In talking the other day with a mature national-scale network leader about its future evolution, we noted that network members have been establishing offshoots, using a network model.
More than half of the members now belong to a regional (sub-national) network that includes people who are not members of the national network. These were established by members of the national network who wanted to extend the benefits of that model to a broader group of people closer to them geographically. And there are more of these regional networks in the making.
At the same time, nearly 10% of network members have formed a new network, also adding people, in this case from outside the nation, who are not members of the national network. This new network is exclusively focused on a particular content area, just one of the many topics that the national network addresses, and the members are doing a “deep dive” into that content.
- When the field’s evolution is along a “ragged” front of development, so that one size of organizing resources and activity won’t fit all.
- When there are a good number of networks in the field operating at multiple scales that need to function in relationship to each other without any level dominating the relationships.
- When there is a set of mature and productive networks in the field, occupying particular niches, whose work can be enhanced but shouldn’t be dislodged, and none of the networks should be elevated to a gatekeeper status.