How Network Orgs Are Re-invigorating Change
Organizing 2.0/501 Tech NYCMay 2012
Who we are
About Communicopia
About us
We are a boutique digital consultancy working
globally for change. We lead transformational
digital projects that help social mission
organizations increase their impact &
effectiveness in a networked world.
Our clients
Include Human Rights Watch, NRDC, Net
Impact, City of Vancouver, the UN Foundation,
The Elders, & the TckTckTck global climate
campaign. We also founded the Web of Change
community.
We live in times of massive systems change
The web & networks are creating new models
Audiences have tuned out
Faith in institutions is at all time low
Complex world. People see connections
They expect more. Want to give more.
Rapid growth of networked orgs
Rise of “free agent” changemakers
The web has changed advocacy comms
Initial web = publishing
Networked web = conversations
The web past & presentTraditional Web Today’s Web
Most institutions lack the people, structure, &
culture to lead in this new world
A term coined by Beth Kanter and Allison Fine
Networked Nonprofits
Simple & Transparent Orgs
Networked nonprofits are easy for outsiders to get in and insiders to get out. They engage people to shape and share their work.
They don’t work harder or longer than other orgs, they work differently. They engage in conversations with people beyond their walls to build relationships that spread their work through the network. Relationship building is a core responsibility of staff. They are all comfortable using social media to encourage two way communications between people.
Networked Nonprofits
Beth’s Three Attributes: Social culture. Transparency. Simplicity.
Other attributes:
•Smaller budget, less reliant on staff-driven model
•Focus on doing one thing well
•Hold back resources to jump on big opportunities
•People working there are ambidextrous + younger
•Listen well. Many are member-driven
•No barriers between “online” and “real world”
Institutions born in a post-institutional age
How are they different?
Driven by policy, run by experts, focused on elites
Traditional Nonprofits
Create & promote policy solutions
Find the right policy answers. Run a lot of long
term campaigns promoting or defending them.
Expert based culture
Program / policy professionals drive the ship.
The “real work” of the institution. Senior
leaders were often wonks previously, not
managers.
“Grass-tops” audiences
Communications & campaigns typically
targeted at senior decision makers or media.
Policy
Traditional Nonprofits
•Very silo’d structures: deputies compete for resources,
disincentives to collaborate, even turf wars
•Hierarchical, top down cultures: young/web ppl not asked
•Small donor fundraising drives “regular people” work &
owns the lists. Sometimes even runs parallel programs
•Typically very protective of & conservative with brand
•Incentive to always promote their own experts/reports/wins,
acting somewhat narcissistically
•Often work in isolation, or in cumbersome coalitions
Additional attributes
Nonprofits & Online
Online = List Building: We run campaigns to grow our lists,
ask for simple online actions, & convert activists to donors.
Online programs are often made up of:
•Email lists bought from big providers
•Facebook friends gained via advertising
•Cookie cutter, endless online “crisis” actions. Clicktivism
•No personalized communications; no engagement ladders
(no programs to support higher engagement)
•Don’t know what supporters care about; don’t ask
People are a means to an end
Online is a faux grassroots strategy
NGO’s struggle with digitalOnline is separate: Run within one silo, it struggles to keep
up with publishing demands, much less drive new campaign
models based on engagement
Other challenges:
•Dept that does “real world” is separate from “online”
•Online lives in communications, driven by content needs
•Communications is under-invested in across the sector
•Culturally, staff built careers being experts, being perfect,
being professional, being the best, having control
It’s not about “pounding the list”
Network orgs are built around a high
engagement model.
People lie at the core of their Theory of Change
Network Orgs
Social culture
Co-create or improve solutions along with
partners & people outside their walls.
Transparent model
Openly share theory of change. Comfortable
with emergence, testing, & learning in public.
Simple focus
A clear goal and limited program areas. Also
stronger investment in comms, messaging, UX.
People
The model suits our timesModel maps directly to web values: More conversational
style. Meets people on their terms. Enables self-organizing
systems. Offers meaningful participation.
Other benefits:
•Complex world, difficult issues take many players
•Can stretch fewer resources a long way
•Engages talents locked up in our communities
•Can turn on a dime; focus big attention on opportunities
•Innovation doesn’t always come from experts; front lines
Maybe we centralized too much social change in NGO’s
The limits of network orgsNot a panacea: Network orgs often lack the scale, reach, or
capacity to really drive an agenda that doesn’t already exist
Other limits:
•Don’t do the grinding, long term policy framework work;
don’t have experts to do it
•Can be seen as “ambulance chasers”
•Hard to have impact without large scale of community
•Difficult to fund; don’t fit into existing models
•What is the sustainable business model?
Small isn’t always beautiful
Lets look at some stories.
Let’s stay connected
Jason Mogus
@mogusmoves
Thanks for listening. I also ramble here:
Communicopia
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