Lessons for Network Leadership and Practice: Insights from a Five-year Study of the Savory Global Network

Abstract

This article summarizes findings from a five-year research partnership between University of Colorado Boulder researchers and the Savory Global Network team. Here we highlight five key lessons and themes for network leadership and practice identified through our study of the Savory Global Network activities. These lessons and themes are:

1. Networks can help create a ‘Sense of Belonging’ and ‘Not Being Alone’ while supporting a process of transformative change.
2. Developing a ‘Shared Language and Identity’ can support connection-building and navigating conflict.
3. Building a ‘Community of Practice’ across a global network can help to support collective action and connections among participants.
4. Developing ‘New Supply Chains’ for ‘Economic Revitalization’ can be a powerful driver for network participation.
5. Creating ‘Place-specific Regional Networks’ as part of a larger action network is a relatively untapped pathway for wide-scale change.

In conducting this study, we used multi-event ethnography to support data collection through attendance at dozens of Savory Global Network events. For the analysis and to help us develop our findings, we used qualitative coding and a community-based research approach. Through this work, we offer suggestions for network researchers and practitioners to improve their capacity to study and foster transformative change through their research and program efforts.