Mapping the Great Beyond: Identifying Meaningful Networks in

MAPPING THE GREAT BEYOND 69
and the day-to-day actions of practitioners. Importantly, this insight
can be based on the understanding of actual behaviors of those with
whom an organization interacts, not reported perceptions.
Developing insight into networks of influence creates potential
questions for practice in the future of Public Diplomacy
Using a network based approach to evaluation can in the future
allow the consideration of questions that can further enhance the
planning and impact of a project. These questions might include:
• What is the best context to nurture a network; which
environments, events and methods achieve the best
results for Public Diplomacy?
• How does shifting the emphasis between homophily
and diversity influence the network, and the impact
of the initiative?
• What are the most effective markers of homophily
within different audiences around which participants
can recognize similarity or coordinate?
• Where should emphasis be placed between
increasing the density of a network and increasing
the overall size? (While doing both would initially
appear preferable, there is a clear limit to how long
the network participants can spend communicating
with their fellow participants, so a huge and very
dense network is likely to quickly overwhelm
participants.)
To achieve this insight, an organization may consider longitudinal
studies focused on the effect that particular activities deliver over
time. Network mapping has the potential to be an invaluable source