropologist, a field focused on understanding and amplifying other people's voices. Since 2004, I've designed and led networks that lift up member's power.
I mix and match resources to make positive change. With Minnesota Green Communities, a state-wide green affordable housing initiative, I plotted our path towards a green rehab standard. My task force process addressed the concerns of funders, engineers, and energy professionals. Together, they crafted an affordable, healthy, buildable set of expectations. We'll scale up your network's impact, whether you need big-picture thinking to get a jumpstart, or small design details to make the most of every interaction.
Kristin Johnstad
My consulting practice focuses on strengthening the capacity of individuals, networks and communities to address such complex challenges as access to healthy food, equitable youth and family outcomes, health and economic disparities and the fragmentation of out of school time enrichment opportunities for students. I have ongoing relationships with an exceptional cadre of consultants and assemble teams to get the best results for my clients.
My areas of network expertise include: coaching, training, facilitating peer-learning models, designing effective and fun engagement strategies, and helping others get excited about using data to mobilize, plan and take collective action.
June Holley
June has been weaving networks, helping others weave networks and writing about networks for over 40 years. She is currently increasing her capacity to capture learning and innovations from the field and sharing what she discovers through blog posts, occasional virtual sessions and a forthcoming book. Topics she will be focusing on in the coming year include:
- a communications system where weavers can support each other and share information
- a place to share what people are learning from their practice,
- a set of resources drawn from emergent practice,
- a set of practices to address inequities and
- a social media strategy to draw more people around the globe into the network weaving network.
Her Practice
In 1981 June discovered complexity science and became intrigued with the process of transformation. How could communities change in ways that would make them good places for everyone?
For the next two decades, she worked with others in Appalachian Ohio to catalyze cascades of network experimentation, observing and documenting the dynamics that enabled many hundreds of people to start and then expand businesses in rural Appalachia. With these newly minted entrepreneurs, she mobilized dozens of area organizations to collaborate, self-organize and create an environment that would help these businesses innovate, expand and work together to create an effective support system for networked entrepreneurs.
After twenty years as executive director of the Appalachian Center for Economic Networks (ACEnet), she stepped down to devote her energies to helping communities around the globe form system shifting, self-organizing networks by training and supporting network weavers and helping new networks form.
The hundred or so network projects she has advised range from local networks to international ones; included networks focused on a specific sector such as food access or health access as well as cross sector initiatives such network leadership networks; reached from small rural networks with a few dozen participants to massive networks with thousands of international participants including the networkweavers network. All recent projects have had a strong equity focus and a commitment to dismantling racism and hierarchy. June has led hundreds of interactive workshops – many of them virtual – on applying a network approach and authored the Network Weaver Handbook and over 20 blog posts.
Network Support Systems
In the last few years, June has shifted her energies to co-creating the support ecosystem needed so that millions of people around the world have access to network and self-organizing strategies and can use them to rapidly transform systems. This support ecosystem includes:
- a communications system where weavers can support each other and share information
- a place to share what people are learning from their practice,
- a set of resources drawn from emergent practice,
- a set of practices to address inequities and
- a social media strategy to draw more people around the globe into the network weaving network.
The site www.dev.networkweaver.com and a set of related activities became the focus for these efforts. The site includes a space for 51 network weaving consultants to present their skills and offerings to the world; this group is also supported through a monthly community of practice. Since dismantling racism is a key tenet of network weaving, proactive outreach to consultants of color was undertaken and an equity fund set up to compensate BIPOC authors for blog posts and resource development.
The networkweaver blog is now a place for the latest network thinking and practice to be shared. Over 78 contributors have written pieces for the blog.
The final section of the site is the resources section where 49 handouts, worksheets, powerpoints, modules and books are offered, most free of charge, on every aspect of network formation and practice. Although many of these resources are derived from June’s many years of practice, they are increasingly coming from practitioners in the field.
The Network Weaving Facebook group of 2400 people is a place for weavers to share information and get support for challenges.
Blog posts, consultant offerings, events and resources are shared through an enewsletter and a social media system reaching a over 18,000 people (and expanding by about 300 people each month) through Twitter, LinkedIn, scoop.it, Facebook and medium.
Current and Future Directions: Network Weaving Institute
In the four decades that June has been supporting networks, they have shifted from being a fringe phenomenon to being the favored way of responding to our complex world. But networks come in all shapes and sizes and we still have only rough guidance in knowing which kinds of networks are best for different situations and how they can be most effectively structured.
During the coming decade, June is stepping back from major consulting projects to focus on taking all that she and others have learned about networks with transformative capacity and writing a series of articles (which may well morph into a book or set of videos). This will be done collaboratively as much as possible – sharing her writings in google docs open to commenting and/or joint editing.
June will also continue to develop materials and modules that can be used by individuals or networks to deepen their understanding of networks.
In addition to writing June will identify a few high leverage cross network efforts (connecting more environmental networks to networks promoting equity and the need to dismantle racism and hierarchy, for example, or helping national networks provide more support to local self-organizing efforts) and will provide opportunities to explore network potentials at no cost. If you know of two or more networks that could benefit by being connected, please let June know!
Finally, June will occasionally offer 60 minute one time advice and exploration sessions to networks who have a specific challenge they would like to discuss. Visit the Consultation page to set up an appointment
Click here to down load a copy of June’s resume.
For more information, contact June Holley at juneholley@nwinstitute.org .
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It's bothered me for a long time that very few folks in the non-profit sector produce practical materials that others can easily adopt or adapt. I'm a prime example of that. I've been trying to write a book about self-organizing for two years, and haven't made much progress because I’ve been too busy doing the work. But recently I had an interesting thought. Why not model a process for writing a book that embodies the principles of self-organizing, and forces me to integrate reading, thinking and writing about self-organizing into my already crammed schedule?
So first I found someone to help keep the process going --- Susan Rossetti. Besides being a great writer, she’s smart, interested in the subject, and someone who would make a great partner in this emergent process. Together we decided to act on a suggestion from Gigi Barsoum that we start a learning cluster on self-organizing. Not only would the learning-cluster keep us accountable, but as Steven Johnson suggests in his book and TedTalk, “Where Good Ideas Come From,” the collective wisdom and thinking of the learning cluster would be much more likely to yield new, truly innovative ideas about self-organizing than anything I could generate myself.
[ap_spacing spacing_height="20px"]How does our learning cluster work?
First, we set up a Google Docs folder that includes the group’s contact list and two working documents: an annotated bibliography, and a document for the group to capture its research and musings on the definition and fundamental characteristics of self-organizing. Susan and I “pre-seeded” both documents, and in the annotated bibliography we included additional columns so the group can track who is reading what, add topic tags and hot links to original sources, and rate the relevance and quality of each reference.
Next we used Doodle to schedule our first video conference, and sent out a short survey using Google Forms to the group to find out what their interests are in participating.
Last week we held our first video conference using Adobe Connect. During the session, we outlined how the learning cluster will work, how we will communicate with each other and share back the learnings from the cluster (what we call our “communications ecosystem”), and we presented our working definition of self-organizing.
In future sessions, members of the group will take turns presenting their findings from their research, and together, we’ll develop an accessible conceptual framework for self-organizing, and identify and test tools and practices that we will share with the field. Be sure to stay tuned as we begin this journey of discovery together!
What has been your experience with learning groups? What can we learn from your experience? Do you know of anyone else trying to write a book this way?
RE-AMP's Pool of Funds
One of the issues for networks is how to determine priorities and have sufficient funding to support a set of innovative, experimental projects. RE-AMP, a climate change network of around 125 organizations and foundations in the Upper Midwest, has had tremendous success with a pooled fund with funding from a group of funders combined into one fund with joint decision-making. In my interview with Rick Reed from the Garfield Foundation (which has been the catalyst for this network), he explains how the pooled fund works.
When RE-AMP was first formed, Garfield Foundation made a conscious decision not to set up a pooled fund right away. They felt that building trust and giving funders experience collaborating needed to the first on the agenda.
However, they did ask other foundations to support the infrastructure of the network by contributing $50,000 to cover the costs of a well-run network: a network facilitator, gatherings, mileage and so forth. The argument was that if the network worked well their investments in member non-profits would result in greater impact.
They recruited the Rockefeller Family Fund, which is a 501c3 endowed fund, to be the fiduciary agent. Any 501c3 can play this role if it has the internal capacity to receive invoices and write checks and is willing to do so, often for a small percentage of the total amount deposited. After a number of years RE-AMP began to use the Michigan Environmental Council for infrastructure expenses because they were willing to write many small checks needed for travel and gatherings.
The infrastructure budget (which now includes stipends for working group coordinators and other staff, communications, and the annual meeting) went from $350,000 the first year to its current $900,000.
During the first 3 years (before the pooled fund), RE-AMP working groups came up with priorities. Funders who were part of the network then took these seriously and used the priorities to determine the focus for their funds. In addition, the foundation working group looked at these priorities and was able to use them to recruit new foundations to the network. As a result, funds from any single foundation were increasingly leveraged. This early strategy still allowed funders to have considerable control over their funds. During these three years, funders attended annual meetings and working groups where they were able to build relationships of trust with other network members and could see how the network and the working groups operated. This increased their confidence in the network, and helped them move to the next stage.
After three years, Garfield saw that that money needed to move faster and be more focused so they decided to start a pooled fund. The idea was for a set of funders to put money into a single fund, where decisions for all the money would be made by a funding group composed of funders and working group coordinators. A pooled funding approach could support a more bottom up, state-based prioritization process that was more in touch with real opportunities and needs.
Initially, only Garfield put in funds. But six months later a second foundation matched Garfield’s funds, and then shortly after 2 more foundations each put in a million dollars. After that growth of the fund was rapid.
So it takes one foundation willing to lead and take the first step, then asking others to join them.
[ap_spacing spacing_height="20px"] 1. The prioritization and decision-making process
In state based meetings, the member organizations identify opportunities for impact: this is what we can do in our state given current politics, public sentiment, etc. These priorities generally fall under the rubric of one of the working groups (which are quite broad areas of focus).
So one state might send in 5 ideas, of them 2 go into one working group, 3 in another. If the topic combines two areas, then it goes to both working groups. The funding group (composed of all funders who contribute dollars and the working group coordinators) meets to make strategic decisions. They may know that action in one state could leverage change in all the states, so put resources there rather than spread it around. They piece together a portfolio that is really going to make a difference for the whole region.
Then collaborations of organizations go back and write proposals. Each working groups leader picks a partner from the set of foundations to help them review the set of proposals received, and then make a recommendation to whole funding committee. Working Group leaders tend to have a broad sense of what is happening in the region so the discussions have considerable collective intelligence! Much better decisions are made because recommendations are given a reality check by the other working group coordinators.
[ap_spacing spacing_height="20px"] 2. The reporting and accountability system
The most important aspect of reporting for RE-AMP and its funders is that what is reported helps everyone learn and adapt. Reporting is not so much for checking to see if grantees did what they said. Everyone agrees RE-AMP wants impacts; but they put an equal emphasis and seek to reward learning.
RE-AMP has an online system for reporting (password protected for members only). It also has a knowledge manager (originally called a learning and progress manager) who helps come up with the questions in the reports so that they really capture learning that will be valuable to others. Reporting of mistakes is encouraged so that everyone can learn from that.
Financial reporting is only shared with the foundations. Much of the way accountability works in RE-AMP is through peer accountability. People on the funding committee know a lot about all the organizations involved and how they are doing. This might be harder in a national network.
If grants are not working out, Garfield will often have a talk with the organization. Also, if a grant is given and the organization gets very fast results, the money is not returned but repurposed. They don’t penalize success.
Reporting is organized by working group or leverage points. Grantees are asked to report every six months on their most important accomplishments.
Reporting shows allocation of funds, and interpretation of why allocations were focused the way they were. For example, initially 2/3 of the money was going into stopping new coal plants from construction. Then in 2009 most plants were shut down, so shifted to retiring existing coal plants and increasing policy to support alternative energy.
Rockefeller still does the fiduciary for the large grants. Garfield makes a grant agreement with Rockefeller, then Rockefeller subcontract. Garfield does all the due diligence to make sure money being spent appropriately so Rockefeller only does the financial reporting. (Takes high level of trust) Still trying to figure out how to give organizations general operating support which can make them more flexible.
FOR MORE INFORMATION ON RE-AMP see Transformer by the Monitor Institute
Best Practices for Communities of Practice/ Learning Networks
How do you develop a dynamic learning cluster or community of practice, with engaged members who are generous in sharing their knowledge and experience?
These practices comes from my experience creating several communities of practices and a world-class professional network for leadership and organizational development consultants, the Boston Facilitators Roundtable.
[ap_spacing spacing_height="20px"]1. Identify Community Guidelines
Set guidelines to support connection based on mutual learning and support, that encourage sharing of information and that discourage people from marketing to each other. Mutual learning also means coming together to learn with and from one another, without a need to have all the answers.
Additional guidelines: interactive meetings with some presentation and a lot of conversation, in small and large groups, and community building.
[ap_spacing spacing_height="20px"]2. Format and size of the cluster
- If relevant, the conveners should determine the ideal number of participants; there is often a benefit to keeping the group small if people are going to disclose their learning edge or challenges in their work.
- For some organizations, diversity of participants is desired, so the conveners should determine the characteristics of participants (diversity of organizations, regions, race, ethnicity, etc.)
- Decide if this will be an open or closed group; this relates to the size, as stated. If it’s an open group, have participants identify ways to integrate newcomers into the group.
[ap_spacing spacing_height="20px"]3. The first meeting
- Identify the shared learning objectives
- Start the cluster with each individual identifying his/her learning objectives, and then identify those objectives that are shared by most people.
- Identify topics for discussion (you might choose one of these for the first meeting)
- Spend the bulk of the first meeting on content, not on logistics or on technology. People are eager to hear “what’s this group about” and “how do I connect to this topic and to this group?” Attend to logistics and technology towards the end of the meeting.
[ap_spacing spacing_height="20px"]4. Format of meetings
The convener should solicit topics of interest from the group, either at the end of each meeting or prior to the next meeting. Once the agenda is set, send a reminder 1-2 days before the meeting with logistical information – date, time, website, conference call number. People often misplace these messages if you send them earlier than that ;) For the first 1-2 meetings, invite people to join the session 10 minutes early to check their connections, their audio and video, access to the website, as necessary. That way you can start the meeting on time.
For the meeting itself:
- It’s nice to start with a check-in – what’s something exciting that happened to you in the last week/month; what are you looking forward to next month; or, what are you hoping to get out of today's meeting? [ap_spacing spacing_height="10px"]
- Announce the agenda with time estimates. [ap_spacing spacing_height="10px"]
- Facilitate the content. [ap_spacing spacing_height="10px"]
- Conduct a brief evaluation. [ap_spacing spacing_height="10px"]
- Plan for the next meeting: what's the topic, who's going to present a case or lead the discussion, what materials will be sent in advance, what's the date and time.
The evaluation give you a feel for the value that participants are getting out of the group, and to make improvements or adjustments that will enrich their experience. It can be a Plus/Delta – what worked well and what can we improve; it can be a “Continue/ Stop/ Start” – what should we continue, stop and start doing.
[ap_spacing spacing_height="20px"]5. Participants own the group
This comes from the self-organizing principle of adult learning – adults know what they want/need to learn and they can take responsibility for their learning. The degree to which participants organize the topics may depend on the nature of the group. In many cases, it's up to the participants to identify topics for conversation, and rotate the roles of presenting a topic, choosing a book to read and discuss, generating cases for discussion. Peer-assists can also be very valuable. A participant who has questions about a project s/he is working on can present it to the group to get their suggestions.
[ap_spacing spacing_height="20px"]6. Foster Communication between participants
Participants want to be able to communicate with each other between meetings. Build a platform for multi-directional communication for the purpose of networking, potential collaboration and for people to learn who they can call on with future questions. This builds the density of connections and strengthens the group for the long run.
[ap_spacing spacing_height="20px"]7. Technology
There are many platforms to use for virtual meetings with audio, and some with video components. Some platforms are free; you have to pay for advanced features. Some things to consider:
- Do people need/want to see one another? Look at Adobe Connect, Zoom, Google Hangout. Check the capacity for the maximum number of webcams. [ap_spacing spacing_height="10px"]
- Will you want to have breakout sessions? Look at StartMeeting, AnyMeeting, Maestro Conferencing. [ap_spacing spacing_height="10px"]
- Do you need to share your screen? Adobe Connect, StartMeeting, Google Hangout. [ap_spacing spacing_height="10px"]
- Share documents? GoogleDocs, GoogleDrive.
With any of these platforms you’ll want to check on the features, the ease of use, and the support. And always test them before the live session, because Murphy’s Law sometimes catches you off-guard: If something can go wrong, it will ;)
Questions? Contact me: abby@skillfulfacilitation.com
GOOD LUCK!
Abby