Networked Improvement Community

The STEM PUSH Network uses a collective impact approach called a networked improvement community.

What is a Networked Improvement Community?

A Networked Improvement Community (NIC) is a specialized form of a network, defined by four key characteristics that make it a powerful structure to engage in the complexity of broadening participation in STEM:

Focused

Focused on a well-specified common aim.

Guided

Guided by a deep understanding of the problem, the system that produces it, and a shared working theory of how to improve it.

Disciplined

Disciplined through an approach to testing changes using the methods of improvement science.

Coordinated

Coordinated to accelerate the development, testing, and refinement of interventions, their rapid diffusion across participating programs, and their effective integration into varied contexts.

From Bryk, A. S., Gomez, L. M., Grunow, A., & LeMahieu, P. G. (2015). Learning to improve: How America’s schools can get better at getting better. Cambridge, MA: Harvard Education Press.