This summary, the last of a four-part study of social networks in Pontiac, Michigan, presents highlights from the three previous volumes and advocates the use of network research for understanding the dissemination process in educational innovation. Based on the conclusion that social networks provide a metaphor for understanding complex social relationships and for illustrating the importance of trust among units in a system, the following considerations and recommendations are offered to the National Institute of Education (NIE), the funding agency: (1) appropriate methodology is needed for educators interested in social network research; (2) research dealing with the nature of innovations, rather than networks per se, may be more useful to the NIE; (3) NIE should give attention to ethical issues in community studies; (4) a copy of all federally funded research reports should be made available to the community studied; (5) historical, social, and interorganizational data should be considered as integral parts of research; (6) school personnel should be considered more in research on school community relations; (7) relations between school and community should be more systematically organized; (8) programs designed to improve race relations should be continued in desegregated schools and in the community; (9) the financial support and promotion of interorganizational networks may be more fruitful than the support of individual associations; and (10) educational change is inseparable from community change. (Author/GC)