VisuaLyzer software: for visualising and analysing networks

There are now many different software packages available that can be used to visually represent networks, and to generate many different statistical measures of their structure. Unfortunately many of these involve a steep learning curve, and involve far more bells and whistles than I need.  VisuaLyzer is my favourite software package because it is very user friendly, and easy to use.

VisuaLyzer is produced by mdlogix, USA. You can download a trial version or buy a copy from this part of their website. For more information contact Allen Tien <allen@mdlogix.com> at mdlogix. If you do contact him, please mention you heard about Visualyser on Rick Davies’s website, MandE NEWS.

My main use of Visualyzer is to draw the organisational networks I am working with, in the course of my work as an M&E consultant on development aid programmes. These are of two types: (a) literal descriptions (maps) of the relationships as known, (b) simplified models of complex networks showing the main types of organisations and the relationships between them. Less frequently, I also import data from Excel to automatically generate network maps. This data usually comes from project documents or online surveys. I also use the combination of UCINET and Netdraw for this task.

Here is an example of a network that I drew by hand directly on screen. It represents the relationships between AMREF’s partners in the Katine project, Uganda. Click on the image to expand it a new window, then click again to get a focused image. You can represent different types of actors by varying the colour, size and shape of nodes. You can represent the different kinds of relationships between them by varying the kind of line used, its colour and thickness. If you click on a node you can enter detailed text or numerical data describing the actor’s attributes, using as many fields as needed. If you click on any link you can enter data about the attributes of that relationships. Both of these sets of data can be exported, on all actors and relationships, as an Excel file.  You can also import the same kind of data, to automatically generate a network diagram.

mdlogix describe it as “an interactive tool for entering, visualizing and analyzing network data. You can create nodes and links directly or import network data from edgelist/edgearray, Excel, or GraphML formats. Once the network is displayed, you can customize visual properties such as the colour, shape, size, and location of nodes and links to create an informative graphic representation. Images of your choice may be used to represent nodes. XY mapping of nodes as a function of node attributes is supported in layered layout. It also provides a number of analysis functions for calculating network and nodal level indices, and for finding sub-groups, partitions, communities, and roles and positions. In addition, VisuaLyzer includes powerful logic programming capabilities that allow you to investigate networks using axioms of classical set theory.”

This all sounds quite complex. But in practice it is the simplest features of Visualyzer which are the most useful. It does have a very good and easy to read Users Guide (5mb), which you may want to look at.

For more on the development of network models / descriptions and their use in monitoring and evaluation go to the Network Models section of this website.

POSTSCRIPT (1st December 2008): See also Overview of Common Social Network Analysis Software Platforms “This report was developed by the Philanthropy and Networks Exploration, a partnership between the Packard Foundation and Monitor Institute. The exploration is an inquiry into how networks can facilitate greater philanthropic effectiveness. For more information, please go to http://www.philanthropyandnetworks.org

PS2 (16th January 2009): The link to the “Overview …” doc no longer works. I have now uploaded the doc HERE, after receiving a copy via the Pakard Foundation. They also sent a link to: “Working Wikily: How networks are changing social change

Monthly summaries of postings on the MandE NEWS email list

Maren Thompson, Course Coordinator at IMA International produces monthly summaries of the postings on the MandE NEWS email list, including links that were mentioned in the postings. This work has previously been done by Nicky David and Ros MacDonald, also of IMA International. The monthly summaries are MS Word documents. They are listed by month below:

————————————-

May 2007 | June 2007 | July 2007 | August 2007 | September 2007 | October 2007 | November 2007 | December 2007 |

January 2008 | February 2008 | April 2008 | May 2008 | June 2008 | July 2008 | August 2008 | September 2008 | October 2008 | November-December 2008 |

January-2009| February-2009| March 2009 | April 2009 | May 2009 | June 2009 |


Developing MSC training materials…

The objectives and the process

This page is intended as a public record of the development of Most Significant Change (MSC) training materials.

The aim is that interested people should be able to contact those listed below (via email to Rick Davies, or use the Comment box below) to get copies of their MSC training materials, on condition that:

  • they adapt this material to their own needs,
  • they then make copies of that adapted training material available to others, by adding their names to this list (along with the supporting information about their use of the training materials)

The descriptions given below of how people (described as “adapters”) are using the MSC training materials will be developed, so that others can find materials that seem nearest to their needs. But, all users of these materials will be expected to make further adaptations. And, at some stage in the future I may add a Commentary on the materials produced by different adapters. PS: For those interested in the background, the design of this process has been influenced by this paper.

The adapters (so far…):

  • Kaia Ambrose, Monitoring, Evaluation and Organizational Learning Manager, Programme Agreement, International Operations, CARE Canada, +1.613.228.5655, Canada
    • When they started adapting MSC training materials: May 2008
    • How they are using the MSC training materials:
      • Here’s how we’ll be using our adapted PPTs: The CARE Canada Programme Agreement will be gathering a group of project managers and M&E officers from CARE Country Offices to participate in a 5-day ‘telling the story’ workshop. We’ll be outlining different ways
        that projects can capture the change that happens in projects, both expected and planned for as well as unexpected and unplanned changes in order to tell a story of the social transformation process among key actors, project influence and support, and changes in project strategies and performance in order to support change. We will be looking at Most Significant Change as well as Outcome Mapping as tools to track change
        processes, or stories.
  • Nyarwaya Isaac, Managing Director, PM Associates, P.O.BOX 6866, Kigali, Rwanda, Tel. 08560622
    • When they started adapting MSC training materials: May 2008
    • How they are using the MSC training materials:
      • PM Associates;….does training, consultancy, research and publication mainly in the area of Project Management. The firm will add MSC to its portfolio of trainings provided. These trainings will be targeted to staff in NGOs and other international organizations that would like to adapt the use of MSC
  • Gaziul Hassan Mahmood, Technical Adviser – Program Quality, Save the Children in PNG
    • When they started adapting MSC training materials: May 2008
    • How they are using the MSC training materials
      • I will share the presentation I will prepare based on your resources. I will also share when I am planning that training.
  • Ivo Haenen, WASTE, Netherlands
    • When they started adapting MSC training materials: May 2008
    • How they are using the MSC training materials
      • Use it as basis for training WASTE’s programme partners in Latin America, Asia and Africa ” WASTE works towards sustainable improvement of the urban poor’s living conditions and the urban environment in general
  • Taline Haytayan, Knowledge Sharing Advisor, International HIV/AIDS Alliance, UK.
    • When they started adapting MSC training materials: May 2008
    • How they are using the MSC training materials:
      • “…to use MSC training material in our HIV AIDS Stigma and discrimination programme in a number of countries in Africa. We would like to adapt the MSC methodology in order to capture stories from stigma trainers, their experiences, lessons learned and changes encountered via the programme”
  • Emma Brathwaite, Technical Advisor Adolescent Health, Nossal Institute for Global Health, The University of Melbourne, 187 Grattan Street, Carlton, Melbourne, Victoria 3010, Tel: +61 3 8344-0909. Fax: +61 3 8344-9130
    • When they started adapting MSC training materials: May 2008
    • How they are using the MSC training materials:
      • I am providing TA to Aceh Partnerships in Health (APiH) which has a number of theme areas (HIV, adolescent health, disability, mental health) and our in-country partners have expressed difficulties in monitoring change which is why MSC has been of interest. We are in the very early stages of this process so I would be very interested to look at these powerpoints.
  • Cecil Laguardia, Communications Manager/TD Communications Pilot Project, World Vision Asia Pacific Region, Mobile: +639184355243/ skype: cecil_laguardia, Bangkok
    • When they started adapting MSC training materials: May 2008
    • How they are using the MSC training materials:
      • We followed the presentations according to the original documents but what we have strengthened is the actual community story-telling activity using the process to generate communications resources and look into the impact of the projects.
        I would be happy to receive new training materials from you. We still have several projects scheduled for training and it will be good for us to keep improving the process.
  • An Sokchea…. working in World Vision Cambodia as a Learning for Transformation (LfT) Technical Officer, Cambodia
    • When they started adapting MSC training materials: May 2008
    • How they are using the MSC training materials:
      • My job responsibility is to learn about MSC and adapt it as a development tool for World Vision ministry. … [new training resources] would be helpful for me to understand more and to find the way to adapt/refine it in Cambodia context.
  • Dr Sani Aliou Assistant Country Director Programmes Concern Worldwide Rwanda Kigali, Rwanda
    • When they started adapting MSC training materials: May 2008
    • How they are using the MSC training materials:
  • Ms Elizabeth REID, Visiting Fellow, Gender Relations Centre & Human Geography, Research School of Pacific and Asian Studies, Australian National University, Canberra
    • When they started adapting MSC training materials: June 2008
    • How they are using the MSC training materials:
  • Tim OShaughnessy, an Australian M&E specialist based in Fiji,
  • A.F.M. Nezam Uddin, Programme Officer: Planning, Monitoring & Knowledge Management, Save the Children, Sweden-Denmark, House: 9, Road:16, Gulshan: 1, Dhaka-1212, Bangladesh
  • Mike Idah, unknown organisation and location
  • Thomas K. Nyagah. I am the Design,Monitoring and evaluation officer, Christian Community services -ACK- KENYA.
    • We have used the MSC for 4 years now and fruits are rewarding. I have also trained many local NGO in Kenya.

How you can participate…

  • You can add your name to the list of adapters. If you want to do this then say so via the Comment box below, or email rick@mande.co.uk. I will then send you my PowerPoints for you to adapt
  • You can ask for copies of the PowerPoints adapted by the adapters listed above. If you want to do this then say so via the Comment box below, or email rick@mande.co.uk

Dont forget…

There is another MSC blog specifically dedicated to developing, sharing and improving different language translations of the MSC Guide, at http://mscguide-translations.blogspot.com/ . Work is in progress on translations into at least eight different languages.

The vision

From something like this

To something more like this

Networks and evaluation

This page is about two complementary perspectives: the evaluation of networks, and how a network perspective can inform the design and evaluation of development programs (which may not have been designed as networks)

Please note that the contents of this page has been cut and pasted from the old MandE NEWS website. All links go to contents on the old site. The old contents will be moved to the new website as soon as possible.

Social Network Analysis software: A list

A. Software I have some familiarity with:

UCINET & NetDraw ( a combined package)

  • Easy to import data from Excel
  • Has a huge range of abilities to manipulate and edit the raw data
  • Has an online support group (Yahoo Groups)
  • There is a detailed how to use it text
  • Files can be read by many other software packages
  • Not very expensive, and there is a free trial period
  • Undergoing continuous development
  • Widely used
  • Not easy to draw network diagrams on screen
  • Steep learning curve, many more bells and whistles than you may need
  • No easy to use introductory texts
  • Not easy to edit node and link attribute data on the NetDraw screen
  • PS: See Louse Clark’s very useful and detailed guide to working with NetDraw; and “A Brief Guide to Using NetDraw” by Steve Borgatti; and NETDRAW – BASIC A Practical Guide to Visualising Social Networks by ONA Surveys

Visualyzer

  • Perhaps my favorite, beause it is easy to draw and edit networks on screen, which is very useful in workshop settings
  • Attributes of nodes and links can be easily edited and displayed
  • Can import and export UCINET data
  • Very user-friendly manual
  • Free trial period
  • Now available at a more reasonable price!
  • No online support group
  • Does not seem to be undergoing continuous development

yED Graph Editor

  • Very good for network drawing
  • Many options for layouts
  • Can export files to work as web pages
  • Nodes can include weblinks, allowing quick access to much more information about each node
  • Free
  • Latest version (3.5) can now open data from Excel worksheets, in matrix, edgelist (relationships)  and nodelist (actors) forms. Including as many attributes for the actors and relationships as needed. It seems it will import both one and two mode  (adjacency and affiliation) matrices. This is a major improvement.
  • They are working on capacity to export back to Excel, and ability to search actors and relationships by attribute. Both will be very useful
  • yED is rapidly moving up my list of most favored SNA software packages
  • Now also available as an online version: yED Live
  • Limited analysis capacity

Microsoft NodeXL

  • Free, works as a plug-in to Excel 2007
  • Undergoing continuous development
  • Online support group
  • All node and link attribute data is visible and easy to edit in Excel sheets, which is great
  • Nodes can include weblinks, I think
  • There is a useful users guide here
  • You can’t draw the network direct on the screen,
    • But by using the Excel sheet immediately below the screen you can add nodes and links, and edit their attributes, very easily
  • I have had difficulty in importing yEd (GraphML)
    • PS: They report this is being addressed
  • The layout options (different algorithms) seem quite limited
  • I dont yet know as much about it as the other packages above

C-IKNOW

  • I attended a presentation on C-IKNOW at the 2010 INSNA conference and found this package very impressive, for two broad reasons:
    • User-friendliness
    • Sophisticated range of capacities
  • This is an online service that is open to use by anyone, free of charge
  • Data can be imported, exported and generated by an associated online survey mechanisms
  • There are multiple videos showing how different aspects of the package works, along with a detailed downloadable user guide
  • Development is ongoing and led by Noshir Contactor, a very smart person, and co-author of Theories of Communication Networks
  • “As of September 2012, C-IKNOW Survey is no longer under active development. It can still be used, but no support is available. It should be used at your own risk”

Discourse Network Analyzer

  • software which combines social network analysis and category-based content analysis. After applying categories to text portions, you can automatically extract two-mode networks or one-mode co-occurrence networks in several file formats. There are also some algorithms for longitudinal analysis.”
  • Exports to Excel (in CSV format),  DL files (UCINET), and GraphML files (visone, yEd etc)
  • Free
  • Looks useful but I have yet to try it out on my own data

Visone

  • Patrick Kenis describes this as “very intuitive programme which can be used instantly in consultancy settings”
  • Free
  • Easy to draw networks live on screen
  • Continuous development, but not so often as UCINET

Gephi (last comments added 21 April 2011)

  • Open source (free)
  • Undergoing continuous development, but not so often as UCINET
  • Very sophisticated graphics, the emphasis is on visualisation as a means of exploratory data analysis
  • Capable of visualising very large networks quickly
  • Dynamic views of networks, as they change over time
  • Many filtering options
  • As in NodeXL, has a Data Table view to browse and edit data
  • Drawing networks on the screen is possible, but not so intuitive
  • Imports GraphML files (e.g. as used by yED, NodeXL), vna (as used by Netdraw), csv (used by Excel etc). Exports as csv (for Excel etc) and GraphML.
  • Has Plugins e.g. Social Network Data Import
  • Looks like it could become very good, in time

KUMU

  • Very impressive network diagramming capacity
  • Lots of capacity to annotate network diagrams
  • Online network visualiation tool
  • Free and paid for subscriptions
  • Good tutorial material and technical support

Others not yet examined in any detail

Inflow: [Not yet tested, but looks good]

Social Networks Visualizer (SocNetV) [Not yet tested, but used by Valdis Krebs]

Cytoscape Thomas Delahais says: “I’ve been using consistently Cytoscape, which was designed for neuro-biological analysis but works very well for social sciences! Cytoscape is free, open source and you should complete it with the Max Planck Analyser Plugin, which includes all or most of the usual indicators (diameter, shortest path, etc.) in a unique interface (free for non-commercial use if I remember well). Cytoscape needs some formatting first but then it is very easy to use, very easy to draw on screen too. As a sidenote this is the software I picked when I decided that Ucinet was too complicated for transferring this competency to my colleagues”

SocioWorks “is an innovative set of web tools for the online application of Social Network Analysis (SNA) methods to collect and analyze data regarding social relationships, from individual to institution to national levels.” (posted 2013 05 02)

B. Lists of software most of which I dont know about, maintained by:

  1. KM4DEV list
  2. Wikipedia list
  3. International Network for Social Network Analysis list
  4. Top 10 Open-Source Social network  Development Platforms
  5. Mark Round’s  “SNA Tools and Formats diagram – updated”showing how different software packages are linked by use of the same data formats

The number of social network analysis packages is exploding, a bit like the Cambrian explosion of organic life. No software package has yet achieved dominance because of its ability to meet a wide variety of needs.

C. Online SNA software

  • IdeaTree was not developed as SNA software, but in practice provides many of the same functions, in terms of visualisation. Key features: (a) it supports online collaborative development of network diagrams, (b) it seems quite user friendly, (c) data can be exported in XML, which can be converted elsewhere into graphml, and as pdf documents

PS April 2011: GraphML is a format for storing network data, used by yED, Gephi, and others. The GraphML Primer provides a simple introduction to its use.

STEPS Toolkit: Steps to transforming evaluation practice for social change

What is it?

STEPS is a program planning, monitoring, and evaluation (M&E) toolkit intended for organizations that address sexual and reproductive health and rights. STEPS is a project of Margaret Sanger Center International (MSCI) at Planned Parenthood of New York City (PPNYC) and began as a collaboration between MSCI/ PPNYC and the International Planned Parenthood Federation/ Western Hemisphere Region. The development of the STEPS toolkit has been supported by funding from the Ford Foundation and the World Bank’s reproductive health program. STEPS is available free of charge, in both English and Spanish, on the Internet (at www.stepstoolkit.org) and on CD-ROM.

Why was it developed?

STEPS grew out of a shift in international development goals, from a narrow focus on family planning services and population control, to a broader rights-based social justice perspective on sexual and reproductive health (SRH) that emphasized empowering women and gender equality. This shift was embodied in the Cairo Consensus, the plan of action ratified by 180 countries that participated in the 1994 United Nations International Conference on Population and Development. The shift is also apparent in the eight inter-linked Millennium Development Goals that were approved by 189 United Nations member states in 2000 with the aim of eradicating poverty. Gender equality and women’s empowerment are essential aspects of the Cairo Consensus and the Millenium Development Goals As rights-based SRH programs proliferated, organizations noted a lack of accessible tools that could help them to design and implement effective programs and evaluate them systematically. Existing materials did not offer ways of assessing progress toward hard-to-measure goals such as women’s empowerment, gender equality, and healthy sexuality. In addition, organizations and funders wanted to have a collective body of evidence, gleaned from evaluations, that could be used to advocate for expanded
programming. We created STEPS to respond to these needs.

What can STEPS help you to do?

STEPS makes the program process a continual cycle of learning, improvement, and accountability. STEPS can help organizations to develop and evaluate rights- based social justice interventions by showing program planners how to break down complex social and health concepts, such as
women’s empowerment, into measurable and locally relevant components that can be the basis for programming and evaluation. STEPS emphasizes self-learning in order to make M&E a meaningful and continuous  aspect of the program process. It requires those who are most familiar with the program – those who directly provide services and the recipients of those services – to actively participate in M&E. STEPS employs the widely used causal pathway and the Logical Framework Approach (LFA). STEPS explains these tools and how to use them in a way that is responsive to the realities
of program development and implementation. Learning through STEPS how to apply the causal pathway and LFA can help organizations to  communicate more effectively with funders, who are increasingly asking for program work to be developed and evaluated in these frameworks.

See a slideshow presentation on STEPS Toolkit

System Requirements

Operating systems:

  • MS Windows 98SE
  • MS Windows 2000
  • MS Windows XP (Service packs 1&2)
  • Apple Macintosh OSX 10.2 +

Browsers for MS Windows, for Flash version

  • Internet Explorer 5, 5.5, 6
  • Mozilla 1.x
  • Mozilla FireFox 1.x
  • Netscape 6.x
  • Opera 7.5.x

Social Network Analysis and Evaluation: A List

Preface to the list

There are however three challenges in promoting the use of network models. One is to get people thinking in terms of networks as a kind of a base metaphor, in the same way that in the past people may have seen clockworks as a base metaphor for how the world works. The second is to sift through what often appears to be a surfeit of technical capacity to analyse networks, in order to focus in on the simplest and often most useful basics. The third challenge is to develop more participative and interpretative approaches to the description and analysis of networks, in contrast to the number crunching nature of much social network analysis in the academic world. This is all very much a ‘work in progress‘.” Rick Davies, in newsletter article for American Evaluation Association, 2008

The list

  • Using Social Network Analysis in Evaluation: A Report to the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. By Kimberly Fredericks, PhD, MPA, RD, Associate Professor
    The Sage Colleges School of Management, 2013  “…Using data gathered from telephone interviews with the program officers, email surveys from project directors, and supplemental information from nine project summaries (see Appendix 1 for the summaries), this report: ? Describes how the Foundation took deliberate steps to create an emerging learning
    community to support using social network analysis to understand and evaluate its funded work ? Illustrates how social network analysis can be used in many applications, ranging
    from a one-time study to longitudinal studies, with a summative purpose (to evaluate the success of a particular intervention) or formative purpose (for learning and improvement)
    ? Identifies the challenges associated with using social network analysis, in terms of understanding the methodology’s limits or constraints, the implications presented by
    the size and scope of the projects, and the need to develop the technical expertise and capacity to manage the projects and use the data”
  •  

  • Using Social Network Analysis to Advance Traditional Qualitative Methods in Evaluation and Program Design. Caroline J. Wilson, Anne E. Dougherty, Mary Sutter, Jennifer Mitchell-Jackson,  Pamela Wellner,  Nick Hall, ABSTRACT Social network analysis (SNA) is a technique used to study relationships between actors, such as people or organizations. It has been applied to a wide array of disciplines, on topics ranging from destabilizing Al-Qaeda to explaining campaign fundraising success. While these applications may seem far removed from the efforts of AESP members, this paper will provide insights into the innovative ways social network analysis can be used in energy-related evaluations. We start by providing parameters for the use of this technique for evaluation efforts and articulate a number of researchable issues central to evaluation that may be answered through social network analysis. Our evaluation team then demonstrates how this method was employed to conduct a more thorough process evaluation as a complementary approach to other, more traditional research techniques. We also demonstrate the value of the social network analysis approach by comparing a network map with a more traditional organization and implementation chart. We then outline other ways it was utilized, including discussion of social network analysis measures such as centrality and density. This paper aims to add value to current evaluation methods and introduce social network analysis to the best practices of program evaluation and design.

 

  • Social Network Analysis: A Useful Tool for Visualizing and Evaluating Forestry Research. N.L. Klenk1, G.M. Hickey1, J.I. MacLellan2, R. Gonzales3 and J. Cardille3 International Forestry Review 11(1):134-140. 2009 SUMMARY “One of the foundational studies of social network analysis produced a depiction of scientific collaboration by tracing a network of scientific papers linked by co-authorships and co-citations, which has since spurred numerous studies on the typology, organization and dynamics of scientific research networks. This paper introduces social network analysis and its analytical measures of network structure. It then demonstrates the utility of social network analysis in forestry, in the evaluation of large research networks such as the Sustainable Forest Management Network (SFMN), and suggests other important uses of network visualization to facilitate exploring, discovering and selecting resources in a database.
  •  

  • Social Network Analysis and the Evaluation of Leadership Networks. Bruce Hoppe, Ph.D., Claire Reinelt, Ph.D. April 2008 . Abstract: “Leadership development practitioners have become increasingly interested in the formation of leadership networks as a way to sustain and strengthen relationships among leaders within and across organizations, communities, and systems. This paper offers a framework for conceptualizing different types of leadership networks and identifies the outcomes that are typically associated with each type of network. One of the challenges for the field of leadership development has been how to evaluate leadership networks. Social Network Analysis (SNA) is a promising evaluation approach that uses mathematics and visualization to represent the structure of relationships between people, organizations, sectors, silos, communities and other entities within a larger system. Core social network concepts are introduced and explained to illuminate the value of SNA as an evaluation and program tool.”
  •  

    Conference evaluation and network mapping Glenn O’Neil (2008) “Often we attend conferences where one of the stated objectives is “increase/build/create networking” and I always found it odd that there is never any attempt to measure if networking really took place. A possible solution is to map networks created by participants at conferences – and compare these networks to those that existed before the conferences. This is exactly what I have done recently in a network mapping study that you can view here (pdf – 1 MB) and the above image is from. From the LIFT conference of 2007, we mapped the networks of 28 participants (out of 450 total participants) before and after the conferences. We found some quite surprising results:…”

  • Evaluating Performance of Project-Centred Research Networks: PhD thesis by Camille Ryan, 2007. Abstract” A socio-economic network analyses of federally funded research projects* Managing knowledge in new technological realms, such as genomics and nanotechnology, involves the collaboration of geographically dispersed actors across multiple disciplines from both the public and private sectors. However, evaluating performance of collaborative activity is lagging the adoption of the model. This paper adapts social networks analysis (SNA) to the task of evaluate not only the government-funded collaborative research projects themselves but to the circumstances under which they are funded as well.”
  •  

  • Social Network Analysis and Non-Profit Organizations. 2007 “Non-profits each exist in a social network. While many other sectors have at least the possibility of performing their services in a vacuum, non-profit organizations very rarely operate without a large constituency of donors, volunteers, community partners, and also exists with an unusual central sense of being ‘in the public eye’, operating as they do as guardians of a public trust. With in mind, let us examine some of the major concepts of Social Network Analysis as it relates to non-profits….(16/06/07)

  • Network Mapping as a Diagnostic Tool [A Manual], by Louise Clark. 2006. (Also in Spanish) “This publication was made possible with support from the FIT-DFID Programme, Bolivia to the FIT 3 (RedCampo) Project – Boosting the Production and Marketing of High-Value crops through ICT-enabled Information Networks – A project implemented by InforCom of the Centro Internacional de Agricultura Tropical – CIAT, to support the Bolivian Agricultural Technology System – SIBTA (Sistema Boliviano de Tecnología Agropecuaria). The results of this action-research project have demonstrated the utility of social network analysis as a diagnostic tool to improve understanding of how information flows among the different actors involved in agricultural supply chains.” Contents include: 1. Who this manual is for.,2. Introduction to Social Network Analysis (SNA)., 3. SNA as a diagnostic tool.., 4. Social Network Analysis: Step by step. Step 1: Survey design. Step 2: Data collection. Step 4: Preparing the database to be transferred to Netdraw..Step 5: Using Netdraw., Step 6: Try for yourself.. 5. The 2-mode network. Step 1 Survey structure. Step 2: Preparing the database.. Step 3: Transferring the data to Ucinet, Step 4: Visualising 2 mode networks with Netdraw..6. A flexible tool.” (16/07/07)

  •  

  • Investigating the Potential of Using Social Network Analysis in Educational Evaluation William R. Penuel, Willow Sussex, Christine Korbak, Christopher Hoadley American Journal of Evaluation, Vol. 27, No. 4, 437-451 (2006) This article describes results of a study investigating the potential of using social network analysis to evaluate programs that aim at improving schools by fostering greater collaboration between teachers. The goal of this method is to use data about teacher collaboration within schools to map the distribution of expertise and resources needed to enact reforms. Such maps are of great potential value to school leaders, who are responsible for instructional leadership in schools, but they also include information that could bring harm to individuals and school communities. In this article, the authors describe interview findings about concerns educators have with collecting and sharing social network data. A chief finding is that although the majority of teachers consider collecting social network data to be problematic but feasible, some teachers report concerns about privacy and the effect on their school’s goals to foster community if the data are shared with their schools.

  •  

  • New Directions in the Use of Network Analysis in Research and Development Evaluation Jonathon Mote, Jerald Hage, University of Maryland, Gretchen Jordan, Sandia National Laboratories, PowerPoint presentation at the 2006 American Evaluation Association Conference: The Consequences of Evaluation
  • Does your strategic planning make a difference? Andrew Rixon. 2005. This brief paper outlines how social network analysis (SNA) was used to assess the change resulting from the use of “Open Space Technology” as a strategic planning tool by a research organisation. A SNA survey was sent out to participants before and after the meeting. The focus of the survey was on who the participants thought “felt passionate about the theme under discussion” The paper identifies and analyses the changes that were observed via the follow up-survey.
  •  

  • A network approach for researching partnerships in health. Jenny M Lewis Department of Political Science, University of Melbourne, Parkville, 3010, Australia. Australia and New Zealand Health Policy 2005, 2:22 “The last decade has witnessed a significant move towards new modes of governing that are based on coordination and collaboration. In particular, local level partnerships have been widely introduced around the world. There are few comprehensive approaches for researching the effects of these partnerships. The aim of this paper is to outline a network approach that combines structure and agency based explanations to research partnerships in health. Network research based on two Primary Care Partnerships (PCPs) in Victoria is used to demonstrate the utility of this approach. The paper examines multiple types of ties between people (structure), and the use and value of relationships to partners (agency), using interviews with the people involved in two PCPs – one in metropolitan Melbourne and one in a rural area.”
  •  

  • New Directions for Evaluation Volume 2005, Issue 107 , Special Issue: Social Network Analysis in Program Evaluation Issue Edited by Maryann M. Durland, Kimberly A. Fredericks. Published Online: 2 Feb 2006 Contents: An introduction to social network analysis (p 5-13); The historical evolution and basic concepts of social network analysis (p 15-23); Exploring and understanding relationships (p 25-40); An evaluation of communication among high school faculty using network analysis (p 41-53); Network analysis of a demonstration program for the developmentally disabled (p 55-68); Application of network analysis in evaluating knowledge capacity (p 69-79); A formative evaluation of the integration of two departments (p 81-94); The value of social network analysis in health care delivery (p 95-98); Next steps for nodes, nets, and SNA analysis in evaluation (p 99-101)
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  • Mapping the Distribution of Expertise and Resources in a School: Investigating the Potential of Using Social Network Analysis in Evaluation William R. Penuel Willow Sussex Christine Korbak SRI International Paper presented at the Joint Conference of the Canadian Evaluation Society and theAmerican Evaluation Association, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, October 2005.“This paper describes results of a study investigating the potential of using social network analysis to evaluate the capacity ofa school to undertake a schoolwide educational reform. The goal of this method is to use data about teacher collaboration within schools to map and explain the distribution of expertise and resources needed to enact reforms. Such maps are of great potential value to school leaders, who are responsible for instructional leadership in schools; but they also include information that can potentially bring harm to individuals and school communities. In this paper, we describe interview findings about potential concerns teachers might have for collecting and sharing social network data. In addition, we describe some of the procedures we undertook to protect participants’ rights and minimize potential harm that could arise from sharing information about collegial interactions with evaluation researchers in a subsequent study in our project” (28/04/06)
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  • Network Approaches to Global Civil Society. Helmut Anheier and Hagai Katz. “…our focus is on global civil society as a transnational system of social networks and, methodologically speaking, on analysing global civil society through the lens of network analysis. We are interested in finding out how useful the various approaches and tools of network analysis are for describing, analysing and understanding global civil society.” Being Chapter 4 of Global Civil Society 2004/5 Anheier, Helmut, Marlies Glasius and Mary Kaldor (eds.). London: Sage, 2004 (Posted 05/12/05)
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  • Network Perspectives In The Evaluation Of Development Interventions: More Than A Metaphor. Rick Davies, for the EDAIS Conference November 24-25, 2003 New Directions in Impact Assessment for Development: Methods and Practice. “In this paper I argue the case for the use of a network perspective in representing and evaluating aid interventions. How we represent the intentions of aid activities has implications for how their progress and impact can be assessed. Because our representations are by necessary selective simplifications of reality they will emphasise some aspects of change and discourage attention to others. The benchmark alternative here is by default the Logical Framework, the single most commonly used device for representing what an aid project or programme is trying to do. Five main arguments are put forward in favour of a network perspective as the better alternative, along with some examples of their use. Firstly, social network analysis is about social relationships, and that is what much of development aid is about. Not abstract and disembodied processes of change. Secondly, there is wide range of methods for measuring and visualising network structures. These provide a similarly wide range of methods of describing expected outcomes of interventions in network terms. Thirdly, there is also a wide range of theories about social and other networks. They can stimulate thinking about the likely effects of development interventions. Fourthly, network representations are very scalable, from very local developments to the very global, and they can include both formal and informal structures. They are relevant to recent developments in the delivery of development aid. Fifthly, network models of change can incorporate mutual and circular processes of influence, as well as simple linear processes of change. This enables them to represent systems of relationships exhibiting varying degrees of order, complexity and chaos. Following this argument I outline some work-in-progress, including ways in which the conference participants may themselves get involved. Finally I link this paper into its own wider web of intellectual influences and history. ” Posted 29/10/03)

 

  • Organizational Network Analysis as a Tool for Program Evaluation, Merrill Eisenberg, Nancy Swanson, University of Connecticut Health Center, Evaluation & the Health Professions, Vol. 19, No. 4, 488-506 (1996) Abstract: “Health program evaluation is generally focused on an examination of individual program characteristics and accomplishments, yet many programs are part of a broader service system. Evaluation of the role a program plays in that system is an important evaluation question to address. A network analysis of program referral patterns was used to evaluate Connecticut’s Healthy Start program. Network analysis showed that Healthy Start played a “broker” role in 4 case study communities, sending and receiving referrals of pregnant women to a higher than average number of other programs. Further, in the urban area case study, competing market players providing services to pregnant women resulted in subsets of services with dense referral patterns within the subsets, but little referral between subsets. Healthy Start was found to be instrumental as an integrator of these otherwise disconnected service subsets”

 

  • [Readers: Feel free to propose additions to this list]

 

Evaluation societies, associations and groups: A list

The most comprehensive list available is maintained by the International Organisation for Cooperation in Evaluation (IOCE)

Regional evaluation organisations (9 as of June 2013)

If you have updated contact information for any of these groups, or know of a group not included on these lists, but perhaps should be,  whether it be formally organized as a society or association or an informal network, whose members are professional evaluators, please email Jim Rugh

But please also note that there is a seperate list of M&E email lists kept here on the MandE NEWS website

Predicting the achievements of the Katine project

September 2010: This post provides information on a revised proposal for a “Predictions Survey” on the achievements of the Katine Community Partnerships Project, a project managed by AMREF and funded by the Guardian and Barclays Bank, between 2007 and 2011.

Background Assumptions

The Guardian coverage of the Katine project has provided an unparalleled level of public transparency to the workings of an aid project. As of August 2010 there have been approximately 530 articles posted on the site, most of which have specifically about Katine. These posts have included copies of project documentation (plans, budgets, progress reports, review reports) that often don’t enter the public realm.

Ideally this level of transparency would have two benefits: (a) improving UK public knowledge about the challenges of providing effective aid, (b) imposing some constructive discipline on the work of the NGO concerned, because they know they are under continuing scrutiny not only locally, but internationally. Whether this has actually been the case is yet to be systematically assessed. However I understand the effects on the project and its local stakeholders  (i.e b above) will be subject to review by Ben Jones later this year, and then open to discussion in a one day event in November, to be organised by the Guardian.

So far there have been two kinds of opportunities for the British, and other publics, to be engaged with the public monitoring of the Katine project. One has been through posting comments on the articles on the Guardian website. About 30% of all articles have provided this opportunity, and these articles have attracted an average of 5 comments . The other option has been by invitation from the Guardian, to make a guest posting on the website. This invitation has been extended to specialists in the UK and elsewhere.  Multiple efforts have also been made to hear different voices from within the Katine community itself

The Predictions Survey would provide another kind of opportunity for participation. It would be an opportunity for a wide range of participants to:

  • to make some judgments about the overall achievements of the project, and
  • to explain those judgments, and
  • to see how those judgments compared to that of others, and
  • to see how those judgments compare to the facts, about what has actually been achieved at the end of the project

In addition a Predictions Survey would provide a means of testing expectations that greater transparency can improve public knowledge about the challenges of providing effective aid.

My proposal is that that the Prediction Survey would consist of five batches of questions, one for each project component, on a separate page. Each question would be a multiple choice question, but associated with an optional Comment field. People could respond on the basis of their existing knowledge of the project (which could vary widely) and/or extra information about the website obtained via component specific links embedded at the head of each page of the online survey e.g. on water and sanitation. Questions at the end of the survey would identify participants’ sources of knowledge about the project (e.g. obtained before and during the survey, from the website and elsewhere).

A 1st rough draft survey form is already available to view. Any responses entered at this stage may be noted, but they will then be deleted and not included in any final analysis.  The final design of the survey will require close consultation with AMREF and the Guardian.

Intended participants in the survey

  • UK public, reached via the Guardian
  • Uganda public, reached via Ugandan newspapers (likely to be more of a challenge)
  • AMREF staff, especially in Uganda, Kenya HQ and UK
  • The Guardian and Barclays, as donors
  • Monitoring and Evaluation specialists, reached via an international email list

Hypotheses (predictions about the predictions)

  1. We might expect that AMREF would be able to make the most accurate predictions, given its central role. But aid agencies are often tempted to put a gloss on their achievements, because of the gap that sometimes emerges between their ambitions and what can actually be done in practice.
  2. We might expect that participants who have been following the Guardian coverage closely since the beginning might be better informed and make better predictions than others who have become interested more recently. But perhaps those participants are still responding on the basis of their original beliefs (aka biases)?
  3. We might expect M&E specialists to make better than average predictions because of their experience in analysing project performance. But perhaps they have become too skeptical about everything they read
  4. We might expect the Guardian and Barclays staff to make better than average predictions because they have been following the project closely since inception and their organisation’s money is  invested in it. But perhaps they only want to see success.
  5. We might expect the highest frequency choices (across all groups) to be more accurate than the choices of any of the above groups, because of a ” wisdom of crowds” effect. The potential of crowdsourcing was of interest to the Guardian at the beginning of the project, and this survey could be seen as a form of crowdsourcing – of judgements.

This list is not final. Other hypotheses  could be identified in the process of consultation over the design of the survey

There may also be other less testable predictions worth identifying. For example, about the effects of this Prediction Survey on the work done by AMREF and its partners in the final year up to October 2011. Might it lead to a focus on what is being measured by the survey, to the detriment of other important aspects of their work?  If AMREF has a comprehensive monitoring framework and the prediction survey addresses the same breadth of performance (and not just one or two performance indicators) this should not be a problem.

Timeframe

The fourth and final year of the project starts in October 2010 and ends in October 2011.

The finalisation of the design of the Predictions Survey will require extensive consultation with AMREF and the Guardian, in order to ensure the fullest possible ownership of the process, and thus the results that are generated. Ideally this process might be completed by late-October 2010

The survey could be open from late October to the end of March 2011 (six months before the end of the project). All responses would be date stamped to take account of any advantages of being a later participant

A process will need to be agreed in 2010 on how objective information can be obtained on which of the multiple choice options have eventuated by October 2011.

A post 2011 follow up survey may be worth considering. This would focus on predictions of what will happen in the post-project period, up to 2014, the year of the vision statement produced by participants in the September 2009 stakeholders workshop in Katine.

“In 2014, Katine will be an active, empowered community taking responsibility for their development with decent health, education, food security and able to sustain it with the local government”

Supporters

The participation of the Guardian and AMREF will be very important, although it is conceivable that the survey could be run independently of their cooperation

Assistance with publicity, to find participants, would be needed from the Guardian and Barclays

Advisory support is being sought from the One World Trust

Advisory support from other other organisations could also be useful

The online survey could be designed and managed by Rick Davies. However responsibility could be given to another party that was agreed to by AMREF, Guardian and Barclays.

Challenges

  • The survey design needs to be short enough to encourage people to complete it, but not so short that important aspects of the project’s performance are left out
  • The description of the objectives used in the survey needs to be as clear and specific as possible, but also keep as close to AMREF’s original words as possible (i.e. as in the 4th year extension proposal, and using the M&E framework, now being updated)
  • Participants will be asked to make a single choice between multiple options, describing what might happen. These options will need to be carefully chosen, so there are no obvious “no brainers”, and to cover a range of plausible possibilities
  • It may be necessary in some cases (e.g. with some broadly defined objectives) to allow multiple choices from multiple options
  • I have heard that AMREF will be conducting a final evaluation in late 2011, using an external consultant. This evaluation could be the source of the final set of data on actual performance, against which participant’s predictions could be compared. But will it be seen as a sufficiently independent source of information?
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