Building Resilient Networks and Sustaining Long-Term Collaboratives with Christine Gyovai

Changemaking work is often called being resilient, but what does resilience mean? In this episode of the Yes! We Rise podcast, Christine talks about the intentional approach Dialogue + Design Associates takes in working with collaboratives, cultivating long-term networks, and how to honor and incorporate the value each member has to offer. Learn about the important models and approaches collaboratives can take when faced with a crossroad, and best practices to help a network function well. Woven throughout this episode you will also hear empowering stories of collaboratives already succeeding in the pursuit of their vision through working with others.  This episode is inspiring, informative, and waiting to be listened to! Welcome. LINKS/RESOURCES MENTIONED Learn more about Clinch River Valley Initiative (CRVI) and "How CRVI Works". Learn more about the three case studies discussed in this episode: Delaware River Watershed Initiative (DRWI), The Upper Susquehanna Coalition (USC), and The RE-AMP Network. If you want to learn more about Mayor Debra Horne, listen to Episode 9: Letting Love Lead For more on how to welcome new members into your collaborative, check out Episode 44: Maintaining Energy and Momentum Explore these excellent resources from Michelle Shumate and Katherine Cooper - the 2022 book Networks for Social Impact and article "How to Build More Resilient Networks." Check out the Network Weaver Handbook by June Holley to learn more about fostering network leadership. Learn more about the Partnership Impact Model created by Amy Mickel and Leigh Goldberg based on the work and impact of the One Tam partnership and findings from a four-year partnership study. A presentation about Movement Cycles and the different phases of networks, Network strengths and challenges document, and this Decision making chart from Movement Netlab. Check out this video from the Ford Foundation and Solidaire, From Protest to Power: Why Movements Matter & How They Work. The Yes! We Rise podcast is produced by Dialogue + Design Associates, Podcasting For Creatives, with music by Drishti Beats. Follow the We Rise podcast on Facebook and Instagram. Please rate, review, and subscribe to the podcast so we can continue spreading our message far and wide. Find our email list at the website: www.yeswerise.org. Thanks for listening. The Yes! We Rise podcast features solutions-seekers, change-makers, and those creating a resilient future. We share stories and strategies to inspire action to build collective resilience and community transformation. To create change, people need to feel like they belong and that they are part of a growing movement. They need to know their voice matters and that they have the inspiration, agency and ability to transform their lives and their communities. They are the key to a resilient future.     From the Navajo Nation to the mountains of Appalachia, incredible work is being done by community members and leaders. Change is often sparked by inspiration: seeing what others have done, especially in similar situations and places. People see that when someone looks like them or lives in a place like theirs, and has created real, true and lasting change, change that will allow their granddaughters and grandsons to thrive — they begin to imagine what might be possible for them.  No longer waiting for someone else to come and save them, they realize they are the ones they have been waiting for.  But what creates that spark? What creates that inspiration?  Learning through stories and examples, feeling a sense of agency and belonging, and getting fired up to kick ass creates that spark.  We Rise helps community leaders and members learn to forge a new path toward creating resilience and true transformation. One person at a time, one community at a time, one region at a time, the quilt of transformation can grow piece by piece until resilience becomes the norm instead of the exception. Together, we rise.