• Using networks

Using networks

The paper provides several keys to effectively evaluating the impact of international social change networks.

The authors describe a network as an eminently political act, with its fundamental function being to organise the power and action of its members into a collective force for social change. The paper notes that the purpose of a Network is expressed in terms of modifying positions and relations of power; for example: protecting and promoting human and collective rights, conserving the environment or fortify equitable gender relations. So the intended impact of a Network is expressed in its political purpose, rather than in institutional objectives.

The authors conclude that:

• when evaluating international networks, it is erroneous to attempt to identify relations of cause and impact, since it is very difficult to determine which impact can be attributed to one organisation and which not
• the best guarantee of impact in a Network is the relevance of its strategies and their coherence with the activities they support.

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