INGOs linked by involvement in the same sector

In 2002-3 the VUFO-NGO Directory provided information on the sectoral involvement of 181 INGOs in Vietnam.The Directory made use of a classification of sectors, involving five broad categories and 35 detailed sub-categories.The resulting two-mode network (INGOs x sectors) is dense and complex. In each sector there were an average of 18 INGOs, and the average INGO was involved in 4 sectors. In the network diagram below, red nodes are INGOs and blue square nodes are sectors they are engaged with. In a network this complex it is only the peripheral nodes which can be examined with any clarity.  There are two peripheral sectors, which are also very evident in the matrix version of the same set of data: Wildlife protection (top) and Aged care (bottom).


The network diagram below makes use of more aggregated data. It shows which INGOs (round nodes) are engaged with which of the five broad sector categories (square nodes): Health (at 8 o'clock), Education (at 4 o'clock), Natural Resources (at 11 o'clock), Income Generation (at 1 o'clock), and Others (at 2 o'clock). Link thickness signifies the relative number of sub-categories each NGO is engaged with, within each of the broad sector categories. INGO nodes are colored by their "degree", the number of broad sector categories they are engaged with. INGOs with 1 degree (on the periphery) can be seen as "specialists" within this context, and those with high degree (e.g. 5, in the centre) can be seen as generalists.  In this network diagram there are 27 different clusters of INGOs, each characterised by engagement with a particular mix of sectors. The total number of possible clusters is limited by the number of combinations of broad sector categories they can link to (30, I think).  The relative proximity of the sector nodes to each other is a reflection of the degree to which they are engaged by a common set of INGOs. Health is the most separate of the five sectors.



Networks like this can be compared in terms of their diversity. Stirling (1998) has proposed a number of measures of diversity. Variety is the number of types of entities that exist. Here 27 of the 32 possible types of clusters that could exist do exist (Readers: Please check this 32 number!). Balance is the distribution of the number of observed cases across all these 27 types.  His view is that the more equal are the numbers across the types, the more even is the balance, the greater is the diversity. Here the number of INGOs per cluster ranges from 1 to 27. A comparison with the same type of INGO network in previous and subsequent years will indicate if there is a trend over time in these measures of diversity.

INGOs linked by involvement in the same provinces

The same problem appears as above. A networks showing 181 INGOs x 60 provinces is an even more complex network. There is an average of 13 INGOs per province and the average INGO is involved in 5 provinces. When the 60 provinces are collapsed into seven regions the resulting network is less complex and some structure can  be seen. As above, round nodes = INGOs, but here square nodes = regions. INGOs are color coded by their degree, the number of regions they working in. INGOs with the same degree are clustered together according to similarity of the set of regions they are working in.  There are three loose clusters of regions. The three regions at the top are in the south, the two to thr right are in central Vietnam, and the two at the bottom are in the north of Vietnam. As with the network diagram above, there are (geographical) generalists in the centre and (geographical) specialists on the periphery. The number of distinct clusters of INGOs is greater, in part because the number of combinations of involvement in different regions is greater.

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 Developing network models of development projects: An introduction > Network Examples > Networks of other organisations

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