Re Regio gional nal Net etworks: works: Dev evelopi eloping - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Re Regio gional nal Net etworks: works: Dev evelopi eloping ng Strong ong Go Gove vernan rnance ce an and Lea d Leadership dership Struct uctures ures Presen esented ed by: : Mag aggie gie Ullman an, , Networ work k Ad Advisor, visor, As Ashev heville, le, NC maggie@saenv.com | 828.713.9488 Connect ect- Alig ign- Produ oduce ce

Pre resen entatio tation n Purp rpos ose e and d Conte ntents nts Partner Networks Network Participants Representing Green Cities California Linda Giannelli Pratt GCC Managing Director This is presen esentati ation is to the Regi gion onal al Network tworks s (GCC) (Coordinator) Coord rdinati ating ng Comm mmitte tee, e, on Decemb cember er 4, 2015. . Erik Pearson Hayward, CA Shannon Parry Santa Monica, CA ALTERNATE- Susana Reyes Los Angeles, CA It’s purpose is to presen esent the best st prac acti tice ce of Great Lakes Matt Naud Ann Arbor, MI Network twork Governanc ernance e and Lead ader ersh ship p Stru ructu ctures, res, Matt Gray Cleveland, OH inc nclu ludin ding: g: Heartland T.O. Bowman Oklahoma City, OK Brenda Nations Iowa City, IO • What t the prac acti tice ce is and looks s like Michigan Green Dave Norwood Dearborn, MI Communities (MGC) Sandra Diorka Delhi, MI • Jaime Kidwell-Brix MGC Coordinator Why the prac actice tice is worthwhile rthwhile (Coordinator) • Who shoul ould d do it and when en New England Municipal Troy Moon Portland, ME Sustainability Network Cyndi Veit EPA- (Coordinator) (NEMSN) Kelsey O'Neil EPA- (Coordinator) • How to do it, , with ith examples mples Virginia LeClair Dedham, MA Ohio, Kentucky, Indiana Larry Faulkin Cincinnati, OH (OKI) Lamees Mubaslat Montgomery County, OH Prairie State Network Catherine Hurley Evanston, IL (PSN) Dan Hughes PSN Coordinator (Coordinator) Southeast Sustainability Peter Nierengarten Fayetteville, AR Directors Network Robin Cox Huntsville, AL (SSDN) Meg Williams-Jamison SSDN Coordinator Western Adaptation Tamara Lawless Flagstaff, AZ Alliance (WAA) Ashley Perl Aspen, CO 2

Wha hat t is is Net Netwo work rk Go Governance? ernance? A network’s governan overnance ce invo volve lves s ena nabling bling the ne network ork to come e to life e orga ganica nically lly, , and to stay aliv ive e over er time me with ith more e and more e stru ructur cture e – even en as individ dividua ual l leaders ders chang nge. e. It provi ovides des stru ructur cture e and clarit rity. • When n a network ork is young, ng, inform ormal al gov overnanc ernance e is s often very ry effecti ctive ve. . Memb mbers ers are few, , and nd the ne networ work k pur urpos pose e is often n still ll devel eveloping oping. . This his allow ows for open n dis iscuss cussion on about out the path h forward. ard. • As a network ork membership mbership and activiti tivities es grow ow, , an inform ormal al gover ernance ance stru ructur cture e becom comes es less ss effecti ctive ve. . A forma mal l syst stem em of member mber repres resentation entation and d commit mittee ees s streaml eamlines es decisio cision n making king and empow owers ers shar ared ed owner ersh ship p of network ork deci cision sions. s. 3

Wha hat t is is De Deci cided ded? Networks tworks are e faced ed with th a varie riety ty of decisio cisions s when en developin eveloping g their eir gover verna nance ce stru ructure. cture. Lead aders ership hip must st addr dress ess issu sues s about out network ork design sign and purpose. rpose. The he followi owing ng box iden entifies tifies common mon issues sues that t network ork leader ders s typic ical ally ly need d to addr dress ess over er time. me. Even if your network isn’t working on these variables now/yet plan for the future. Start with the end in mind. nd. • Purpose rpose of the network ork • Goals ls and objecti ective ves • Network twork values lues and beli liefs • Memb mber er resp spon onsib sibili lities ties • Memb mber er arrangem angement ent and nd eng ngage agement ment within ithin the ne networ work • Staffing ffing and coord rdination ation deci cisions ions • Network twork plans ns • Budg dget ets s and nd fund ndrai aising ing 4

Why hy St Stru ruct cture ure Go Governance? ernance? Estab abli lishin hing g a gover ernance ance stru ructur cture e bui uilds lds a team m with ith clear ar roles es and resp sponsib onsibili liti ties es for the network ork to achi hiev eve e its s vis ision n and purpose. rpose. Creatin eating a team m and nd stru ructurin cturing g deci cision ion making ing should ould stri rive ve to achi hiev eve e the followin owing: g: • Bui uild ld a strong, ong, connect ected ed team m of memb mbers ers who o have e the opportunity ortunity to meaning ningfull fully y contribu ribute e to the network ork • Dis istrib tribute e resp sponsi nsibil ility ty and creat eate e accoun ountab tabil ility ty for network ork work rk • Bui uild ld a foundation ndation to sustain stain the network ork over er time me “If you want to go quickly. go alone. If you want to go far, go together.” 5

Det eterm ermin ine e Yo Your ur Net etwork work Go Gove vernanc rnance e Struct ructure ure Assess your network and determine what combination of decision making methods will best fit the network’s needs. • Who decide des? s? A network must determine how to structure decision making. Consider the network size, goals, and purpose. Do members have equal power or are there steering committees? Are members elected or do they volunteer? • What t needs ds to be decide ded? d? What is the purpose and direction of the network? Use this information to develop a strategy for decision making. Some networks benefit from a structured policy, while other thrive with limited decision making put on the governance system. • How w are e decisio sions ns made? de? Of the four decision making styles (imposition, community, emergence, democracy) what combination works best for your network? [Note: Slides 9, and 12-15 have more detail on these decision making styles]. 6

Fi Find ndin ing g th the e Bal Balance ance Determi minin ning g govern ernance ance and leadersh ship p struct uctur ure is a delica cate te balancin cing g act. Networ orks s have to determine ine how decisi sion ons s will be made, and who will particip ticipate. . This is proces cess needs to be address ssed d periodica odically lly as the network k matures. • Consolida olidate ted d leadershi hip p from om a Steering ing Committe ittee As a network grows, creating a core group of leaders can help the network steer itself toward greater goals. Consolidated leadership brings efficient decision making when the network has many members. The network does risk losing member voice in decision making, so leadership has to be carefully selected with a focus on the members’ wants and needs. • A Steering ing Commi mitte tee needs to create te spaces for members s to have input ut – Consider face to face times as important opportunities for members to weigh in and make important decisions. i.e. review and provide input to annual work plans and network goals. – Survey your membership at important junctions in the network path to gather their preferences and needs. i.e. gather content interests for calls and face to face meeting agendas. – Consider creating member circles. Steering Committee members are assigned a group of members to check in with periodically throughout 7 the year to seek feedback on network performance.

St Stre rength ngth in in Numb Numbers ers When build lding ng your Steering ing Committe ittee conside ider size and level of engageme ment nt befor ore asking g people to partic icipat ipate so people le unders ersta tand nd who the team is and what they are signing ng up for. r. Al All Steering ng Committe ttees s will benefit t from om having ng two Co-Ch Chairs irs who suppor ort t each other to lead the team. Total Network Suggested Steering Frequency of Engagement Membership Size Committee (SC) Size Less than 10 members 5 members Consider quarterly or monthly SC calls. Also consider setting time aside 11-20 members 7-9 members at any face to face meeting for SC members to meet More than 20 members 9-12 members and discuss network building needs and goals. “If you want to go quickly, go alone. If you want to go far, go together .” 8

How ow to to De Deci cide? de? On Once a network ork has determ ermined ined who o wil ill be making ing decisio cisions ns and what at wil ill be deci cided ed, , the final al step ep is to deter ermine mine how w deci cisions s are e made. de. The e follow owing ing are the most t commo mmon types es of decisio cision n making ing method hods s [Not ote: e: Slide ides s 12-15 have e more e detail ail on each h deci cision ion type] e] Commun munit ity Imposi siti tion on Emerge gence ce Democra cracy cy 9