| Having defined the functions that
networks can play, the next step is to define how its structural characteristics
(organisation, skills, resources, etc.), or organizational practices
affect its capacity to carry them out satisfactorily. For instance,
what type of membership does a network need to be a successful amplifier?
Is it the same as the membership needed for community building? Most
likely the answer is not. Amplifiers will benefit from outward looking
members, while community builders from inward looking ones.
So we consider some of the key organisational characteristics of
networks and study them in the context of the functions that they
intend to play and within the policy contexts in which networks
exist. A preliminary review of the literature points in the direction
of the following factors.* We have used them to guide our questionnaire
and interviews in the Peru study.
Click on the links for more information on each factor:
Functions
What functions does the network carryout? (Filter, amplify, invest/provide,
convene, build communities and/or facilitates)
- Explicit motive: What functions does the network explicitly
pursue to carryout? Are these clear in its vision or mission statements?
- Implicit effect: What functions does the network carryout, regardless
of its vision and mission statements?
Governance
What are the behaviours and processes in place within the network
that govern its short and long term functioning? This category includes
(context specific):
- Governance agreement characteristics: Is there a governance
agreement in place? What does it include? (for a list of key characteristics
see 12 points above)
- Organisational climate and culture including systems of incentives,
leadership and management style, and organisational vision and
mission.
- Network Brand: Is there a network brand that is easily recognisable
by users and members? What is the reputation of the brand?
- Degree of formality: Is the governance agreement a formal document
or is it informal?
- Governance hub: Is there a management/administrative/no hub?
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Localisation and scope
Where are the network and its members located both physically and
thematically? Some parameters include (there is no ideal situation
in this case as it depends on the network's context):
- Level of centralisation: Is the network centralised around one
hub; are there multiple hubs or is it completely decentralised?
- Global location: Is the network located in the developed world;
in between; the developing world? Where are the hubs located within
the network?
- Level of action: At what stage of the policy process does the
network intervene? Agenda setting, policy formulation, policy
implementation, monitoring and evaluation?
- Scope: In what area of development does the network operate,
by topic or sector of interest?
- Demand: Where are the networks clients or target audience located?
Capacity and skill
Does the network and the network members have the capacity and skills
necessary to carryout their functions and tasks? These include,
at least the following:
- Research capacity: Does the network produce sufficient and quality
research? Does it have access to research from non-members? Do
they have access to relevant and useful databases and sources
of primary and secondary evidence - including libraries, journals?
Do research members or research staff have access to and use of
necessary research methods and tools?
- Networking skills: Do key members in the network have the skills
to network and link with other people, institutions and networks?
Are there networking opportunities brought about by the actions
of the network?
- Communications skills: Are the members or staff in charge of
communications capable of developing and/or implementing a communications
strategy?
- Management/organisational capacities: Is there is a clear management
structure? Do managers posses good and relevant management skills
(not part time researchers) with sufficient resources to carryout
their functions? Can they handle complex logistical processes?
Can they facilitate consensus building processes?
- Fundraising capacities: Does the network have fundraisers with
the necessary skills and access to the necessary information to
tap into funds? As a consequence, have they secured enough resources?
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Resources
Does the network have access to all the inputs necessary for
its functioning? Resources include:
- Staff: Do network members and the network as a whole have sufficient
and adequate staff? Are staff well trained and experienced in
their responsibilities?
- Infrastructure: Do network members and the network as a whole
have access to appropriate infrastructure, including ICT and the
physical environment?
- Financial resources: Does the network and its members have access
to a secure flow of financial resources? Are they are able to
develop long term business plans with financial certainty?
- Research and advocacy: Does the network have access to and command
of the necessary resources for research and advocacy or communication
-including, databases, ICT, access to media, networks and partnerships?
Membership
Who are the network's members and how are they related to each
other? This includes the following (again, this depends on the specific
context of the network):
- Criteria: Is membership voluntary; free; fee-based; means-tested;
open; by invitation only?
- Diversity: How diverse are the members in relation to each other?
Do they all come from the same group or are there multiple groups?
Which groups?
- Relations: What are the relations between the members? Are they
patron-client, teacher-pupil, colleagues? Are there any relationships
with non-members or other networks or institutions?
- Strategic members: Are there any non-participant members with
power in the network, such as donors or members of the steering
committee?
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Communications
Does the network have appropriate communication strategies to
carry out its functions, thus amplifying messages outwardly or sharing
messages and information within the institution:
- Communications strategy: Does the network have a clear communications
strategy? Are there multiple strategies (coordinated or uncoordinated)
between members?
- Means: Does the network have access to a variety of communication
means such as internet, intranet, personal meetings, conferences
or gatherings, phone, physically in the same space?
- Responsibility: Do network members have clear communication
responsibilities both for outbound and inbound communications
as well as for sharing of knowledge? Is this responsibility decentralised
or centralised into specific hub according to the network's context?
- Capacities and skills: Do the network members in charge of communication
have the necessary skills and capacities to carryout their function?
- Network brand: Is the communications strategy compatible with
the strengthening of the network brand?
External environment
What are the external influences affecting the network?
- Policy context: Who are the key policymakers and institutions?
How does the policy process work, extent of civil and political
freedoms, political contestation, attitudes and incentives, room
for manoeuvre, local history of policies and power relations?
- Social and cultural milieu: What determines the attitudes of
people inside and outside the network? Ideally they would be compatible
with the network's functions.
- Available technology -including ICT: What is available in the
country or accessible to the network? Ideally the network should
have access to state of the art technology to allow it to carryout
their functions competitively.
- Demand: Is there demand for the network's products and services?
Who demands it -is it the government, civil society, donors? (Demand
is crucial. Without it, the network losses legitimacy and relevance.)
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Strategic and adaptive capacity
Is the network capable of managing changes and shocks in both its
internal and external environment? Can it manage those changes on
its own or does it depend on others (partners, networks, donors)?
- Changes in members: Can the network address changes in the interests
and values of its members?
- Changes in external environment: Can it respond to windows of
opportunities in the policy context, catch up with technology
and address changes in demand?
- Sustainability: Is the network sustainable? Has it been set
up for a specific time-bound objective? Can it guarantee its sustainability
in terms of time, funds, relations and processes and structure?
- Flexibility: Can the network carryout multiple functions to
respond to internal and external forces? Does it have the capacity
to adopt new skills and incorporate new resources?
- Strategic decision making and conflict resolution: How does
the network make decisions and who make them? This is not necessarily
the same as what is stated in the governance agreement.
These criteria cover both the internal and external environment
of the network and consider the structures and process that allow
it to function and develop. Some of them are also stressed by more
than one. In essence they provide a guide drawn from the literature
and the understanding that the external environment, the internal
organisation and the network's content matter equally when addressing
success.
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How the form defines the functions of the network
These factors cover both the internal and external environment
of the network and consider the structures and process that allow
it to function and develop. Some of them are also stressed by more
than one. In essence they provide a guide drawn from the literature
and the understanding that the external environment, the internal
organisation and the network's content matter equally when addressing
success.
Click here to view examples
of networks with different functions (pdf 29kb)
* This section is the subject of a separate study underway at ODI.
The factors presented here are suggested by a broad range of authors
who discuss network's organisational characteristics, directly or
indirectly. Key authors include: Ashman (2001), Creech and Willard
(2001), Giddens (1976), Mancuso (2001), Ostrom (1990), Paalberg
(2005), Söderbaum (1999), Struyk (2000), Tanner (2001) and
Wind (2004).
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