Introduction to this toolkit
This toolkit is for those running or supporting a network, including network coordinators and community managers. The aim of the toolkit is to make it easier to understand how well the network is bringing people together to create connections and ultimately collaborative activity.
Specifically we hope it will enable you to:
- Integrate network monitoring tasks into regular activities to streamline the process
- Capture, measure and analyse progress
- Use data to effectively cultivate your network.
It is designed to be practical, offering guidance on how to gather data in ways that generate useful insights rather than defining a gold standard. Tracking network outcomes and system change impact are covered separately in a section called .
Keep in mind that:
- There is no one-size fits all approach for network impact data collection
- The long-term goal of network impact measurement should be that it fits organically into network practice
- Data collection should be on-going (not annually, quarterly or monthly) and incorporated into day-to-day activities. It should not be an external reporting exercise only
This toolkit is modular. Use the following pages to pick the tools that are right for your work. When you are finished choosing, go to My Plan to download your customised toolkit. We are currently able to offer PDF and Word versions for download, with Excel templates. We encourage you to take these materials and customise them for your own purposes. Good luck!