Posts filed under ‘Network analysis & mapping’
Networking mapping as an evaluation tool
I’ve posted previously about network mapping as an evaluation tool and recently I had the opportunity to use network mapping for an evaluation.
In an evaluation of the Shifting the Power project we were interested to see how local networks of NGOs had grown over the three years of the project. We were lucky that the project had carried out a mapping of NGO networks at the start of the project in 2015 and we then did the same in early 2018; here you can see the results comparing 2015 to 2018 from Bangladesh – interesting data!
You can view the full evaluation report here (pdf)>>
New resource: Social network analysis handbook
I just came 
across this straight forward and practical guide to social network analysis (pdf) from the International Rescue Committee – well worth a read if you are interested in this method for your research and evaluation.
Network analysis and evaluation
For those interested in the use of network analysis for evaluation, here is an interesting article using network analysis to show how organisations worked together in advocacy and information sharing.
New resource: Network Analysis from Start to Finish
Here is an excellent presentation on network analysis and evaluation originally presented at the America Evaluation Conference 2014:
Resources on network evaluation
Here are some great new resources on network evaluation:
– the State of Network Evaluation (pdf) discusses current thinking on network evaluation frameworks, approaches, and tools.
– the Case Book (pdf) profiles nine network evaluations including key questions, methodologies, and results.
The ultimate social network mapping software?
It could have been predicted…The most sophisticated network mapping tool of social networks has been developed for espionage…
“A multinational security firm has secretly developed software capable of tracking people’s movements and predicting future behaviour by mining data from social networking websites.”
Webinar: Understanding and supporting networks: learning from theory and practice – May 5
Here is an interesting webinar online conference on “Understanding and supporting networks: learning from theory and practice”:
NGOs join them, researchers collaborate across them, civil society rallies around them, policy makers are influenced by them and donors are funding them. Networks are a day to day reality and an important mode of working for almost all of in the aid sector. They are increasingly being used as a vehicle for delivering different kinds of development interventions, from policy influencing and knowledge generation to changing practices on the ground. But how often do we pause and reflect on what it means to engage in a network or think about how networks work – and how they could work better?
This webinar will present two papers by the Overseas Development Institute that challenge the current ubiquity of networks and offer ideas and reflections for those facilitating networks. Ben Ramalingam will present his paper: Mind the Network Gaps in which he reviews the aid network literature and identfies theoretical lenses which could help advance thinking and practice.
Enrique Mendizabal and Simon Hearn will discuss a revised version of the Network Functions Approach and how it can be used to establish a clear mandate for a network; and hence avoid situations where networks are established without consideration of the costs.
Following the two presentations we will hear comments and discussion from two experts in the field; Rick Davies, an evaluation consultant and moderator of the mande.co.uk website, and Nancy White (www.fullcirc.com), a expert on communities of practice and online facilitation and author of the book: ‘Digital Habitats’.
More information and registration>>
Thanks to the On Think Tanks blog for bring this to our attention.
Network mapping on LinkedIn
The online networking site LinkedIn has introduced quite a new interesting feature where you can make a network map of your contacts – mine is found above. How it works is that it assign colors based on how all of the people in your network — such as people you went to school with, friends or colleagues — are interconnected – so the different colors represent your main “groups”.
More resources on network mapping
As I’ve written about before, I’m very interested in how network mapping can be used in evaluation.
Here are two excellent resources for people wanting to learn more about this research technique:
1) A training course conducted by Steeve Ebener of WHO on “Social Network Analysis, Mapping social relations”. You can view the training slides for eight sessions – and there is really some excellent examples of how network mapping can be used.
2) A manual “Network Mapping as a Diagnostic Tool” by Louise Clark (pdf). A “how to” guide on network mapping and an explanation of how to use a popular network mapping software UCINET (I use it too, it’s the best I’ve found).
Evaluating online communication tools
Online tools, such as corporate websites, members’ directories or portals increasingly play an important role in communications’ strategies. And of course, they are increasingly important to evaluate.
I just concluded an evaluation of an online tool, created to facilitate the exchange of information amongst a specific community. The tool in question, the Central Register of Disaster Management Capacities is managed by the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.
The evaluation methodology that I used for evaluating this online tool is interesting as it combines:
- Content analysis
- Network mapping
- Online survey
- Interviews
- Expert review
- Web metrics
And for once, you can dig into the methodology and findings as the evaluation report is available publicly: View the full report here (pdf) >>
intelligent measurement 