What We Do
The Center was created in 2000 by a group of faculty, alumni, and other leaders committed to social change. Building on a long history at the School of engaging students and alumni in social and environmental issues, the Center has quickly developed new ways to strengthen the capacity of individuals addressing social problems. We have begun to build a vibrant community of active change agents through a variety of activities that contribute through thought leadership, student engagement, and community engagement.
Thought Leadership
Through basic and applied research, case writing, course development, and publications, the Center creates new knowledge and disseminates important ideas and tools for social innovation.
The Stanford Social Innovation Review is a quarterly journal that brings the best in research and practice-based knowledge to individuals and organizations working for social change around the world. The journal explores strategies, management tools, and ideas for nonprofits, foundations, and socially responsible businesses. It provides a multi-stakeholder approach to social issues and brokers dialog across sectors. Each issue includes leading insights, research news, case studies, and commentaries by leading scholars and executives. Details
The Stanford Project on the Evolution of Nonprofits advances scholarship on the management of nonprofit organizations through the development of unique data, academic papers on critical issues in nonprofit management, and a comprehensive comparative report, Managing Through Challenges, which profiles the nonprofit sector at the national, state, and regional levels. Details
The Center has supported the creation of more than 70 case studies for use by teaching institutions throughout the world, with many more in development. Cases highlight some of the challenges encountered by corporations, nonprofits, and governments as they develop solutions to social problems. Details
The Center shares information in a variety of ways through publications and reports, Ask ACT, and in our web archive. Details
We also make key speeches and discussions of thought leaders available to a wider audience through the Social Innovation Podcasting Channel. Details
Student Engagement
For more than 35 years, the Public Management Program (PMP) has supported an array of activities designed to help MBA and Sloan students apply management skills to social and environmental issues. Students are prepared to become future leaders in government, nonprofit, and socially responsible business through:
Academic activities including a selection of 30 elective courses through which students may earn a PMP certificate with the option to specialize in socially responsible business, government, or nonprofit management.
Experiential learning that enriches student learning through service on nonprofit boards, local volunteer opportunities, and domestic and international service learning trips that support innovative social entrepreneurs.
Career support to help students seeking internships and jobs with a socially responsible focus by sourcing positions, providing mentoring, and offering generous financial subsidy programs for students and alumni serving in nonprofit or government jobs.
Community building activities that enable students to learn from and interact with alumni, leading thinkers, and community leaders through numerous clubs, conferences, speaker engagements, and other events. Details
Community Engagement
Committed to building a vibrant community of people actively engaged in building a better world, the Center supports a variety of activities to share the best research and teaching with a wider audience and to share the perspectives of leaders from throughout the world.
The Center has developed a portfolio of special courses through the School's Executive Education program that are designed to strengthen the skills and capacity of community leaders and their organizations by providing management frameworks and knowledge. Intensive courses range from three days to two weeks and provide opportunities for individual professional development as well as team development in nonprofit management, arts management, strategy, philanthropy, and the environment. Details
One of the largest pro bono resource providers in the Bay Area, the Stanford Alumni Consulting Team (ACT) contributes more than $2 million in consulting services in areas such as the arts, environment, education, health care, and social services. Comprised of Business School alumni and students, ACT teams address critical strategic or management issues facing nonprofit and public sector organizations. Details
The Center facilitates cross-sector knowledge transfer by convening multi-stakeholder conferences, seminars, and workshops (many open to the public), which focus on major social and environmental issues. Details
The Center builds partnerships that leverage external resources and expertise in combination with our own to try new approaches and bring together new groups of innovators to learn from each other and to support social change.
