By Katherine R. Cooper, Rong Wang, Anne-Marie Boyer, Jack L. Harris, Joshua-Paul Miles, Michelle Shumate
Collaborative networks in response to social problems are a common area of research, but questions of who manages these networks and how they organize cross-sector partners represent new challenges for nonprofit organizations and their partners. This study draws upon interview data from 26 community-based education coalitions across the United States in which we distinguish between activities associated with convening and managing the network. We find that conveners typically use problem or solution-oriented frames to bring network partners together, and that, post-convening, the network manager’s role shifts to managing uncertainty in and outside of the environment. Implications for research and practice are discussed.