Network Explorer | Keeping Forests

Q: Do I have to have been part of the study to use the Network Explorer?

No. The Explorer is built for anyone working across Southern forests, whether or not their organization was in the original analysis. Use it to see how the community is connected and where you fit within it.

Keeping Forests' Network Explorer is an interactive map of the organizations collaborating on the U.S. South's working forest economy and the multi-dimensional issues surrounding Southern forest conservation.

The Network Explorer was built in 2026 using data from our 2023 Social Network Analysis (SNA). The SNA provided a rigorous, quantitative study that was independently conducted by network scientists at Visible Network Labs. It measured how organizations connect, collaborate, and share resources to ensure a future for Southern forests.

For the story behind the SNA, including why Keeping Forests mapped the network, what the analysis revealed, and why it matters, see our Insight post:

‍The Network Behind Southern Forest Markets.

Additional resources are also available on this page.
‍

The Network Explorer is built for organizations both within and beyond the original analysis. Here, you can explore the network yourself and dig into the methodology and resources behind it.

Methodology & Resources

Of the 80 organizations invited, 68 completed the survey, representing an 85% response rate. Together these organizations reported 1,004 working relationships, with no invited organization being an outlier to the network.

Each response was an individual organizations' relationship to the other included organizations in the Social Network Analysis (SNA). None of the relational data reflects a singular relationship to Keeping Forests, though Keeping Forests was one organization that invited participants could report on.

The network structure is a cumulative picture of how peers who frequently interact within and outside of the Keeping Forests network experience their peer's organizational contribution and connection.

Applying network science metrics, our methodology reveals the density of our network, the high trust in the network with limited resource contribution, and the organizations that are best positioned to help shift dynamics toward our common agenda as a result of structural and relational gaps.

Watch The Webinar

Webinar · with Visible Network Labs

How we mapped the Southern forest network and what it revealed about strengthening collaboration to drive impact

Key Findings of the Analysis

The analysis surfaced a network that is unusually connected, built on trust, and poised for a bigger step.

22%

Network density

About 14 working relationships per organization. In network science that is high; social networks rarely exceed 25%.

3.4/4

Average trust

VNL identified trust as one of the network's greatest assets.

2.6/4

Average value

The tangible resources partners exchange, like funding, lag behind the trust.

The gap that matters

Trust runs ahead of tangible exchange.

On VNL's 4-point scale, scores above 3.0 are considered strong. In our network, trust clears that mark, but value sits just below it. High trust with developing value is the signature of a network that has built its relationships and is ready to turn them into resource-level collaboration. However, lasting outcomes are difficult to achieve without partners offering increased value to the network's shared goals.

Trust

3.0

3.4

Reliability 3.45 · In support of mission 3.33 · Open to discussion 3.31

Value

2.6

Power/influence 2.88 · Involvement 2.57 · Resource contribution 2.28

Dashed line marks 3.0, VNL's threshold for a strong score on the 0–4 scale.

The network's key players

Influencers

The most connected organizations.

U.S. Forest Service
Southern Group of State Foresters
NC State University, College of Natural Resources
Southern Regional Extension Forestry
U.S. Endowment for Forestry & Communities

Brokers

The organizations that bridge otherwise-separate groups.

U.S. Forest Service
Keeping Forests
U.S. Endowment for Forestry & Communities
Southern Group of State Foresters
National Alliance of Forest Owners

Exchangers

The organizations that reach the rest of the network in the fewest steps.

U.S. Forest Service
Southern Group of State Foresters
NC State University, College of Natural Resources
Southern Regional Extension Forestry
U.S. Endowment for Forestry & Communities

Keeping Forests ranks in the top ten on all three measures, and second only to the U.S. Forest Service as a broker. These standings were set by how peer organizations named one another, not by self-report.

Frequently asked questions

What is a Social Network Analysis (SNA)?

A social network analysis maps the working relationships among a group of organizations: who is connected to whom, how strong those ties are, what each contributes, and where the gaps are. It turns a field of organizations into a measurable picture of how a system actually holds together.

Is a 2023 snapshot still relevant in 2026?

Yes. An SNA captures a network's underlying structure, which sectors bridge, which sit isolated, and where the gaps are, and that architecture changes slowly even as individual relationships shift. The 2023 analysis is a baseline: useful on its own and the reference point for measuring change.

Do I have to have been part of the study to use the Network Explorer?

No. The Explorer is built for anyone interested in or working across Southern forests, whether or not their organization was in the original analysis. Use it to see how the community is connected and where you fit within it.

What do the trust and value scores mean?

Both are measured on a 0 to 4 scale, where scores above 3.0 are considered strong. The network's trust score (3.4) clears that mark; its value score (2.6), the tangible resources organizations exchange, sits just below, marking the network's clearest area for growth.

Who are the network's key players?

The analysis identified the most-connected organizations (influencers), those that bridge otherwise-separate groups (brokers), and those that reach the rest of the network in the fewest steps (exchangers). The U.S. Forest Service leads across all three, and Keeping Forests ranks in the top ten of each.

What role does Keeping Forests play in the network?

Keeping Forests functions as a central connector, second only to the U.S. Forest Service as a broker, the organizations that bridge otherwise-separate groups. Those standings came from how peers named one another, not from self-report, reflecting its backbone role in Southern forest markets and conservation.

Partner With Us

The strategies behind Keeping Forests were shaped through years of collaboration. Moving them forward depends on partners who bring a range of expertise, influence, relationships, and resources to the work.

START A PARTNERSHIP CONVERSATION

See how the Southern forest network connects