SOCIAL NETWORK ANALYSIS( made easy )

happiness is best predicted by the breadth & depth of one’s social connections. - Robert Putnam

WHY NETWORK ANALYSIS?

reason #1The challenges we face are so complex they can’t be solved by any one organization.

The urgency and scale of social problems, coupled with the limited results to date, cry out for new approaches.- Jane Wei-Skillern, Nora Silver and Eric Heitz “Cracking the Network Code”

over 1.5 million

non-profits in the US

Organizations have been the lever through which we try to create social change for far too long. !

We have to bring people together across sectors, from within and outside government, and from all walks of life.

Reason #2Even within organizations, hierarchies aren’t accurate representations of how work actually gets done.

Reason #2Even within organizations, hierarchies aren’t accurate representations of how work actually gets done.

org charts lie!

Information doesn’t flow along organizational hierarchies. !

Networks are a far more accurate picture of how work gets done.

org charts lie!

Reason #3We must understand the

status quo to overcome it.

The status quo is a result of the web of relationships and incentives among stakeholders (including us). !

It’s not that we’re “stuck” — it’s that competing interests provide a balancing effect that resists change.

hi there!Jeff Mohr

Cofounder & CEO of Kumu

Jeff MohrCofounder & CEO of Kumu

my background systems networks social change

So… WHERE can SNA help?

• Identifying change leaders • Breaking down silos • Evaluating progress • Driving innovation

social impactincreasing

• Weaving stronger connections • Bridging across silos • Reducing crime • Improving resilience

stronger communitiesbuilding

ORGANIZATION PERFORMANCE• Promoting effective collaboration • Avoiding burn out • Selecting new leaders • Uncovering informal structures

improving

Great! How do i start?

3 STEPScollect + interpret + act

Step 1COLLECT THE DATA

Data can be collected via survey, pulled from existing data sources or populated via personal knowledge.

surveys Data KnowledgePull from spreadsheets,

CRMs, public data, email traffic, social networks and

more

Surveys ask participants both relational and demographic questions

Use the wisdom in the room to identify stakeholders and

key relationships

• Who do you work with? • Who do you turn to for new ideas? • Who do you turn to for advice? • How does working with this person affect your

energy levels?

Examples of Relational Survey Questions

Examples of DEMOGRAPHIC Survey Questions• What is your age? • What sector do you work in? • What is your job title? • How many years experience do you have?

GREAT RESULTS ARE DRIVEN FROM GReAT QUESTIONs.

GREAT RESULTS ARE DRIVEN FROM GReAT QUESTIONs. !

CHoose WISELY.

And Don’t be afraid to simulate holes in the data.

And Don’t be afraid to simulate holes in the data.just because they didn’t respond doesn’t mean they aren’t part of the network.

Step 2INTERPRET

Metrics provide an unbiased way to interpret relationships. You’ve got a few to choose from…

degree INdegree OUTdegree ties pairs CLOSENESS farness reach betweenness eigenvector katz pagerank percolation cross-clique

Metrics provide an unbiased way to interpret relationships. You’ve got a few to choose from… but we’ll focus on these three for now.

degree INdegree OUTdegree ties pairs CLOSENESS farness reach betweenness eigenvector katz pagerank percolation cross-clique

Understanding the Core Metrics

degree + closeness + betweenness

DegreeIdentifies local connectors and hubs

DegreeIdentifies local connectors and hubs

by counting the number of connections for a given element

DegreeWARNING

Not necessarily the most influential or best connected to the wider network

ClosenessIdentifies those with high visibility about

what’s happening across the network

ClosenessIdentifies those with high visibility about

what’s happening across the network by measuring the distance from one

element to all other elements

These people can quickly spread information (good or bad)

across the network

ClosenessWARNING

Identifies key bridges and those who control the flow of information

Betweenness

Identifies key bridges and those who control the flow of information

by counting the number of times an element lies on the shortest path

between two other elements

Betweenness

These people may be bottlenecks or single points of failure

BetweennessWARNING

Metrics are people too

Metrics are people tooEach one reveals its own personality

let’s Focus on the extremes

two types of overly

CENTRAL people

bottlenecksPlay central role

to maintain information or power advantage

OR people whose jobs have

grown too big

UNSUNG HEROES

Engage selflessly to help the group in ways that

often go unnoticed

people at the

Borders of the network

Share different types of expertise, broker information and connect across geographies

bridges

OUTSIDERSStuck on the periphery

with no idea how to work their way inside

intentionally peripheral

OR

Metrics only get You Started

Use them to identify potential influencers and then validate with common sense

WARNING

Step 3DO SOMETHING

This guy was obsessed with pretty pictures.

This guy was obsessed with pretty pictures. !

You’re better than that.

go beyond the pretty picture and get shit done.

Use strong visualizations, compelling narrative, and convincing arguments

to make your impact.

Use strong visualizations, compelling narrative, and convincing arguments

to make your impact.

Kumu helps you do all threeshameless plug

a few caveats to Network Analysis

• be data-informed, not data-driven • take results with a grain of salt • validate using common sense

let’s recap1. SNA helps tackle complex social problems. 2. Use surveys, data, and local knowledge to build the network. 3. Calculate metrics to identify key players within the network. 4. Apply what you’ve learned to make a difference. 5. Don’t forget to use common sense!

If you want to go quickly, go alone. If you want to go far, go together. - African Proverb

join us at Kumu.io

Jeff Mohr is the cofounder & CEO of Kumu, a web-based platform that gives influencers the tools to track, visualize and leverage relationships to overcome their toughest obstacles. !

Learn more at kumu.io or say hi @kumupowered

Thanks!