Stanford PACS 2023: Summer Progress Report
The first half of 2023 brought tremendous opportunities for the Stanford PACS community to investigate, learn, connect, and share knowledge across a remarkably broad range of areas within and across global philanthropy and civil society.
In March, the Philanthropy Innovation Summit, our signature event for individual and family philanthropists, reconvened at Stanford, bringing a welcome and vibrant return to in-person connection in the spirit of learning and taking action with purpose. Along with Stanford Social Innovation Review’s best-in-class conferences and a host of other informative and educational events, we connected more than 12,500 practitioners, scholars, leaders, and students with new knowledge, networks, and opportunities.
Our labs, faculty, and scholars continue to shape the field through cutting-edge research and thinking. Through a host of publications, speaking appearances, articles, interviews, and podcast appearances, our community is sharing expertise and perspectives at the broadest and highest levels—including the White House.
In June, Faculty Co-Director Rob Reich was part of a small cohort of experts and leaders who met with President Biden to discuss the current and future risks of AI and the need for meaningful and effective regulation. This spring, Faculty Co-Director Robb Willer and other scholars from our Polarization and Social Change Lab shared their field-leading research on political polarization with Judy Woodruff on PBS NewsHour and a host of other major media, including The New York Times (Do You Live in a ‘Tight’ State or a ‘Loose’ One?, Meet the People Working on Getting Us to Hate One Another Less, and The Politics of Delusion Have Taken Hold). Our Center also had the honor of co-hosting leaders from philanthropy, civil society, and government, including the Office of Governor Newsom, to discuss how philanthropy can support the clean energy transition and a stronger, more inclusive economy.
As we share these and other updates on Stanford PACS’ activities and accomplishments, we extend our gratitude to our many partners, supporters, and community members for making this work possible. From our academic research and public outreach to our global convenings and high-level summits, the impact of our collective efforts remains profound.
Stanford PACS by the Numbers
Publications
Events
2023-24 Cohort of Fellows
1 Visiting Scholar
Konstantin Scheuermann
Small Grant Recipients
Stanford Social Innovation Review
Celebrating 20 Years of Thought Leadership in Social Innovation
Stanford Social Innovation Review’s Spring 2023 issue celebrated its 20th anniversary as one of the world’s leading sources for research and practice-based knowledge in the field of social innovation. As part of a special series of anniversary essays, former PACS Faculty Director Paul Brest reflected on SSIR’s far-reaching impact as a beacon for important ideas, perspectives, and practices for the sector and society at large.
In the first quarter of 2023, SSIR’s English-language newsletter surpassed 100,000 global subscribers. SSIR’s website hosted more than 1 million unique visitors from January through June, and an additional 1 million global readers visited the digital platforms for SSIR’s six local-language editions: Chinese, Korean, Arabic, Spanish, Japanese, and Portuguese. In the first half of 2023, SSIR engaged more than 8,600 scholars, practitioners, and leaders in social innovation through its Frontiers of Social Innovation and Data on Purpose conferences, and an array of hands-on webinars and workshops.
Research Highlights
The Emerging Field of Political Innovation
What happens when social innovation “joins politics”? Global Innovation for Impact Lab Co-Director Johanna Mair and colleagues conducted extensive interviews and analyzed case studies across six continents as part of their groundbreaking research into the emerging field of political innovation. Offering a fascinating look at his growing field of practice, their research article, published via SSIR, stands as an important contribution to our understanding of the current and future state of politics, civil society, and social innovation.
How History Textbooks Are Teaching Climate Change
New research conducted by Faculty Co-Director Patricia Bromley and PhD student Hannah D’Apice of our Global Civil Society & Sustainable Development Lab reveals how U.S. history textbooks used in the country’s two most populous states emphasize controversy rather than scientific consensus around climate change. Drawing on their review of 30 textbooks used in schools throughout California and Texas, Patricia and Hannah shared highlights from the study with Stanford News.
Publications
Professions and Wealth: The Philanthropy of High-Earning Professionals
Professionals in the highest paid fields—including attorneys, financiers, and physicians—are a critical but often overlooked group of donors in the United States. In order to better understand how this important group of donors views and practices philanthropy, the Effective Philanthropy Learning Initiative (EPLI) conducted more than 80 interviews with high-earning professionals in a range of fields across the U.S. The EPLI’s resulting report shows many commonalities, but also some intriguing differences between groups, offering a unique look at a vital segment of American philanthropy.
Professionals in the highest paid fields—including attorneys, financiers, and physicians—are a critical but often overlooked group of donors in the United States. In order to better understand how this important group of donors views and practices philanthropy, the Effective Philanthropy Learning Initiative (EPLI) conducted more than 80 interviews with high-earning professionals in a range of fields across the U.S. The EPLI’s resulting report shows many commonalities, but also some intriguing differences between groups, offering a unique look at a vital segment of American philanthropy.
Digital Technologies in Emerging Countries
Published by the Program on Democracy and the Internet, Digital Technologies in Emerging Countries draws on a series of workshops with leading scholars and practitioners to share comparative data on digital technology issues affecting emerging economies around the world. Edited by Francis Fukuyama and Marietje Schaake, the volume explores key issues of governance, economic development, digital colonialism, disinformation, and more.
Convenings
Philanthropy Innovation Summit 2023
On March 1, nearly 300 members of the Philanthropy Innovation Summit community came together to explore new strategies and approaches to giving, connect with peers, and access tools, resources, and opportunities to create meaningful social change. The Summit featured insights from leaders in philanthropy, academia, and social impact including: José Andrés, Laura Arnold, Laura Arrillaga-Andreessen, Andrew Huberman, Van Jones, Edward Norton, Michael Pollan, Regan Pritzker, Jeff Raikes, Lauren Sánchez, Sheryl Sandberg, Mike Schroepfer, Liz Simons, Jonathan Soros, Darren Walker, Robb Willer, and many more.
Data on Purpose 2023: Making Tech Work for Workers
Hosted in partnership with the Ford Foundation, this complimentary virtual conference welcomed more than 2000 participants over two days in May to explore the impacts of new technology on labor, and envision what is needed to build a better, more worker-centered digital economy. Topics included generative AI, worker-led innovation, surveillance “bossware,” the gig economy, pro-labor policy and investments, and more.
Program on Democracy and the Internet Seminar Series
Over the Winter and Spring quarters, our Program on Democracy and the Internet (PDI) hosted weekly seminars exploring issues at the intersection of free speech, democracy, security, and digital communication technologies. Offered both in-person and online, the series drew more than 3200 participants across more than 20 seminars with scholars from Stanford and beyond. PDI is a joint initiative of Stanford PACS, the Stanford Cyber Policy Center at the Freeman Spogli Institute (FSI), and the Stanford Law School.
Resources and Education
Education for Philanthropy Professionals
The Effective Philanthropy Learning Initiative hosted 25 philanthropy professionals and emerging philanthropists for this executive-style learning program held over three weeks in April. Participants learned best practices for effective philanthropy, current sector issues, and approaches to social change from scholars and leaders in the field, including Carmen Rojas, Pia Infante, Emma Saunders-Hastings, Robert K. Ross, Nick Tedesco, Benjamin Bellegy, Lukas Haynes, and others.
Defending Democracy at Home and Abroad
From April 11-May 30, Faculty Co-Director Rob Reich joined Michael McFaul of the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies and Marietje Schaake of the Cyber Policy Center to lead this hybrid Stanford Continuing Studies course exploring strategies for defending and advancing democracy in the U.S. and globally.
