Impact Networks

David Ehrlichman

2026-03-26  ·  2026-05-24  ·   · 

2026  ·  social  ·  book

Impact Networks cover
Cover of Impact Networks on the Open Library.

Impact Networks is a book on creating networks for positive social changes. This is different from hierarchical structures such as most companies and project teams. I was recommended this book and overall appreciated the insights. The challenge is that many of the things require practice. This is something we need to do on our own. I would still recommend this book for anyone trying to create community for positive actions.

I have included the page number where the notes are from; this is for the physical book.

Online Toolkit

  • Page 4, collaboration is not forced or coerced. It requires you to give up control. And because it’s not pre-determined, it requires you to give up certainty.
  • Page 5, networks are not inherently strategic, but they can be designed to be strategic.
  • Page 6, certain networks such as those found on social media and the internet, treat echo chambers because these networks are formed from people of identical identities.
  • Page 7, some examples of these intentional networks, which are called impact networks throughout this book, are the Defender Network, Clean Electronics Production Network, etc.
  • Page 14, there are three types of impact networks, learning networks, action networks, and movement networks. Learning networks focuses on connection and learning. Action networks focuses on connection, learning, and action. And networks can be networks of networks.
  • kumu.io
  • Page 39, “While hierarchical leaders focus on the quantity and quality of their own relationships with others, network leaders focus on increasing the quantity and quality of relationships between others.
  • Page 41, invite people to notice and act on their own judgement -> self-organization. Creates lots of leaders and share of responsibility.
  • Page 44, use impact networks when there’s a complex problem you can’t solve on your own and more connectivity is needed between individuals and/or organizations.
  • Page 45, “minimum viable structure”
  • Page 46, “bounding a network” = determining participation criteria.
  • Page 50, “core networks” help coordinate other network: distribution of information, support, etc.
  • Page 51, cultivating and sustaining networks require 5 Cs:
    • clarify purpose and principles
      • principles are fundamental beliefs about how participants intend to conduct themselves and work together in pursuit of the purpose.
    • convene people
    • cultivate trust
      • trust for impact; liking each other is not necessary
      • should be deliberately nurtured
    • coordinate actions
      • flow information, expertise, and resources
    • collaborate for systems change
  • Page 60, support others to discover what they can accomplish together
  • Page 62, four principles of network leadership
    • foster self-organization
    • promote emergence
    • embrace change
    • hold dynamic tensions
  • Page 64, “No one should lead all the time, and everyone should lead some of the time”
  • Page 65, “It’s like driving a car at night. You never see further than your headlights, but you can make the whole trip that way.”
  • Page 65, being too deliberate and planned = risky; need to adapt to new events
  • Page 72, both trust and action are important
  • Page 74, prioritize people’s self-interests in addition to overarching goals (i.e., help people meet personal goals and get personal benefits). Ask for legitimate constraints.
  • Page 75, do not make strict plans that dictate action :sob:, instead, do Deliberate process, emergent results
  • Page 76, groups don’t think: they avoid conflicting ideas and this is problematic
  • Page 85, catalysts need to gain trust, and keep their purpose at focus. Trusted catalysts share power, defer credit, and lift others up
  • Page 86, top-down networks are harmful if existing initiatives not recognized
  • Page 86, invite others to explore and meet
  • Page 90, “without a common purpose to rally around, people will tend to connect with those who seem most similar to them”: homophily
  • Page 93, Purpose Stands: ask “Why do I do what I do?”
  • Page 93, give people a problem to work towards than to work on. Focus more on what is possible and can be created, than on fixing and problems.
  • Page 100, for existing communities, ask deeply ‘what was a time you saw or experienced our network operating at its best?’ Ask questions on the answers, and using it tease out principles
  • Page 102, principles can change, so a session for finding principles has to be done more than once
  • Page 105, “People often join a network because they are inspired by its purpose, but they stay because of who is involved”
  • Page 106, when bringing people together, bring those who are directly impacted by an issue, who are compelled to work on the issue, and who can move the work forward. Start off with a diverse group of people. Ensure accessibility.
  • Page 108, for new networks, start 12 to 24 participants
  • Page 110, convening is a hard requirement, either online or in-person. Benefits of convening:
    • Getting to actually see the whole system
    • Building relationships
    • Sharing what was learned and what to work on, and then using time between meetings to test it out
    • Create energy and momentum
  • Page 112, learning networks convene one to two times on average, and action networks one to four times on average
  • Page 113, “the rare opportunity of having people together at one time is too often wasted with presentations that could be recorded and broadcast online instead”. Have convenings focus on relationships first. Avoid “sage on the stage” approach
  • Page 114, use small groups for the content and discussion
  • Check online list for favorite framing questions Link
  • Page 115, most people come in with a professional mindset. Remove it by asking for personal stories and moments. Make the room feel creative/artistic/different
  • Page 116, do not fill up the day with events. Focus more on what to exclude than include. Three considerations:
    • things always take more time, especially with more people
    • don’t let conversations end forcefully to go through content
    • provide long breaks for informal communication
  • Page 118, “be prepared to follow the energy of participants and adapt in real time during facilitation, rather than sticking steadfastly to an agenda that is rapidly becoming obsolete”
  • Page 119, look at results from a convening to learn what to do next time: do not predicts things, but rather, have responses ready
  • Page 119, do not get people to do things, but remove obstacles of doing those things
  • Page 121, facilitators are humans too: make sure they also feel valued
  • Page 121, opening presentation of a convening is very important
  • Page 122, don’t avoid odd topics/events; acknowledge it directly while reminding people to stay present in the conversation
  • Page 122, if someone says something that is emotionally charged or risky, ask them to elaborate
  • Page 123, if as a facilitator you don’t know what to do, break into smaller groups and ask others to discuss what’s happening in the room and what they think needs to happen next
  • Page 124, if a conversation feels like that it is not closing, acknowledge that in front of others and state that you have to purposefully shift the focus of discussion
  • Page 124, before facilitating, acknowledge your own biases and powers
  • Page 127, include funders as participants
  • Page 127, invite others to speak up if they feel moved to do so
  • Page 128, own up to your mistakes
  • Page 133, network weavers connect with as many people as possible to learn about their needs and resources, and connect them with others. Call people that you haven’t in a while. If network is large, split the work with other network weavers
  • Page 136, ingredients for trust:
    • reliability: that you follow through with your word
    • openness: being honest and considering new perspectives
      • not always possible, especially with those with trauma; mutual commitments is a good first substitute
    • care: “even if it’s hard to trust another person directly, it might be easier to trust the love that someone has for their community or region, or for the network”.
    • appreciation: actively express appreciation, share it with others; that’s why it’s done at the end of events
  • Page 141, consider people’s internal context: the why behind their actions
  • Page 141, share personal stories
  • True Stories by Dorothy Stoneman
  • Page 142, encourage others to share ‘as deep as you can without feeling like oversharing’
    • let listeners later share what resonated with them, what surprised them, what stood out
  • Page 143, listening attentively is insufficient because it still keeps our frame of reference
  • Page 145, “not everything that is faced can be changed; but nothing can be changed until it is faced
  • Page 145, “What do you need from the people in this group to participate fully?” Ask this in small groups, and converge this in large groups
  • Group Agreements for Networks. Link
  • Page 147, “Fear of the unknown prompts people to create rigid rules and procedures in an attempt to establish as much certainty and control as possible”
  • Page 151, “Most of what goes wrong in systems goes wrong because of biased, late, or missing information”
  • Building an Asset Map. Link
  • Tech Tools for Impact Networks. Link
  • Page 157, introduce any required tools to members, and give hands-on time to try it out. If you’re tech savvy, offer assistance.
  • Page 158, early in networking formation, ask everyone what they need help with or would like to explore, and let others raise hands to indicate they want to help or learn more
  • Rapid Coordination. Link
  • Page 173, most successful social movements incorporate a decentralized structure that fosters connection and coordination across the movement
  • Page 176, in every deliberation it is necessary to “consider the impact of their decisions on the seventh generation yet to come”. “You will not live to harvest”
  • Page 181, enabling infrastructure of impact networks: teams with goal of learning/action/governance, shared participation agreements, clear decision-making process, embedded evaluation practices, flexible resources
    • Page 181, core team: not necessary unless network becomes complex, does leadership. they make recommendations, not decisions; rotate members regularly; 4 to 7 people. Provide advise, ensure principles are followed, liaisons between other teams, represent network in public setting, support onboarding, advance resources
    • Page 183, project teams: working groups
    • Page 184, learning cycles: goal is to learn about a topic and share it; then disintegrates or turns to project team
  • Page 183, “set priorities based on willing actors than good ideas”
  • Page 184, ideal team leaders have strong interest/stake in the team’s outcome; self- and shared- interest align
  • Page 185, questions when forming a new team
    • What is the purpose of this team?
    • Who is involved?
    • Who will lead this team at least until the next convening?
    • What tasks are required between now and the next convening?
    • Who is taking responsibility for each task, and by when?
    • What do we need from the network, if anything?
  • Page 185, team leadership responsibilities
    • Scheduling and facilitating meetings
    • Project management
    • Update leaders with progress
    • Providing opportunities for others to work on things
  • Page 186, people’s life circumstances change their participation level: allow flexibility for them. Roles:
    • Lead
    • Work
    • Stay up to date only
    • Honor existence and not join
  • Page 186, ask in beginning of formation on level of participation
  • Page 188, “boundaries are less about exclusion and more about fostering greater inclusion within the network”. Create criteria for joining the network
    • “a community without boundaries is no community at all.”
  • Page 189, ask others for advance notice if folks are leaving. In meetings where sub teams have to send someone, have two people from each sub-team
  • Page 190, “as long as decision-making is inclusive, transparent, and intended to serve the well-being of the whole, people are usually able to live with a decision, even if they disagree—and they are grateful for a process that results in forward motion”
  • Page 190, don’t do consensus based decision making; do consent-based. Have decisions fall within people’s range of tolerance
  • Page 191, steps for consent-based decision making
    1. Context: Consider the decisions already made, the circumstances that decision has to be made in
    2. Clarification: Allow participants to ask questions but not evaluate. Encourage others to consider purpose, principles, and benefits to the network/themselves
    3. Consent: Restate purpose. Then ask for vote. Vote with 0 to 5:
      • 5: lead
      • 4: partner
      • 3: follow
      • 2: concern - will be tracking. Anything below this is dissent
      • 1: caution - major concerns, need discussion
      • 0: oppose - needs changes, outside of tolerance
    4. Have 0s and 1s meet with 4s and 5s to resolve issues
  • Page 195, fundamental evaluation criteria for networks
    • Collaborative infrastructure: how many members are present in each tier of participation, growth/turnover, number of meetings and their attendance
    • Network connectivity: asses how connected network is with SNA, about every six months or other regular interval
      • Social network analysis. Link
    • Participant experience: does the members demonstrate shared purpose, principles, trust in relationships, structure/agreement, coordination, resources, and values
      • Network Participant Survey. Link
      • Indicators of Network Health. Link
    • Emergent activity: how much coordinate work/collaboration are being sparked by the participants themselves
  • Page 201, additional evaluations needed on case by case basis; development evaluation is a common one, but is technical and needs outside expertise
  • Page 202, ways to fund networks:
    • philanthropy: foundations, philanthropists
    • organizational: allocating portion of larger organization’s staff/budget
    • in-kind: volunteering, participants giving their own resources
    • dues: valuable if network is already established
    • revenue: e.g. from paid workshops
  • Page 204, if you are the funder:
    • do not lead/influence, but follow network
    • avoid power dynamics, instead be a peer
    • remember that this is VERY long term
  • Page 209, “if at any point you feel unsure about how to proceed, invest in relationships”