Unfinished is a network of networks bringing together the collective efforts of partners to strengthen our civic life in the digital age. Launched in 2020, Unfinished is part social enterprise, part network, and part technology. We spoke with Lara Galinsky, Director of Impact Innovations, about Unfinished’s work to advance solutions to some of the greatest interconnected challenges we face today.

IS: What is your organization’s mission? Tell us about your organization’s areas of interests and the community you serve.   

LG: Unfinished is the cumulation of years of learning and visioning. Our work originated with Frank McCourt, who was concerned about the deteriorating social fabric in our country. To achieve a strong, equitable, multiracial democracy and civil society, we need to think about collective well-being. By redirecting technology, especially social media, we seek to fuel collaboration that could lead to more inclusive conversations and a fairer economy. Emerging from a world being brought to its knees with the exposure of inequities through access and systems that have fueled divisions, we are oriented to ways we can support on the systems level. We act as a laboratory, media outlet, and a research institution.

We worked on our guiding values quite a bit. They help us see the variety of roles we can play. We act as builders, especially in technology; as architects, building foundations brick by brick; and as a network with deep listening, collective wrestling with issues, and learning together.

We view our work through a long-term lens – over generations, with lasting value over quicker gains. The power of networks is so valuable to our work. There is a lot of gold from those networks identifying overlap, collaborating, and building trust across so many different kinds of organizations and people. There is a lot of possibility that arises from that collective work, and although any entrepreneurial endeavor with big bets will have bumps, we think what’s most important is how you get back up from those setbacks to continue to pursue your mission. Deploying what we know and learning from pivoting will inform what happens over time.

Read the full article about networks in the digital world by Lawrence Abbey at Independent Sector.