Check out these resources if you are interested in exploring the connections between network theory and social change, and let us know if you have additional suggestions!
Thought Leaders and Partners in Net Work
- Kendall Foundation
- Barr Foundation
- Beth Tener
- Bay Area Social Justice Funders Network
- Garfield Foundation Community of Practice
- Maine Network Partners
- Bill Snyder
- Steve Wadell
Context/Rationale
- Stephen Johnson: Future Perfect
- Seth Godin: The Tribes We Lead
- The Dragonfly Effect
- TheShiftMovie.com
- The GlobalOnenessProject
- Did You Know 2.0?
- For the Next 7 Generations
Networks for the Philanthropic and Nonprofit Sector
- Network Power for Philanthropy and Nonprofits
- The Fluid Role of Networks in Social Movements
- Catalyzing Networks for Social Change: A Funders Perspective
- Building a Network: Video from Reflection on Practice Video Series
Blogs
- The Post-Hero Economy-Learning to Lead Through Network
- NetAge Endless Knots
- TNT – The Network Thinker
- Network Weaving
- Working Wikily: Making Sense of Networks and Social Change
- Interaction Institute for Social Change
Network Mapping
Technology
- Network-Centric Campaigns: Transforms advocacy for foundations and nonprofits by building networks of people to move change forward.
- Orgnet.com: Social network analysis software & services for organizations, communities, and their consultants
- Techsoup: Connects nonprofits, charities, and public libraries with technology products and solutions, plus the learning resources needed to make informed decisions about technology.
Networks in Action
- Berkana Institute: Supporting and connecting community leaders around the globe.
- iScale: Innovations for Scaling Impact: A global network of individuals and organizations committed to developing, implementing and promoting innovations to scale the impact of efforts to address the world’s most pressing challenges.
- Lawrence Community Works: Supporting leadership development and applying network theory to community development.
- The Barr Foundation: Barr Fellows:
Readings
- Anklam, Patti. Net Work: A Practical Guide to Creating and Sustaining Networks at Work and in the World.
- Barabási, Albert-Laszlo. Linked: How everything is connected to everything else and what it means for business, science, and everyday life.
- Brafman, Ori and Rod A. Beckstrom. The Starfish and the Spider: The Unstoppable Power of Leaderless Organizations.
- Johansson, Frans. The Medici Effect: What elephants and epidemics can teach us about innovation.
- Lederach, John Paul. The Moral Imagination: The art and soul of building peace.
- Lipnack, Jessica and Jeffrey Stamps. The Age of the Network: Organizing Principles for the 21st Century.
- Meadows, Donella. Thinking in Systems: A Primer, Edited by Diana Wright, Sustainability Institute.
- Shirky, Clay. Here Comes Everybody: The Power of Organizing Without Organization.
Search for Clay Shirky talking about his work on Youtube!
And here are a few articles, which can be downloaded directly from the following links.
- deSouza Briggs, Xavier (Harvard Kennedy School of Government). Community Building: The New (and Old) Politics of Urban Problem-Solving.
- Kasper, Gabriel and Diana Scearce (Monitor Institute). Acting Wikily: How Networks are Changing Social Change.
- Plastrik, Peter and Madeleine Taylor. Net Gains: A handbook for network builders seeking social change.
- The Editors (Nonprofit Quarterly). A Network Way of Working: A Compilation of Considerations about Effectiveness in Networks:
- Traynor, William J., and Jessica Andors (Lawrence Community Works). Network Organizing: A Strategy for Building Community Engagement.