A Social Network Analysis of the Initiation and Implementation of a Networked Improvement Community

• In Event: Networked Improvement Communities (NICs): Understanding the NIC Model for Improvement and Scaling

Abstract

We use social network analysis to connect the design decisions of initiating and implementing a Networked Improvement Community (NIC) to a change in social infrastructure. NICs are recognized as a promising reform strategy to improve educational systems at scale. Over the past year, our university-based research team engaged 21 educators from 5 schools around a common problem of practice. In this paper, we share three findings: the initiation team drew from weak ties but centralized educators during implementation, weak cross-school ties were created while within-school ties strengthened, and researchers played critical brokerage roles. Our findings support that organizational design decisions were intertwined with the relational ties of participants and discuss implications for how the initiation process is modeled.

Authors

• Julie M Kallio, University of Wisconsin - Madison

• Richard R. Halverson, University of Wisconsin - Madison