Through the years, we’ve benefitted from Alan J. Daly‘s work on social networks and systems. His edited volume, “Social Network Theory and Educational Change,” offers insight and examples of how relationships matter for the success of education improvement efforts. In our own work around networked improvement communities (NICs), we know how important it is to understand both formal and informal social networks within organizations engaged in improvement work, and then to be intentional about strengthening social networks that facilitate the scientific testing, iterating, and diffusion of improvement ideas. Emotion, carried through social networks, is a powerful and persuasive instrument that can be used both to create and to block change. We enjoyed his comments at the 2017 Summit on social network analysis in NICs. Read more about NICs in “Quality Improvement Approaches: The Networked Improvement Model,” “Orienting In and Orienting Out: The Political Context of Leading and Managing NICs,” and “The Promise of Social Relationships in Building Strong Networked Improvement Communities.”