Data Analyst ACDI/VOCA Washington, District of Columbia, United States
Abstract Information: Social Network Analysis (SNA) is a tool used to analyze patterns of relationships among people or organizations in groups, or networks, and helps us examine and understand their social structures and interdependencies. Kumu is an accessible, web-based platform designed for network mapping and data visualization. Several projects implemented by ACDI/VOCA, an international development nonprofit organization, have utilized Kumu to conduct SNAs in order to better understand the network dynamics of project participants in various countries and contexts. Projects in Colombia, Honduras, and Bangladesh, have successfully analyzed the social and economic networks of youth and indigenous populations, small- and medium-sized entrepreneurs, and livestock service providers, respectively, using Kumu and the SNA process, and have used the results to identify key leverage points and subsequently inform, develop, and adapt programming strategies. This demonstration will include a brief tutorial of the Kumu tool and an overview of how it was applied in the three unique case studies conducted by ACDI/VOCA.
Relevance Statement: There are a variety of software and tools designed to carry out network mapping and social network analyses, with varying degrees of complexity. At ACDI/VOCA, we have availed the use of Kumu in recent years because of its accessibility (no ability to code is required, though it can be helpful for more advanced analytics), affordability, intuitiveness, breadth and depth of functionality, and it’s applicability to the network mapping goals of several of our projects. The Monitoring, Evaluation, Research, and Learning (MERL) teams of various projects and at our headquarters in DC have found the Kumu tool to be incredibly useful in furthering our understanding of the complex networks of the organizations and individuals with which we work and seek to benefit, which has in turn led to our increased ability to provide insightful data and learning that project implementors can use to improve the efficacy and efficiency of our activities. The resulting network maps are both visually stimulating and allow for advanced analytical testing using network centrality metrics, which in combination can tell a dynamic story about the networks being analyzed. ACDI/VOCA has no affiliation with the Kumu web platform but has achieved success in applying the tool to its activities, and feels it is a valuable process that should be shared with other practitioners of network evaluation, whether or not they are in international development. The Kumu tool can be found via the URL kumu.io.
