Spring Updates: Networks Reasserting the Importance of Racial Justice and Tackling Crises
Thank you to all of the changemakers who are making our communities and our world a better place. It is with deep appreciation that we share updates about our recent work with some amazing and impactful networks.
A peer network that promotes race equity in government
“This political moment presents us with a significant opportunity to reassert the importance of racial justice. Now is the time to sharpen our strategies, strengthen our connections, and enrich our reserve of collective wisdom,” says Marsha Guthrie, Senior Director of the Government Alliance on Race Equity (GARE) at Race Forward. Race equity initiatives in government have the potential to actively address systemic racism on a large scale, especially when practitioners in the public sector are connected, aligned and collaborating to implement a common set of strategies. GARE is the primary racial equity network for government in the United States, driven by the active participation of more than 13,000 racial equity practitioners, working in more than 40+ local, regional, and state jurisdictions.
Networks are critical to crisis response and equitable recovery
Climate disasters around the world and here in the United States threaten more and more people, and conflict is destroying communities and forcing mass displacement. Networks are playing important roles in these contexts – by meeting immediate basic needs, offering support for interim infrastructure and representing the voices and needs of vulnerable populations to ensure that they don’t get left behind. Networks have a unique advantage in crises. They are able to leverage and adapt the diverse capacities of their members to mobilize effective response and support equitable, long-term recovery. Two new posts take a look at the critical ways that networks respond to crisis:
A summary report to the Early Childhood Regional Networks Fund explores how regional networks leveraged their members’ capacity to respond effectively to conflicts in Ukraine and Gaza, as well as floods in Pakistan. Learn more.
After devastating tornados hit the city of Selma and Black Belt counties in Alabama in 2023, Network Impact partnered with Dr. John T. Cooper Jr. to share network strategies with the Black Belt Community Foundation to inform their highly relational, community-centered approach to response and recovery efforts. Learn more.
The power of collective leadership - upcoming events and publications
New Casebook - Network Impact’s forthcoming casebook deeply explores six stories of collective leadership that center those most impacted by systematic inequities. The cases highlight what collective leadership looks like in action and feels like in practice for organizations, partners and communities. Network Impact is grateful to Sujatha Jesudason, PhD, for her invaluable thought-partnership as one of our casebook field readers. Learn more about her work on collective leadership by attending the webinar below!
Webinar - Leadership for Uncertain Times - Thursday, April 10th - There is still time to register! Join Sujatha Jesudason, PhD, a leading voice on new practices in movement building, social design and equity, in conversation with Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Senior Program Officer Susan Choi, PhD, to discuss approaches to building organizations where leadership is shared broadly to drive systemic change. Register here.
What makes Smart Cities projects effective?
Smart Cities are urban areas that leverage data, technology, and interconnected systems to improve quality of life, promote sustainability, enhance public services and make civic processes more inclusive and participatory. But how do you know whether Smart Cities projects are having an impact? And for whom? Network Impact developed a Local Assessment Framework that tracks Smart Cities progress indicators and outcomes for residents, local governments, and designers and technologies. The framework details readiness factors that contribute to successful projects, and common strategies for resident engagement. Learn more.
Network Impact at ComNet in KC
In fall 2024, Network Impact’s Anne Whatley and Amanda Welsh led a workshop exploring Working with a Network Mindset with leaders in The Communications Network’s communities of practice: Circles and LOCALs. Communications professionals from around the country shared their experiences navigating work on coalitions and social change campaigns, discussed the advantages of collective action and compared strategies that keep engagement levels high. You can check out The Communications Network's Circles and LOCALs here.
Learn more about the different services the Network Impact team offers here and project profiles here.
Have a question? Interested in discussing a project? Please email us at: hello@networkimpact.org