This chapter in the Heart & Soul Handbook explains the steps necessary to perform a Community Network Analysis in a town, a process in which a community can identify formal and informal networks, stakeholder groups, and assets.
A way to examine the relationships and networks been people and social groups within your town, a Network Analysis can help a community learn about the lives of its inhabitants and better engage them in the Heart & Soul Community Planning process. This chapter, Understanding Your Town: Network Analysis for Heart & Soul Community Planning, explains the numerous benefits of such an analysis. The seven steps to performing a Network Analysis are then laid out, from brainstorming and identifying networks, to opening conversations and discovering resources. With several on-the-ground examples from Heart & Soul projects, this chapter shows both the benefits and relative ease of performing a Network Analysis to better understand the connections within your town.
In 2008, the Orton Family Foundation pioneered Heart & Soul Community Planning, a process that has so far been piloted in selected communities in New England and the Rocky Mountains. The Foundation is currently in the process of developing a H&S Handbook that describes the entire process, first explaining the reasoning behind Heart & Soul Community Planning, then walking through the steps to achieve an inclusive, enduring, long-term community plan. With detailed descriptions of new tools and methods and examples from on the ground, this handbook is a resource for planners and citizens alike.
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