Stanford PACS Annual Report 2023-24

We are excited and grateful to share the significant strides we’ve made in our work over the past year to advance ideas and connections that will help improve philanthropy, strengthen civil society, and address societal challenges. This report highlights the milestones that have shaped our journey and driven our commitment to advancing positive social change, specifically on issues at the intersection of democracy, technology and civil society. 

We celebrated several notable successes for our faculty and scholars this past year. Faculty Co-Director Rob Riech was appointed Senior Advisor for the new U.S. AI Safety Institute (AISI) housed at the National Institute of Standards and Technology. Senior Research Scholar Lucy Bernholz joined Faculty Co-Director Woody Powell on the editorial board of the Journal of Civil Society, beginning a three-year appointment. Johanna Mair, Distinguished Visiting Scholar and Academic Editor of SSIR, joined Germany’s International Advisory Board for Social Innovation. Patricia Bromley, Faculty Co-Director and Director of the Global Civil Society and Sustainable Development Lab (GCSSD), led the second annual Civil Society and Sustainability conference, a unique convening that brings together scholars and civil society leaders working at the forefront of our current sustainability challenges.

Stanford Social Innovation Review (SSIR) continues to advance its mission of informing and educating a global audience with the launch of its Global Pursuit of Equity series, its first-ever global series of articles created in collaboration with its six local language partners.

Polarization and threats to democracy remain one of the most critical problems of our times and a central theme in much of our work this past year. In partnership with the National Governors Association (NGA), Robb Willer, Faculty Co-Director and Director of the Polarization and Social Change Lab, alongside Postdoctoral Fellow Chagai Weiss, launched a study examining whether bipartisan messages encouraging civil disagreement—a component of the NGA’s Disagree Better Campaign—can effectively reduce polarization and increase trust and participation in elections. This project could not be more timely with almost half of the world’s population participating in elections this year.

And in today’s digital-first world, we must investigate critical issues for digital civil society – the bedrock of a healthy and functioning democracy. In partnership with the Center for Comparative Studies in Race and Ethnicity, members of the Digital Civil Society Lab’s Technology & Racial Equity Practitioner Fellows’ 2022-23 and 2023-24 cohorts gathered to showcase their projects, ranging from elevating community voices amid the push for digitalization in Africa to ensuring representation and equity across digital platforms, and more

We are proud to support scholars and practitioners who are deliberating on the idea of the common good and sustainable development in an increasingly polarized and digitally dependent world. As we celebrate our efforts to advance the frontiers of knowledge on these issues, we are deeply grateful for the commitment of our partners and stakeholders, and for the shared purpose and vision of our global community.

With gratitude,
Priya Shanker

Could AI Speak on Behalf of Future Humans?

The rise of AI is crucial as it transforms industries and decision-making processes, offering unprecedented opportunities for efficiency and innovation while also requiring careful attention to ethics and human oversight. In a recent piece in the Stanford Social Innovation Review (SSIR), visiting researcher Konstantin Scheuermann and Dr. Angela Aristidou consider how carefully designed and deployed AI systems might give voice to previously unheard stakeholders and make collective decision-making processes more inclusive.

PaSCL Research Findings Help Gov. Spencer Cox Promote ‘Healthy Conflict’

In partnership with the National Governors Association (NGA), Robb Willer, Faculty Co-Director and Director of the Polarization and Social Change Lab (PaSCL), along with his team conducted a randomized controlled study involving 6,500 Americans to evaluate the impact of Governor Spencer Cox’s Disagree Better ads. The research revealed that these ads effectively reduced polarization among viewers, decreasing animosity toward supporters of opposing parties, enhancing openness to dialogue, and increasing support for bipartisan cooperation. The findings highlight the effectiveness of respectful public discourse in mitigating political hostility.

Structural Democratic Reforms Project

The new Structural Democratic Reforms Project (SDR)—led by Katie Clayton, Jonne Kamphorst, and Robb Willer of our Polarization and Social Change Lab and Brendan Nyhan of the Department of Government at Dartmouth—launched in June, calling for submissions and ideas for reforms to improve our political systems. The goal of SDR is to bring academics, practitioners, and other relevant expertise together in a collective effort to develop ideas for reforms that can strengthen or safeguard key elements of American democracy.

Evaluating Climate Change Messaging Strategies: Effects on Attitudes and Behaviors

Climate change poses a significant threat to human well-being, highlighting the need for effective communication strategies to inform the public. The Polarization and Social Change Lab is conducting an experimental test on a large national sample to assess the effects of the 10 most cited climate change messages on belief in climate change, climate change concern, support for mitigation policies, and political behavioral intentions. This study will identify the most effective messages, as well as messages that are widely-cited but likely ineffective, improving our knowledge of effective climate change messaging.

From Theory to Action: Empowering Stanford Students with Real-Life Philanthropy Experiences

Since 2012, Stanford PACS has partnered with The Philanthropy Lab to provide a Philanthropy for Sustainable Development course to Stanford University students. Participants learn about the approaches, history, and key debates in philanthropy, and apply their knowledge by collaboratively making a substantial class contribution to one or more select nonprofit organizations, a process that has directed more than $1 million to nonprofits since the course began. Read takeaways on the course from Vera Michalchik, Director of the Effective Philanthropy Learning Initiative (EPLI), and Micah McElroy, Associate Director of Research for EPLI, who led the course this spring.

LearnEP

In response to evolving trends in knowledge delivery, PACS has adapted to the growing demand for private, intimate settings that foster peer learning through tailored engagements, including our Education for Philanthropy Professionals (EPP) course and Effective Philanthropy for Advisors workshops. Alongside these highly interactive programs, our Effective Philanthropy Learning Initiative (EPLI) developed a more accessible asynchronous course that allows philanthropists to elevate their philanthropic practice at their own pace. In November 2023, EPLI launched Learn Effective Philanthropy (LearnEP). This free, easy-to-use online learning tool helps individual donors make more effective and informed philanthropic choices. The self-directed course includes eight modules designed to help learners find focus, involve family in giving decisions, create a budget, vet grantee organizations, and more.

Read the five most popular SSIR articles published this academic year:

1. Choosing AI’s Impact on the Future of Work
2. Healing Systems
3. Design Thinking Misses the Mark
4. Where Strategic Philanthropy Went Wrong
5. How to Tell Real Stories About Impact