"A network is nonhierarchical. It is a web of connections among equals. What holds it together is not force, obligation, material incentive or social contract, but rather shared values and the understanding that some tasks can be accomplished together that could never be accomplished separately. One of the important purposes of a network is simply to remind its members that they are not alone." Donella Meadows (1941-2001)

The Maine Mountain Heritage Network has no legal standing but operates as an open association of business and non-profits organizing around an evolving set of projects within specific program areas (see Workgroups left). A coordinating team maintains alignment across projects/program areas. Mountain Counties Heritage, Inc., an independent non-profit, serves as steward for the Network as a whole.

For more information about networks in general, see "Net Gains," and handbook created by Peter Plastrik and Madeleine Taylor available at www.in4c.net.

We are also working with Bruce Hoppe to try to understand the emerging field of Social Network Analysis. For more on this, go to the Connective Associates website.