Principles for Network Thinking and Action
These networks deliberately connect people and organizations together to promote learning and action on an issue of common concern. We call them impact networks to highlight their intentional design and purposeful focus, and to contrast them with the organic networks formed as part of our social lives.9
David Ehrlichman • Impact Networks: Create Connection, Spark Collaboration, and Catalyze Systemic Change
It is in the interactions between the parts that something new is created. This process is, in a word, emergence. Emergence is the magical quality that gives networks their exponential potential for impact. To tap into the boundless creativity that emerges when people from different parts of a system interact with one another, network leaders avoid
... See moreDavid Ehrlichman • Impact Networks: Create Connection, Spark Collaboration, and Catalyze Systemic Change
We’ve found in our experiments with Smalltown that high quality participation on small social networks requires significant “social scaffolding.” Much of this scaffolding looks similar to what a local reporter or community organizer does. Connecting with people, asking questions, surfacing issues, building trust, and organizing. You can’t just buil... See more
Welcome to Smalltown, a Civic Space Online - Initiative for Digital Public Infrastructure at UMass Amherst
