Blogs and Articles

#SystemsofCareInsights: Accepting Tradeoffs and Capitalizing on Nuance (2/3)

Accepting Tradeoffs: Effective coordinated care networks require numerous moving parts to work together. Managers of these systems must acknowledge the inevitability of issues in their systems. When things go off course, it’s essential to recognize tradeoffs. Some metrics can be optimized at the expense of others. One of the main tradeoffs discovered by researchers in the IBM report is the interplay between accuracy versus efficiency. For coordinated care networks, better

#SystemsofCareInsights: Beyond Network Effectiveness (1/3)

Systems of care allow clients to seamlessly receive care from multiple health and human service providers. They improve access to care and encourage accountability for health and human services organizations. Systems of care are defined as referral systems across health and human service agencies supported by technological capital (e.g., community referral technologies, updatable resource directories) and human capital (e.g., community health navigators, call center operators, social workers). The implementation of

Tips & Tools for Network Instigators: Managing Change (3/3)

From technology to fashion to social-issue intervention, nothing stays stagnant. As COVID highlighted, organizations need to be ready to adapt quickly to changing circumstances. How can organizations, especially those in social impact networks, prepare for a changing landscape? One strategy that social impact organizations can use to prepare for change is to enhance their organization’s absorptive capacity. As our previous two blogs have shown, a network’s ability to manage change—both

Tips & Tools for Network Instigators: Managing Change (2/3)

Networks are similar to suspension bridges. They are held together and supported by the organizations that compose them. Our previous blog covered changes in the whole network, but impactful change can happen among organizational members. Change within a member organization can upset the balance of the network, impacting one or many organizations in the network. Consider a scenario where a critical participating organization undergoes a management change. A new manager

Tips & Tools for Network Instigators: Managing Change (1/3)

In 2018, the Westside Infant-Family Network (WIN) received $16 million to aid their efforts to increase trauma resilience across west-central and south Los Angeles. WIN is a nonprofit network comprised of eight agency partners established in 2006 to provide mental health resources to families with generational mental health challenges. At first glance, an unknowing onlooker might never know that WIN came from humble beginnings. But, when they started, WIN faced

Tips & Tools for Network Instigators: Pivot Tables

A group of 19 literacy organizations were at a meeting in Chicago that was late to start. Two of the organizations’ leaders got to talking about how they were having trouble getting the principal of Schiller Elementary to call them back. Ears perked up and unsolicited utterances of “us too” rang out. Finally, one leader asked the question: “how many of us have a literacy program at Schiller Elementary?” All