Stanford Social Innovation Review

Stanford Social Innovation Review (SSIR) is published by the Stanford Center on Philanthropy and Civil Society at Stanford University. It seeks to advance, educate, and inspire the field of social innovation by seeking out, cultivating, and disseminating the best in research- and practice-based knowledge. SSIR informs and inspires millions of social change leaders from around the world and from all sectors of society—nonprofits, business, and government.

Articles by Stanford Social Innovation Review

Centered_Self_SSIR_Helena Pallares

Connecting individual and societal change

Supporting the inner well-being of change makers can boost capacity for innovation and collaboration, and ultimately lead to more effective solutions to social and environmental challenges.

by Stanford Social Innovation Review | 1 min read

two skydivers jumping off a cliff-risk management_Wikimedia commons_philanthropy

Philanthropy & CSR

January 03, 2020

Smart philanthropy involves taking more risks

Risk aversion may work well for personal investments, but should not be applied to philanthropic grants and investments.

by Stanford Social Innovation Review | 6 min read

Volunteers during nepal earthquake

Fundraising & Communications

Keeping people engaged in your cause

Nonprofits struggling to keep supporters excited about their causes should follow these five recommendations to make the most of Stanford behavioral scientist B.J. Fogg's model for getting people to act.

by Stanford Social Innovation Review | 5 min read

Girl child in school

Advocacy & Government

Finding the sweet spot for innovation within government systems

Three guiding principles for nonprofits looking to find where they best fit within government-run systems.

by Stanford Social Innovation Review | 5 min read

a design with faces

Fundraising & Communications

November 07, 2018

The science of what makes people care

Effective communication is not just about getting your message out. It requires you to strategically tap into what shapes people’s feelings and values. Here are five principles that will help you connect your work to what people care most about.

by Stanford Social Innovation Review | 5 min read

building blocks

August 07, 2017

A simple approach to scale

To reach scale, you need to focus on how you will do it, and who will pay for it. Kevin Starr and Laura Hattendorf of Mulago break down your options for both.

by Stanford Social Innovation Review | 2 min read

young girl and older woman smiling and chatting

The recipe for youth success

Too often both funders and practitioners fail to focus on an indispensable ingredient in youth development: relationships. The Search Institute has developed a framework based on decades of experience that places strong relationships at the core.

by Stanford Social Innovation Review | 1 min read

sea waves

Social Business

Are you delivering services or are you providing value?

More social organisations need to ask themselves whether their services benefit the people they aim to help. Nasreen Dhanji and Roshan Paul talk about how you can refine existing models to make them more efficient and impactful.

by Stanford Social Innovation Review | 1 min read

Passing the baton in a relay race

Leadership & Talent

Leadership development: Five things all nonprofits should know

Leadership development takes courage, but it is the best investment a nonprofit can make. James Shepard gives you five reasons why you should begin investing in it today.

by Stanford Social Innovation Review | 2 min read

Innovation Lightbulb in a village

Social Business

Innovation is not the Holy Grail

The social sector’s collective quest for innovation might actually be misinformed and counter-productive. Christian Seelos and Johanna Mair argue why it is time to move from innovation as an ideology to innovation as a process.

by Stanford Social Innovation Review | 2 min read

House under construction

Philanthropy & CSR

The joy of hanging in there

Funders shouldn’t stop funding just because they can. In this article, Kevin Starr makes a strong case for the importance of unrestricted funding to nonprofits and having greater patience with outcomes.

by Stanford Social Innovation Review | 1 min read

Dart board with the dart on bullseye

Philanthropy & CSR

Using knowledge to improve funder practice

Do funders use knowledge to inform and improve their work? If so, how do they use it? What role does it play? Find out what Lindsay Louie & Fay Twersky’s research discovered about how funders make decisions.

by Stanford Social Innovation Review | 2 min read

Sign language

Fundraising & Communications

Great mission, bad statement

Poor language can trip up the best nonprofit mission statement. And when people are confused they don’t fully engage, says Erica Mills in this article for SSIR. The good news, though, is that the problem can be fixed.

by Stanford Social Innovation Review | 2 min read

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