Network Mapping: A User’s Guide
/By Meghan Hunt and Anna Saltzman
Many funders recognize the importance of relationships, from making connections between grantees to building a movement. But how do you learn from the work of relationship building? Network mapping, a tool that has been used in a range of fields, such as disease surveillance, the study of online social networks, and organizational development, can also be applied in the field of evaluation and learning. Still, it’s not always clear to funders how best to deploy network mapping to support learning and evaluation efforts. To help, we have updated the Engage R+D Network Mapping Guide and are excited to help spread the utility of these handy (read: nerdy) tools. Some key questions we try to answer:
What is a network map? You could visualize it as sitting around a circle and having each person throw a ball of yarn to other visually illustrating connections. Or think about a network map like the game ‘six degrees of Kevin Bacon,’ showing the different ways participants are connected through a network of relationships. Below is an example of a network map showing how participants are connected to one another:
And how do these maps help us reflect and learn from our work? To showcase network mapping as a tool to support learning, we share a few examples from Engage R+D projects. Network mapping can be used as a tool to help funders and partners understand the nature of relationships and types of connections taking place within a network. In addition, it can help to support equity efforts. For example, creating network maps can help to surface if there are any groups who are consistently left out of interactions.
Specifically, network mapping can help us answer questions such as:
How connected is the network, and how has this connectivity changed over time? The San Joaquin Valley Health Fund is a network of more than 170 community organizations and 40 funders promoting community health, racial equity, and racial justice in California’s Central Valley. It is managed by The Center at the Sierra Health Foundation. In our evaluation, we used network mapping to help The Center and network members understand the extent to which these actors were connected overall, and how connections had increased in recent years. This helped The Center celebrate progress as well as plan for how to strategically grow the network in the future.
2. What is the strength or quality of these interactions? In the example above, the network map also helped measure the types of relationships between members. The evaluation showed that connections between members were deepening, with more coordination to share resources, collaborating on activities, and partnering toward common goals. San Joaquin Valley Health Fund members used this information to examine where they would like to strengthen relationships.
3. How do different actors interact within the network? Engage R+D has worked with the Art for Justice Fund, which brought together artists, advocates, and allied donors to build public will for ending mass incarceration. This evaluation used network mapping to illustrate and understand how artists and advocates were building connections with one another. The findings helped Art for Justice Fund better understand untapped opportunities to connect leaders working on changing public narrative and policy around mass incarceration.
4. How can existing network connections be strengthened to improve coordination? Long before COVID-19, this network of human-and animal-disease experts was working to improve cross-border communication and collaboration for disease surveillance and response. Our evaluation work with the South Asia One Health Disease Surveillance Network measured how different sectors were sharing information with one another in order to help the group better coordinate future work.
One clear advantage of network maps (aside from the rad visuals) is their inquisitive nature. By design, they prompt deep inquiry: Who are the influential actors? Are there any groups who are consistently left out of interactions? To what extent are relationships shared throughout the network? Who is positioned to spread information? Who is holding the network together? This range of inquiry allows for a depth of analysis that gets at the root of power dynamics within collaborative work.
Check out the guide for more examples, questions, and ideas for supporting your learning and evaluation in action. We hope it helps inspire deep discovery!
