NHS Networks is where clinicians, managers, leaders, innovators, Board members, policy makers, as well as patients and communities can all contribute to - and learn from - new thinking and new practice.

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We think of a network as an entity but actually it is better described as a process with a beginning, a middle and an end, only as Samuel Beckett famously said about his plays, not necessarily in that order.

A better analogy might be that of an organism, something that can be simple or complex, ranging from a few cells to many that comes into being, lives for a while and dies only after it has served its purpose in whatever ecosystem it inhabits.

Networks can also be thought of as events. The agenda for these events is dynamic and subject to frequent change, delegates come and go, and timescales are not hours and days but months and years.

The struggle for a satisfactory definition is a reflection of the diversity of networks, which is also their strength. As a network of networks, we encourage and nurture that diversity but are only dimly aware of all its forms. NHS Networks is actively involved in the setting up and running of some of your networks but is little more than a passive enabler for others, a host without an invitation to the party.

Our register of networks exists to map the world of networks, but it only records what your network exists to do, not what makes it tick.

To find out more and to stimulate the development of networks, we plan to showcase a network of the month from March. The only criteria for inclusion is that your network needs to be doing something interesting or must be able to show it has been a force for change, however modest. It also has to be on our register of networks.

The size of the network doesn't matter, but it must have a story. A serious purpose and big ambitions are not the only qualifications: weird and wonderful specimens may also apply.

The object of the exercise: to inspire others, to promote a cause, to revive a flagging network, to celebrate success... The motive is immaterial. It's the network we want to hear about.

Send an email explaining in a few sentences why your network should be the first NHS Networks network of the month to editor@networks.nhs.uk.

The next New@Networks will be sent out on 19 February.

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