Why Networks Matter

About the event:

As thinking around health and social care shifts from a focus on organisational structures to a recognition of the importance of systems, the need to find new ways of understanding the world of work arises as a matter of urgency.

Organisation charts have told us about hierarchies – who sits where in terms of position and pay – but they have offered little insight into the connections that sit beneath them and which serve to get the work done in practice.

This half-day event will offer the expertise of a number of contributors to help us collectively to explore networks in organisational contexts – and the extent to which they support us to work effectively and systemically, while at the same time helping us to recognise their vital role in terms of moving to a genuinely inclusive workplace.

It will be an interactive session with a keynote panel discussion on the topic followed by focused breakout events to explore key facets of networks and how we might think in greater depth about them in the context of systems working and inclusive practices.

About our contributors:

FRANCESCA PALLOTTI is an Associate Professor in Economic Sociology at the Networks and Urban Systems Centre, University of Greenwich (UK). She holds a PhD from the Catholic University of Rome (Italy) and a MSc from the University of Birmingham (UK). Her research draws upon a network perspective to examine how the structure of social relations develops and affects individual opportunities and outcomes. Dr Pallotti’s research has examined processes of network formation, evolution and social influence among and within healthcare organizations, and most recently among physicians, and individuals affected by behavioural eating disorders.

PROFESSOR BRUCE CRONIN specialises in the role of business networks in strategy and innovation within and across organisational and national boundaries. He is Director of the Centre for Business Network Analysis and Co-Director of the Networks and Urban Systems Centre. His corporate clients have included Defra, Ernst & Young, Institute of Management Consultants, London Knowledge Network, McGraw-Hill, Nesta, NHS, Northern Trust, Oxford University Press, Pearson, Pensions Regulator, Thackray Williams, Work Foundation, Unilever, Universities UK

For nearly twenty-five years, INGA CARBONI has helped individuals and organizations increase engagement, innovation, and leadership effectiveness by applying the science of networks and network analysis to the development and management of productive working relationships. She has served as a consultant for Fortune 500 firms, leveraging her network insights to build more gender-inclusive organizations. Inga is the author of Connect the Dots: How to Build, Nurture, and Leverage Your Network to Achieve Your Personal and Professional Goals and her work has been featured in Harvard Business Review, Organizational Dynamics, California Management Review, and, most recently, MIT Sloan Management Review. An award-winning teacher and researcher, Inga Carboni is a professor of organizational behaviour at the College of William & Mary. For more information, visit www.ingacarboni.com.

DR DANIELLE VARDA is a scientist turned start-up founder, leading Visible Network Labs (VNL) as CEO. Her combination of 20 years as a network scientist studying social connectedness and health, published author, 12 years as a tenured professor at the University of CO Denver, and her successful launch and scaling of the Center on Network Science came together in one big idea to start VNL. She is an entrepreneur, technologist, network scientist, fundraiser, and mother to three spirited girls. She is a nationally known expert and keynote speaker on applied network science, with specific expertise in health system, public health system, entrepreneurial ecosystems, and educational system approaches. Danielle has published over 30 peer-reviewed articles on networks and their impact. She leads VNL’s strategic partnership approach, is the company’s lead fundraiser, and has a vision for how to utilize network science to solve our most pressing and intractable problems.

To book your place please click on the link below, you will be redirected to the NHS England events page.

https://www.events.england.nhs.uk/events/why-networks-matter