Social Network Analysis with Danielle Varda

As more organizations and communities collaborate, measuring, evaluating, and using data from community networks can be a challenging endeavor. A novel yet growing approach is the use of Social Network Analysis (SNA) to assess the quality and quantity of the interrelationships between people and organizations in communities, especially as a way to describe program and intervention outcomes.

In this workshop, Dr. Danielle Varda from the Center on Network Science at the University of Colorado Denver will provide a 4-hour introduction to applying SNA to evaluating community networks. The workshop will focus on:

• Why you might use a SNA approach in evaluation
• How to use SNA in evaluation
• How to assess a network’s strength and impact
• How to make evidence-based decisions for effectively managing and improving your network’s outcomes.
• How to translate SNA findings into action steps and strategies

Participants will also have an opportunity to do hands-on analysis with a tool (PARTNER - Program to Analyze, Record, and Track Networks to Enhance Relationships) that makes the task of social network analysis survey design and analysis straightforward. This workshop will give participants the tools to immediately apply SNA to evaluation.

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Danielle M. Varda is an Associate Professor at the School of Public Affairs (SPA), University of Colorado Denver with a secondary appointment in the Colorado School of Public Health, Department of Health Systems, Management, and Policy. She also has a courtesy Associate Professor appointment in the School of Information Sciences at the University of Colorado Boulder. She is Director of the Center on Network Science (www.center-networkscience.net), Director of the Nonprofit Concentration in the MPA program, and Advisor to the Dual MPA-MPH Degree. Dr. Varda directs the Network Leadership Training Academy (www.networkleader.org) held annually in Denver at the School of Public Affairs. She also sits on the AmeriCorps NCCC Federal Advisory Board, and is an alumna of the AmeriCorps NCCC (Class 5 and 6). Dr. Varda joins SPA from the RAND Corporation, where she worked as an Associate Policy Scientist from 2005-2008. She specializes in collaborative governance and network leadership, focusing specifically in Public Health Systems and Services Research. Her research focus is on evaluating the network structure of interorganizational collaborations between the public, private, and nonprofit sectors and the subsequent network effects of these recorded interactions. Her research portfolio includes projects in the areas of maternal/child health, public health and health networks, nonprofit community networks, economic inclusion/wealth building, and systems evaluation.

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Space will be limited to 40 for this session. 

Registration fee: $20 for COEN members / $45 for non-members

If you haven't already joined COEN, become a member through our website at www.coevalnet.org. A one-year membership is $20 or less.

Thank you,

COEN Board

The Colorado Evaluation Network is a 501(c)3 local affiliate of the American Evaluation Association.

Colorado Evaluation Network (COEN) www.coevalnet.org