Stanford Social Innovation Review
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Stanford Social Innovation Review
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We're a self-funded nonprofit publication with a mission to inform and inspire leaders of social change.

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"Engage more in the arts.

It’s a deceptively simple recommendation, and probably one of the most enjoyable pieces of advice you could be given. But it’s one we rarely follow. Go outside and start asking US adults whether they did any arts yesterday, and 95 percent of them will say no."
Get Moving! (SSIR)
An excerpt from Daisy Fancourt’s Art Cure on the science behind the arts and healthier living
ssir.org
February 3, 2026 at 8:42 PM
What role have you seen social sector organizations and leaders playing?

"Locally, I think they’re the ones making it happen. Nationally? I think it’s more of a mixed bag..."

Read the entire interview with social movements expert Joe McCannon in yesterday's SSIR newsletter:
The Minneapolis movement
us19.campaign-archive.com
January 30, 2026 at 5:31 PM
Reposted by Stanford Social Innovation Review
This week's SSIR newsletter includes an interview with Joe McCannon, an expert on social change movements and campaigns, about what's happening in Minneapolis:
January 29, 2026 at 4:31 PM
This week's SSIR newsletter includes an interview with Joe McCannon, an expert on social change movements and campaigns, about what's happening in Minneapolis:
January 29, 2026 at 4:31 PM
Reposted by Stanford Social Innovation Review
"Abundance and justice aren't mutually exclusive." Dr. Tiffany Manuel makes the case for equitable housing, including calling for Housing for All, Housing Justice, and Housing Abundance. Read more https://ssir.org/articles/entry/narrative-change-equitable-housing
January 27, 2026 at 6:14 PM
Is low-cost AI an illusion?

As AI shifts from experimental tool to core infrastructure, its underlying economics such as energy, hardware, privacy, and market power are beginning to assert themselves.

That will have serious consequences for equity, public interest work, and organizations:
The Low-Cost AI Illusion (SSIR)
What the next economic phase of artificial intelligence means for public interest work and how organizations can protect equity, access, and themselves.
ssir.org
January 28, 2026 at 5:21 PM
Reposted by Stanford Social Innovation Review
Drawing on decades of global experience, Nancy Lindborg, President and CEO of @packardfdn.bsky.social and Stanford PACS Advisory Board Member, outlines why and how funders should invest in #CivilSociety as the cornerstone of #democracy.

Read on our #Philanthropy Innovation Summit blog ⤵️
Investing in Civil Society: The Foundation of Democracy - Stanford PACS
I’ve spent most of my career working in some of the world’s most challenging, conflict-ridden, and repressive places. Each place was defined by its local context, but all were fragile states, meaning ...
stanford.io
January 27, 2026 at 4:01 PM
In recent years, 3 major narrative movements have pushed the housing debate:

- Housing for All
- Housing Justice
- Housing Abundance

Each has distinct origins, strategies, and contributions, and each has sought to reframe housing as a collective good, a moral imperative, or a policy necessity.
Making the Case for Equitable Housing (SSIR)
Abundance and justice aren't mutually exclusive. Narrative lessons from three major advocacy movements of recent years.
ssir.org
January 27, 2026 at 3:55 PM
"When policy makers and researchers focus solely on financial returns, they risk undervaluing education’s profound influence on personal empowerment, social equity, and collective well-being..."
Education’s Civic Dividend (SSIR)
The social returns of investments in education too often go unmeasured and undervalued.
ssir.org
January 26, 2026 at 8:01 PM
Three strategies for nonprofit organizations to help them survive through funding disruption and uncertainty:

📈 Innovate to grow
🤝 Strategic partnerships
🏘️ Invest in assets
How Will Your Nonprofit Survive? (SSIR)
In the face of current funding uncertainty, US nonprofits must innovate to sustain their missions.
ssir.org
January 20, 2026 at 4:11 PM
Reposted by Stanford Social Innovation Review
“Purpose before organization: prioritizing the organization's purpose, versus the organization itself.”
ssir.org/articles/ent...
The Four Principles of Purpose-Driven Board Leadership (SSIR)
In the face of increasingly pressing systemic inequities, nonprofit boards must change the traditional ways they have worked and instead prioritize an organization's purpose, show respect for the ecos...
ssir.org
January 19, 2026 at 1:08 AM
"Data is never neutral or objective. Data systems are designed by people working within institutions, and when those institutions are built on structural racism, patriarchy, and other systems of oppression, the data they produce will reflect and reinforce those same inequities."
The Urgent Need for Data Equity, Justice, and Sovereignty (SSIR)
Transforming civic data in the United States is essential to improve our collective health and well-being.
ssir.org
January 16, 2026 at 5:28 PM
Reposted by Stanford Social Innovation Review
🎉Our new piece on Iterative A/B Testing is out in @ssir.org
with @noamangrist.bsky.social @mandabeat.bsky.social & Tendekai Mukoyi.

A case & toolkit for rigorous, rapid, and regular testing to improve cost-effectiveness at scale👇
💡 ssir.org/articles/ent...
🛠️ www.youth-impact.org/insights/a-b...
Iterative A/B Testing for Social Impact: Rigorous, Rapid, Regular (SSIR)
How organizations can close the gap between measurement and implementation
ssir.org
January 16, 2026 at 3:15 PM
Reposted by Stanford Social Innovation Review
📣 Passionate about closing the gap between evidence and day-to-day implementation? Check out our new article "Iterative A/B testing for Social Impact: Rigorous, Rapid, and Regular" now out in @ssir.org w/ @mandabeat.bsky.social @ccullen.bsky.social Tendekai Mukoyi
ssir.org/articles/ent...
Iterative A/B Testing for Social Impact: Rigorous, Rapid, Regular (SSIR)
How organizations can close the gap between measurement and implementation
ssir.org
January 15, 2026 at 7:21 PM
Reposted by Stanford Social Innovation Review
Sowing Backlash, One DEI Training at a Time ssir.org/books/excerp... - Lily Zheng, @ssir.org
Sowing Backlash, One DEI Training at a Time (SSIR)
An excerpt from Fixing Fairness on the fall and rise of workplace DEI
ssir.org
January 15, 2026 at 4:51 PM
Many nonprofits in LMICs face a critical mismatch: urgent social problems demand rapid program iteration, yet organizations often wait years for externally-produced evaluation results.

When they do conduct rigorous evaluations, one-off studies rarely keep pace with evolving implementation contexts.
Iterative A/B Testing for Social Impact: Rigorous, Rapid, Regular (SSIR)
How organizations can close the gap between measurement and implementation
ssir.org
January 14, 2026 at 9:27 PM
"In the same way that we now have nearly a thousand studies showing us the perils of solving workplace DEI problems with training alone, it turns out that we have scores upon scores of research and case studies showing us exactly what works instead."

An excerpt from "Fixing Fairness" by Lily Zheng:
Sowing Backlash, One DEI Training at a Time (SSIR)
An excerpt from Fixing Fairness on the fall and rise of workplace DEI
ssir.org
January 14, 2026 at 12:28 AM
"In this moment of cascading climate shocks, adaptation looks more like a mangrove than a sea wall built out of concrete: nurturing the capacities, ties, and institutions that allow people and places to bend without breaking."
Climate Adaptation Means Building Social Infrastructure (SSIR)
Resilience to climate change is less about building walls than cultivating the social capacities for people to navigate uncertainty with agency, solidarity, and security.
ssir.org
January 12, 2026 at 7:40 PM
Accusations of hypocrisy are everywhere. Yet despite this noise, little seems to change.

In an excerpt from his new book, "The Hypocrisy Trap," @mhallsworth.bsky.social introduces “induced hypocrisy,” a tactic that offers a new, more respectful way to help people live up to their commitments.
Constructive Confrontation (SSIR)
An excerpt from The Hypocrisy Trap on how to avoid it
ssir.org
January 6, 2026 at 8:58 PM
Reposted by Stanford Social Innovation Review
📢 “At its core, conservation is about behaviour change.”

New @ssir.org article highlights why behavioural science must be central to conservation - from project design to evaluation and systems change.

Read more 👉 ssir.org/articles/ent...

#Conservation #BehaviouralScience #BehaviourChange
Making Behavioral Science Work for Conservation (SSIR)
At its core, conservation is about behavior change. Yet few organizations have put in place the structure, standards, and accountability needed to apply behavioral science effectively.
ssir.org
January 6, 2026 at 4:35 PM
Reposted by Stanford Social Innovation Review
Fresh because it isn't new: Philanthropic investors can use patient and concessional capital (grants, cheap debt, generous equity) to prove the profitability of a business or a model. Then, let the commercial investors comes in when the math maths.
ssir.org/articles/ent...
There Is No Such Thing as Impact Investing (SSIR)
There is philanthropic investing, and there is commercial investing, and there is nothing in between.
ssir.org
December 30, 2025 at 1:19 AM
Reposted by Stanford Social Innovation Review
We’re honored to be featured in @ssir.org’s “Building an Adaptive Metanetwork to Fight Climate Change.” The piece shows how ecoAmerica’s broad, diverse network helps people take meaningful climate action. Now is the time for hopeful climate engagement.
Read the article: ssir.org/articles/ent...
Building an Adaptive Metanetwork to Fight Climate Change (SSIR)
EcoAmerica has developed a network to inform and coordinate other networks to push for climate action. With a reach of 60 million individuals across the United States, it offers important lessons for ...
ssir.org
December 22, 2025 at 5:16 PM
Reposted by Stanford Social Innovation Review
🗓️ 2025 Highlight: Stanford Social Innovation Review, @ssir.org, just named a piece by our chief impact officer, Mitchelle De Leon, as one of the top stories that inspired them this year! 🎉
Check out their list here:
ssir.org/articles/ent...
Need a Boost? 14 Stories That Inspired Us in 2025 (SSIR)
Innovation stories on collaborating for greater impact, protecting and preserving history, affordable housing, an inspiring model of civic leadership, and more.
ssir.org
December 27, 2025 at 11:05 PM
Reposted by Stanford Social Innovation Review
The biggest achievement of the year was the publication of my book "You Must Become an Algorithmic Problem"... Here is an excerpt from @ssir.org that focuses on the shift from understanding to prediction and the effects on liberal democracy (5/5)

ssir.org/books/excerp...
Breaking the Algorithmic Contract (SSIR)
An excerpt from You Must Become an Algorithmic Problem on the internet’s social contract
ssir.org
December 31, 2025 at 10:33 PM