How to Manage Networks: Managing Resources

First off, it’s important to be very thoughtful and intentional about determining a membership fee structure as it carries a number of risks. Some of these are intangible -- like the view of the network shifting in people’s minds or your members even losing faith in the network -- and others are very tangible in the sense that, for example, some members may be able to pay and some may not. There are questions to ask and answer including about how your network can be an inclusive, equitable space given financial requirements and potential differences in resources, what it might change in terms of your membership model (i.e. who can be a member and what the broader membership encompasses), and how it might shift your shared purpose if being a member requires paying fees. As such, taking the time and facilitating a consultative process that is open and transparent is likely the best approach. You want to hear everybody’s views and really engage the membership in co-creating whatever membership fee structure you might decide upon. Mitigating the risks of dealing with potentially contentious issues requires meaningful participation by members in the defining of potential models and decision-making about them.