There’s a lot to be learned there for those of us in aid, philanthropy and governance who are trying to work more adaptively and responsively. How do we balance expertise with decentralized innovation? How do we build the capabilities as a collective that will enable us to adapt and sustain change long-term?

The excellent Twitter and Tear Gas by Zeynep Tufecki has been making the rounds of the Feedback Labs office. In the book, Zeynep describes network internalities as the capabilities that social movements develop when their members carry out challenging tasks that require them to make decisions as a collective. Sure it might be hard to figure out how to work with others to design, print and distribute thousands of flyers, and it might seem easier to post something individually on Facebook, but the former act builds capability in the movement, like muscle, far more than the latter. Those capabilities are essential for social movements to be able to adapt and respond to challenges down the line.

Read the source article at FeedbackLabs