Share-Net International’s uniqueness lies in the diversity of its members ranging from SRHR practitioners, policymakers, researchers, students, advocates, donors and the private sector. This strategic positioning enables SNI to achieve its mission of linking SRHR research, policy and practice.

Understanding the value of its members has made Network Development one of the core pillars of SNI. This has inspired the development of this Membership Engagement Strategy. A focus in the coming years is to facilitate greater knowledge brokering and knowledge exchange among individual and organisational members. Connecting SRHR practitioners internationally who may not otherwise have encountered each other’s work.

Since the inception of Share-Net, active membership has been the key driver of sustaining the knowledge platform. Despite the excitement and opportunities that come with the growth and expansion of the Share-Net community, keeping members actively engaged in network activities has posed a significant challenge in recent years. This was aggravated by COVID-19. The recent SNI Mid Term Review (MTR) revealed that more is needed to expand the SNI membership to become more diverse and inclusive, and engage more with members, hubs and organisations in the Global South. The MTR further recommended that post-COVID-19, members are longing for more face-to-face engagement and non-digital communications alongside digital engagements, to address concerns regarding the digital divide within the SNI community.

To address these challenges, Share-Net has incorporated the MTR recommendations into its updated 5-year strategic plan (2023-2027). This strategic plan adopts a rights-based and feminist approach and identifies five key strategies, three of which are directly linked to memberships or membership engagement. One of these strategies is completely dedicated to the development of a membership engagement strategy. This includes investment in face-to-face meetings, revising the website to make it more accessible, effective knowledge management through well-planned events that are more accessible internationally and engagement through grants.

This document elucidates SNI’s Membership Engagement Strategy, which aligns with the SNI Theory of Change (2018-2022), SNI Mid Term Review (MTR), and the updated Five-Year Strategy (2024-2027).