The 10 video interviews below are excerpts from the next stage of our evaluation. Conducted by Catalyst's learning partner, inFocus, they feature people directly involved in Catalyst activities sharing their honest reflections and individual stories of impact.

They've been selected to represent as many of the different aspects of the network as possible, and speak to a range of successes, challenges and learnings about our collective approach. As part of our commitment to work in the open, we want to share them here.

The core Producer team have written a blog reflecting on the key learnings to emerge from these stories, and across the wider network. This piece also includes a update on some additional activities which are not covered by the videos below.

Meanwhile, inFocus are analysing the full videos, alongside detailed outcomes and indicator data from each work stream. We'll share the results here as an annual learning report in June.

Activity highlights since the update report have been:

A clipart of man in a brown jumper holding two strawberries and smiling
1. Improving our networked delivery (the fruits)
  • Convened 30 key stakeholders in person to build trust, connections and encourage collaboration.
  • Continued iteration, weaving, collective governance and evaluation of our 20 core partner-led initiatives that collectively support thousands of beneficiaries.
  • Contracted additional sociocracy and facilitation support to help our 13 initiative lead partners to work more collaboratively.
  • Conducted video interviews with 14 network members that speak to the power of working in a networked, connected way, where audiences can access and benefit from multiple initiatives interacting.
A clipart of a woman in a brown cardigan holding a pot with a small growing blue tree
2. Developing our working groups (the roots)
  • Wrapped up our first phase of inclusion work with a summary report from consultants "Held Collective", ready to refocus around a new vision and purpose once the new strategy is finalised.
  • Completed three key pieces of discovery research to inform the strategic review: on Sector Needs, Governance models and Working effectively with infrastructure organisations/ networks.
  • Commissioned and started three additional pieces of discovery research to feed into Catalyst’s evolving strategy: on applications of web3 for the social sector, tech justice, and network learning approaches.
A clipart of a man in a yellow shirt and green cardigan who is holding a shovel
3.Strengthening the core and future of Catalyst (the core)
  • Onboarded our Steering Group into Catalyst’s history and context, then moving into a phase of co-designing a new strategy and model together with the Producers, drawing on the insight from review activities.
  • Explored with the CAST board how Catalyst’s emerging new strategy might complement CAST’s and how we can work together to also understand our different roles and approaches.
  • Catalyst comms activities reach over 5,303 organisations, including 178 new followers since December, with an average of 3.1% engagement rate on social media. The newsletter, the primary comms tool, has an engagement rate of 22.5% and has 5,421 subscribers.
  • Producer Siana transitioned into a different role in the network - leading the tech justice research project as a freelance partner.
  • Recruited a dedicated Ops specialist onto the core team.

As Catalyst continues to shift to a more network-led approach the tree model below is a handy metaphor to capture and communicate the complexity of Catalyst and the reciprocity within it.

A purple tree that illustrates catalyst roots and fruits model. Initiative circles are the fruits of the tree represented by red strawberries, red hearts and red apples with black tops. On the top of the tree there is a text Collaborative Network circle with hearts with different initiatives within them, on the left there is support and training text with apples/red circles around it that contain different initiatives and on the right there is reuse infrastructure circle with strawberries around it that also contain different initiatives. On the trunk of the tree there is the core text and in the roots there are Funder Ecology, Learning & Impact and Inclusion. There is a girl in wheelchair reaching to one of the fruits of the tree on the right and on the left there is a man with scissors with his palm pointing at the core text
A purple tree that illustrates catalyst roots and fruits model. Initiative circles are the fruits of the tree represented by red strawberries, red hearts and red apples with black tops. On the top of the tree there is a text Collaborative Network circle with hearts with different initiatives within them, on the left there is support and training text with apples/red circles around it that contain different initiatives and on the right there is reuse infrastructure circle with strawberries around it that also contain different initiatives. On the trunk of the tree there is the core text and in the roots there are Funder Ecology, Learning & Impact and Inclusion. There is a girl in wheelchair reaching to one of the fruits of the tree on the right and on the left there is a man with scissors with his palm pointing at the core text
Collaborative Network Circle
Reuse Infrastructure Circle
Support
& Training Circle
The
Core
Learning
& impact
Funder Ecology
Inclusion

Initiative circles

Initiatives (the 'fruit' of the tree) held by designated Leads from different organisations - currently thirteen key partners; services, spaces and standards in delivery; time-bound contractual arrangements, collectively governed through sociocratic circles:

A red circle with a black circle on top
Support and Training Circle

Partner-led service offers that support the iteration and dissemination of digital best practice, either through upskilling teams internally or connecting them to external experts. Including:

A red strawberry with a black sprout on top
Reuse Infrastructure Circle
a red heart with black drop
Collaborative Network Circle

Partner-led spaces and communities of practice for learning, sharing and relationship-building. Including:

A red circle with a black circle on top

Support and Training Circle

Partner-led service offers that support the iteration and dissemination of digital best practice, either through upskilling teams internally or connecting them to external experts

A red strawberry with a black sprout on top

Reuse Infrastructure Circle

Partner-led service offers that support the iteration and dissemination of digital best practice, either through upskilling teams internally or connecting them to external experts

A red circle with a black circle on top

Support and Training Circle

Partner-led service offers that support the iteration and dissemination of digital best practice, either through upskilling teams internally or connecting them to external experts

The summary of Siôn Ellis Williams' interview
The summary of Veronica Ghobert's interview
The summary of Jo Kay's interview
The summary of Nish's and Ed's interview
The summary of Aaron Hirtenstein's interview
The summary of Jane Parkinson's interview
The summary of Annika Goulding's interview

Core

Led by Producers; these are experiments in how we communicate, govern and operate in alignment with our values and objectives. Testing out different ways of working together across Catalyst based on needs expressed by the network, looking at different governance models, e.g. through our Steering Group for the period of transition. Connecting valuable content and learning from the roots to the fruits and vice versa. Enabling support operations and information to flow smoothly.

The summary of Ellie's and Jo's interview

Roots

Ongoing streams of work that underpin all our work; cross-cutting; the ‘roots’ from which everything is sustained and nourished. No fixed end point - ongoing and foundational. These are made up of our Working Groups (WG) on Inclusion, Learning & Impact and Funder Ecology.

The summary of Dan Sutch's interview
The summary of Zainab Ekrayem's interview
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