General News

Network Theory & Action

This year is the 25th anniversary of the Switzer Foundation and one of the great outcomes of this 25 year history is the Network of over 470 Fellows whose work supports a broad range of environmental issues in public and private sectors. One of the themes we aim to explore this year, is how to better mobilize the Network, through the (hubs of) fellows in particular regions or issues, and create the connections (spokes) between them. In Network theory lexicon as applied to organizations and social change, we want to be an effective “Network weaver” for this talented group and help link our collective resources for positive change. To move our collective thinking in this direction, I highly recommend the new article in the Stanford Social Innovation Review entitled “Working Wikily” by Heather Grant, Diana Scearce and Gabriel Kasper. The article is attached here and available at the SSI Review site (PDF).  I am interested in your feedback on how new social media tools and network theory and can foster these new collaborations and a “networked” way of thinking.  Perhaps this is not so new anymore, but powerful nonetheless. I am interested in having you share your thoughts, so please take a look at this article and share any reflections you have.  Many thanks - looking forward to the discussion!

Lissa

 Working Wikily, SSIR Review Summer 2010