The Collective Mind Community Blog

Contributing to the network — what’s in it for your members?

by Isabelle Pelly

Isabelle Pelly is a humanitarian professional with a passion for networks. For 3.5 years she was the Global Programmes Coordinator for the Cash Learning Partnership (CaLP), a network of 80+ actors working to collectively improve the scale and quality of Cash and Voucher Assistance (CVA) in humanitarian aid. While at CaLP, Isabelle was also on the steering committee for the CashCAP and H2H networks, and in this capacity actively contributed to the development of the theories of change for both organizations. Since becoming an independent consultant in 2019, Isabelle has pursued her commitment to networks, blogging on the topic, joining the IARAN network of fellows and providing advisory services to collective impact initiatives including the Start Network.

A vibrant network is one that members are inspired to contribute to, galvanized by the potential for collective impact. Having strong network competencies and attributes in place is foundational, but as a network leader, a challenge I have constantly faced is how to incentivize collaboration. Hard truths I have learned are firstly reconciling the fact that networks are made up of economically rational individuals and organizations, driven by the core question of what’s is in it for them, whereas networks themselves are all about shared purpose. Second is recognizing the tangible barriers to collaboration amongst network members, such as competition for funding, the perception that success is a zero-sum game, and the reality that collaboration is rarely part of performance metrics.

Understanding these challenges can help us as network leaders be smarter in how we drive contributions to the collective whole and strengthen mutual accountability, as illustrated through these three ideas based on my experience.

1. Develop a collective framework for action

Before embarking on this, check that the foundations are in place — i.e. a clearly articulated shared purpose for the network, that is relevant for the breadth of membership. This can then be the basis for the collaborative design of a collective framework which clearly articulates: a) how individual and collective actions will contribute to the shared purpose, and b) how these will be measured. A few top tips for making this framework a live collaboration tool:

· To improve buy-in, consider what (global) policy commitments your members are already bound to and make sure these are reflected in the collective framework (for example the Cash Learning Partnership aligned its Global Framework to the Grand Bargain commitments on cash assistance and the Global Plan of Action for Sustainable energy in Displacement Solutions has aligned its commitments to the SDGs).

· Focus your framework on impact- and outcome-level metrics (rather than outputs). This will allow a broad diversity of members to identify how they (can) contribute to the network. But simultaneously try to keep the framework tangible and practical by ensuring the actions of the most local-level actors in the network are clearly reflected — this is a challenge the Start Network are currently tackling in developing a theory of change linking the actions of its country and regional-level hubs to the broader network vision.

· Finally, remember that your members have high expectations of you as the backbone of the network, so use the framework to articulate your contribution to the vision, and for your members to hold you to account.

2. Stimulate coordination across members’ activities

Even with the strongest of collective frameworks, facilitating coordination can often feel like drawing blood out of a stone. So here are a few ideas, borne from experience, on how to truly galvanize coordination:

· Acknowledge that members will not align on everything (and this is a good thing!) so identify areas of poor collective traction early on, and deprioritize them. You don’t need to have a working group for everything at all times!

· Recognise that members will only invest in activities that are beneficial for them/their organizations. So wave the metaphorical carrot by defining what collective network assets they can leverage (e.g. existing resources, specific expertise); how contributing to joint activities will save them time/money (this is a tricky one to quantify but here is some evidence to build your case); and how their contribution will be recognized (see more on visibility below).

· Take the stress out of coordination by doing the legwork for your members — this means investing in the right virtual tools and platforms to solicit, distill and share contributions (e.g. accept that the familiarity of Facebook @ Work is likely to be more enticing than enforcing a new unfamiliar platform on your members); and facilitate visibility by preparing updates (and/or templates for updates) on their behalf.

· Outside of the ‘regular’ coordination forums, think of yourself as a virtual match-maker by leveraging your knowledge of the network to foster bilateral and multilateral connections between groups of individuals within the network.

3. Make visibility central to measurement and reporting

The theme of visibility is a major driver of collective action, cutting across all these lessons. Here are a few ideas on how to incentivize measurement and reporting, with a visibility lens.

· Consistently use your collective framework as the basis for measurement and reporting, so every relevant member activity is seen as contributing to the collective whole.

· Define clear indicators and proposed measures of progress that members have committed to reporting on and which actively allow them to promote their achievements.

· But rationalize the frequency of reporting from members and focus instead on timely products, targeting specific audiences (e.g. to position the network’s work ahead of a major donor funding conference, or to contribute to a critical policy process).

· Leverage all the above to publish a regular consultative and comprehensive flagship publication (e.g. CaLP’s bi-annual State of the World’s Cash report or GSMA’s annual State of the Industry Report on Mobile Money) which showcases members’ work against the collective framework.

Facilitating a network will always feel like herding cats, but these lessons hope to make that process a little smoother. Please share your comments below on if and how you’ve used these, and any other top tricks you have for incentivizing collaboration.