Comments on: Help! Testing a network mapping exercise http://www.fullcirc.com/wp/2008/03/17/help-testing-a-network-mapping-exercise/ connections for a changing world, online and offline... Thu, 24 Jul 2008 17:12:10 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.5.1 By: Pod-Cast for Net-Map and Knowledge Sharing for Development « Net-Map Toolbox http://www.fullcirc.com/wp/2008/03/17/help-testing-a-network-mapping-exercise/#comment-1532 Pod-Cast for Net-Map and Knowledge Sharing for Development « Net-Map Toolbox Thu, 24 Apr 2008 21:33:55 +0000 http://www.fullcirc.com/wp/2008/03/17/help-testing-a-network-mapping-exercise/#comment-1532 [...] Posted on April 24, 2008 by Eva Schiffer You might remember that Nancy White asked for your help in trying out an online exchange of and about Net-Map. That was in the context of a knowledge [...] [...] Posted on April 24, 2008 by Eva Schiffer You might remember that Nancy White asked for your help in trying out an online exchange of and about Net-Map. That was in the context of a knowledge [...]

]]> By: nancy white http://www.fullcirc.com/wp/2008/03/17/help-testing-a-network-mapping-exercise/#comment-1207 nancy white Sat, 29 Mar 2008 01:52:50 +0000 http://www.fullcirc.com/wp/2008/03/17/help-testing-a-network-mapping-exercise/#comment-1207 Hm, really good question, Ed. It might be fun to flip a chart into a spread sheet and vica versa. Notice what translates and what doesn't. Compare the perspectives of the one who started in map with the one who started in spread sheet. What might we discover? Joitske, do you have some examples of the Venn Diagram maps on your blog? Hm, really good question, Ed. It might be fun to flip a chart into a spread sheet and vica versa. Notice what translates and what doesn’t. Compare the perspectives of the one who started in map with the one who started in spread sheet. What might we discover?

Joitske, do you have some examples of the Venn Diagram maps on your blog?

]]> By: Edward Vielmetti http://www.fullcirc.com/wp/2008/03/17/help-testing-a-network-mapping-exercise/#comment-1203 Edward Vielmetti Sat, 29 Mar 2008 00:18:35 +0000 http://www.fullcirc.com/wp/2008/03/17/help-testing-a-network-mapping-exercise/#comment-1203 Nancy - How do you think about working with people who don't naturally think in networks, but who always view the world through the lens of a spreadsheet? That's a question I find myself asking over and over again and don't have a good conceptual flipping-point to go to to get people to see a perspective that I take for granted. Ed Nancy -

How do you think about working with people who don’t naturally think in networks, but who always view the world through the lens of a spreadsheet? That’s a question I find myself asking over and over again and don’t have a good conceptual flipping-point to go to to get people to see a perspective that I take for granted.

Ed

]]> By: Joitske http://www.fullcirc.com/wp/2008/03/17/help-testing-a-network-mapping-exercise/#comment-1093 Joitske Thu, 20 Mar 2008 10:48:07 +0000 http://www.fullcirc.com/wp/2008/03/17/help-testing-a-network-mapping-exercise/#comment-1093 Hi Nancy, sounds like a great exercise, and the idea of people drawing something and posting the picture on the platform is exciting me. Hope it works (I'm always scared to give people too many steps to take) but I might try this too! My experience with network mapping is with the Venn diagrams of Participatory Rapid Appraisals. I've done it quite often with farmers. In the Venn diagram you use circles representing organizations, they overlap when they work together. The more important an organization (in the perception of the mappers!) the bigger the circle. Great way of getting a discussion an why an organization is important or not (for us kind of evaluating the importance of organizations to the farmers). Hi Nancy, sounds like a great exercise, and the idea of people drawing something and posting the picture on the platform is exciting me. Hope it works (I’m always scared to give people too many steps to take) but I might try this too!

My experience with network mapping is with the Venn diagrams of Participatory Rapid Appraisals. I’ve done it quite often with farmers. In the Venn diagram you use circles representing organizations, they overlap when they work together. The more important an organization (in the perception of the mappers!) the bigger the circle. Great way of getting a discussion an why an organization is important or not (for us kind of evaluating the importance of organizations to the farmers).

]]> By: Nancy White http://www.fullcirc.com/wp/2008/03/17/help-testing-a-network-mapping-exercise/#comment-1058 Nancy White Tue, 18 Mar 2008 18:45:10 +0000 http://www.fullcirc.com/wp/2008/03/17/help-testing-a-network-mapping-exercise/#comment-1058 Eva, how DELIGHTFUL to find your response. The Net-Map piece is really fantastic and I plan to try it at my next F2F. It really resonates with the experiences I've had so far, and yes yes yes, the power issues are often at the heart of the conversations that are generated. I am HOPING that participants in this workshop - which IS a CGIAR online workshop!- get fired up enough to go the next step to the Net-Map method. We also have a short podcast from Patti Anklam on why visualizing our networks is so powerful. I'll go ahead and attach that to the original post in case you or anyone wishes to hear it! Eva, how DELIGHTFUL to find your response. The Net-Map piece is really fantastic and I plan to try it at my next F2F. It really resonates with the experiences I’ve had so far, and yes yes yes, the power issues are often at the heart of the conversations that are generated.

I am HOPING that participants in this workshop - which IS a CGIAR online workshop!- get fired up enough to go the next step to the Net-Map method. We also have a short podcast from Patti Anklam on why visualizing our networks is so powerful. I’ll go ahead and attach that to the original post in case you or anyone wishes to hear it!

]]> By: Eva Schiffer http://www.fullcirc.com/wp/2008/03/17/help-testing-a-network-mapping-exercise/#comment-1057 Eva Schiffer Tue, 18 Mar 2008 18:21:29 +0000 http://www.fullcirc.com/wp/2008/03/17/help-testing-a-network-mapping-exercise/#comment-1057 Dear Nancy, I'm really curious to see how it goes. In our Net-Map activities we always found that building influence towers (answering the question: How influential are these actors?) and noting down the goals of actors next to the actor cards add a lot of additional understanding and very often are the real eye-openers when looking at situations that somehow don't go the way you would hope them to go. A lot of the CGIAR research aims at impacting on policy making and governance processes and adding the dimensions of power and interests may make it easier for the researchers to keep the political dimension of their work in mind. Dear Nancy,
I’m really curious to see how it goes. In our Net-Map activities we always found that building influence towers (answering the question: How influential are these actors?) and noting down the goals of actors next to the actor cards add a lot of additional understanding and very often are the real eye-openers when looking at situations that somehow don’t go the way you would hope them to go.

A lot of the CGIAR research aims at impacting on policy making and governance processes and adding the dimensions of power and interests may make it easier for the researchers to keep the political dimension of their work in mind.

]]> By: Less techy « Net-Map Toolbox http://www.fullcirc.com/wp/2008/03/17/help-testing-a-network-mapping-exercise/#comment-1056 Less techy « Net-Map Toolbox Tue, 18 Mar 2008 18:16:41 +0000 http://www.fullcirc.com/wp/2008/03/17/help-testing-a-network-mapping-exercise/#comment-1056 [...] to upload digital pictures of the results and discuss the experience online. Maybe you want to participate and share your [...] [...] to upload digital pictures of the results and discuss the experience online. Maybe you want to participate and share your [...]

]]> By: Nancy White http://www.fullcirc.com/wp/2008/03/17/help-testing-a-network-mapping-exercise/#comment-1022 Nancy White Tue, 18 Mar 2008 00:03:03 +0000 http://www.fullcirc.com/wp/2008/03/17/help-testing-a-network-mapping-exercise/#comment-1022 From my twitterverse, Michael Guhlin has assembled some options for doing this with an online tool. http://www.edsupport.cc/mguhlin/archives/2008/03/entry_6775.htm Thanks! And thanks to all the twitters/Skypers who gave feedback. I'll post a summary in a day. From my twitterverse, Michael Guhlin has assembled some options for doing this with an online tool. http://www.edsupport.cc/mguhlin/archives/2008/03/entry_6775.htm

Thanks! And thanks to all the twitters/Skypers who gave feedback. I’ll post a summary in a day.

]]> By: Marlene Manto http://www.fullcirc.com/wp/2008/03/17/help-testing-a-network-mapping-exercise/#comment-1013 Marlene Manto Mon, 17 Mar 2008 22:56:05 +0000 http://www.fullcirc.com/wp/2008/03/17/help-testing-a-network-mapping-exercise/#comment-1013 Hi Nancy, I think this is a a useful exercise and allows the learner to really think about social networking from their own perspective. Love the idea of taking a photo of the map and posting it up for discussion. Of course there are lots of mind-mapping tools around such as CMaps where I've done something similar however I agree that taking the 'low-tech' approach with newbies is a good thing as it makes them think about the topic rather than worrying about the technology. Well done! Marlene Hi Nancy, I think this is a a useful exercise and allows the learner to really think about social networking from their own perspective. Love the idea of taking a photo of the map and posting it up for discussion. Of course there are lots of mind-mapping tools around such as CMaps where I’ve done something similar however I agree that taking the ‘low-tech’ approach with newbies is a good thing as it makes them think about the topic rather than worrying about the technology.
Well done!
Marlene

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