Table 1. ‘If, then, because’ statements that explicate our specific expectations of the network as a form of intervention.

If	then	because
Level 1 – Network effects on national and county actors and the interface between level 1 and level 2
The Network produces trusted reports on key indicators for the quality of neonatal care across hospitals that are meaningful to key national and county level actors including the professional associations and is able to fully engage them in discussing these reports	Actors in the national and county governments, senior hospital management teams and key professional institutions and opinion leaders will begin to mobilise their influence and resources to support, sustain and spread improvement efforts and become more appreciative of hospital teams’ local efforts to improve	These key sectoral actors will share and embrace the goal to improve neonatal care, trust the performance information, accept some accountability for success in achieving the goals and become motivated to employ their formal or informal power to take on roles as institutional entrepreneurs to provide support and effect change rather than accept the status quo.
Actors in the national and county governments, senior hospital management teams and key professional institutions and opinion leaders are engaged and mobilised in supporting hospitals medical and nursing team leaders	Hospitals medical and nursing team leaders will engage more fully in the network activities themselves and be willing to lead and undertake improvement work within their hospitals	The opinion of those in authority, their endorsement of goals and active support for improvement are important normative influences on medical and nursing team leaders helping reshape professional identities, a process reinforced by the recognition of such actors which can become a powerfully motivating non-financial incentive
Level 2 – Network effects on hospitals’ medical and nursing leaders and the interface between level 2 and level 3
The Network activities comprising outreach and mentorship, six monthly peer to peer meetings, performance feedback, and leadership and management skills development are effectively delivered with full participation of hospitals’ clinical and nursing team leaders	Hospitals’ medical and nursing team leaders will have the capability to conduct the local leadership and management work needed for improvement including: i) clarifying and communicating goals, ii) reflecting on performance feedback, iii) advocacy locally for essential resources, iv) promotion of better intra and inter-professional teamwork and v) creation of an organisational climate on wards that accepts change and engages families in care	Local leaders embrace the shared vision and goals for improvement as consistent with their own values, trust the performance information, accept some accountability for achieving improvements, feel supported by the network as a community, identify with the expanded professional leadership and management roles it encompasses, and are motivated by the recognition of their mentors, peers and hospital colleagues
Hospitals’ medical and nursing team leaders learn key relational skills and effectively engage over time in the day-to-day local leadership and management work that is needed to create better functioning teams	Frontline health workers will embrace the improvement goals and individually and collectively engage in practice changes that deliver improvements that are feasible with the available resources	Frontline health workers’ motivation is enhanced by feeling their contribution is valued locally and across the network, trust within teams who are now ’pulling together’ is increased, there is a renewed professional desire to provide quality care that aligns with personal values and accountability for improving newborn outcomes and families’ experiences becomes part of their identity
Level 3 – Network effects on frontline workers and the interface between level 3 and families
The Network fosters team development, co-design and introduction of better job aides for frontline workers together with appropriate clinical and technical training and helps promote adoption of essential technologies	Despite some persistent resource challenges frontline health workers individually and collectively will have the basic skills, tools, resources and relationships to deliver essential forms of care to sick newborns over the many days and shift changes involved in inpatient stays	The training, job aides and additional technologies enhance their capability and opportunity to improve the quality of care while greater ownership of co-designed tools further enhances confidence, efficiency and self-efficacy, that with greater trust and recognition strengthen motivation and professional self-esteem
The frontline health workers embrace local team goals and professional norms that now emphasise providing comfort and support to babies’ mothers and family members	Mothers and family members will more fully participate in care, this will enable more effective breast milk feeding, promote babies’ growth, and help strengthen bonding between the parents and baby and relationships between families and staff	Staff will reconnect with values around caring so mothers and family members will feel more comfortable and confident on the ward and be more able to breastfeed and provide care, these better family relationships will further enhance workers’ satisfaction