Stanford Social Innovation Review Podcast

In this session, Valerie Threlfall discusses the Fund for Shared Insight‘s largest grant program, Listen for Good, which provides grants and technical assistance to dozens of nonprofits to build high quality feedback loops with those they serve. Two Listen for Good grantees, Krystle Onibukon of the Boys and Girls Club of the Peninsula and Brad Dudding of the Center for Employment Opportunities, also talk about their experience with the program. https://ssir.org/podcasts/entry/learning_to_listen_to_beneficiaries

Data has the potential to help fuel social change across the world, yet many relevant datasets remain locked away and siloed across government agencies, nonprofits, and corporations. What kind of collaboration does it take to make this data available to different actors working to create change? In a series of TED-style talks, Melinda Rolfs of the MasterCard Center for Inclusive Growth, John Wilbanks of Sage Bionetworks, Greg Bloom of Civic Hall Labs and Open Referral, and ST Mayer of Code for America talk about how to develop not only the right tools, but also the right relationships to make data collaboration happen. Jake Porway of DataKind then leads a discussion on how we can collectively harness data for the greater good. View the slides from this session here. https://ssir.org/podcasts/entry/unlocking_data_and_unleashing_its_potential

This panel from our Do Good Data | Data on Purpose conference features conference co-hosts Lucy Bernholz of Stanford PACS and Andrew Means of Uptake, along with Stanford education professor Candace Thille, and Kristian Lum, lead statistician at the Human Rights Data Analysis Group. The discussion focuses on the advantages and drawbacks of using data to analyze social trends in areas including higher education and criminal justice. View the slides from this presentation here. https://ssir.org/podcasts/entry/prediction_vs._bias_in_data_a_debate

Leading for-profit companies thrive by embracing data insights to drive increased efficiency, effectiveness, and scale. They view information and analytics as core strategic assets in running a modern business. In this talk from our 2017 Do Good Data | Data on Purpose conference, Jim Fruchterman, founder and CEO of the tech nonprofit Benetech, argues that the social sector must follow these companies’ lead. Drawing from his 2016 SSIR article “Using Data for Action and for Impact,” Fruchterman leads a discussion about how nonprofits can embrace the “Software for Good” movement characterized by data-driven decisions to better serve communities. https://ssir.org/podcasts/entry/software_for_good_empowering_the_social_sector_data_revolution

Building successful networks isn’t just about pairing organizations with similar missions. It’s also about human relationships. In this talk from our 2016 Nonprofit Management Institute, conservationist Steve McCormick looks at several common barriers to developing strong relationships—and ways to overcome them. Steve McCormick is cofounder and CEO of The Earth Genome, a startup venture to create the first global, open-source information platform on ecosystem services and natural capital. He previously served as president and CEO of The Nature Conservancy. https://ssir.org/podcasts/entry/get_out_of_your_own_way_challenging_your_mindsets_and_behaviors

In this podcast, Ernesto Sirolli, founder of the Sirolli Institute, considers how to decentralize, democratize, and empower local communities. Sirolli has been working in the field of local economic development since 1971 and has developed a philosophy and practice that allows communities to manage their own social and economic growth. Based on his experience, Sirolli argues that NGOs must incorporate local know-how and leadership into their operation, and that a key to successful development is listening to local communities. Download the slide presentation that accompanied Sirolli’s talk here. https://ssir.org/podcasts/entry/there_is_no_geography_to_intelligence_and_passion

In his talk from SSIR‘s 2016 Nonprofit Management Institute, Derrick Braziel looks at how connecting people with the right resources and training, and building a culture of opportunity from within communities, can enable unlikely entrepreneurs, revitalize neighborhoods, and break the cycle of poverty. Urban communities across America are experiencing an unprecedented renaissance. But this boom threatens to displace long-time residents, who are typically lower income and people of color. Braziel talks about how his organization, MORTAR, uses entrepreneurship to encourage redevelopment without displacement, providing the opportunity for long-time residents to grow with their swiftly changing communities. The organization offers business courses designed for under-served people who are low-income, unemployed, high­ school drop­outs, felons, homeless, or former gang leaders. The aim of this training is to support a new kind of entrepreneur—one focused on collaboration, connecting with people from different backgr

In this podcast, Jane Wei-Skillern, an adjunct associate professor at the Haas School of Business at University of California, Berkeley, identifies four counterintuitive principles that are essential to effective collaboration: Trust, not control Humility not brand Node, not hub Mission, not organization Based on 15 years of research on a range of successful networks, Wei-Skillern uses detailed case studies to illustrate these principles and offers insights for how nonprofit leaders can ensure their collaborations can have an impact that is dramatically greater than the sum of the individual parts. You can view the slides that accompanied the presentation here. https://ssir.org/podcasts/entry/cultivating_a_network_leader_mindset

Smita Vadakekalam of Heller Consulting and Sandy Reinardy of the University of Wisconsin Foundation discuss ways to avoid some all-too-common pitfalls of nonprofit technology. And Amy Sample Ward of the Nonprofit Technology Network suggests strategies to organize for success in a new political environment. https://ssir.org/podcasts/entry/tony_martignetti_nonprofit_radio_successful_tech_projects_and_social_networ

How can we reach people who don’t have home access to the internet? In this podcast, part of a partnership with Tony Martignetti Nonprofit Radio, three women who have each made digital inclusion a priority share their thoughts: Kami Griffiths of the Community Technology Network, Karen Lincoln of The Stride Center, and Alicia Orozco of the Chicana/Latina Foundation. Martignetti also talks with Diane Leonard, president and owner of DH Leonard Consulting, about creating an annual grants plan. They start with the basics, then move into goals and metrics, and end with colleague engagement. https://ssir.org/podcasts/entry/tony_martignetti_nonprofit_radio_digital_inclusion_grants

How do you know if your idea will work, without burning through all your time and money? To solve this problem, many nonprofits are turning to the “lean startup” approach, which emphasizes flexibility, pragmatism, and experimentation. The method, pioneered by entrepreneurs such as Steve Blank, allows organizations to learn as quickly as they can about what works, so that they can build and scale successful programs while avoiding huge up-front investments that might lead in the wrong direction. In this podcast, Blank and fellow author-entrepreneur Giff Constable lead a discussion of the lean process at our 2015 Nonprofit Management Institute. Chase Adam, founder of global healthcare crowdfunding platform Watsi, and Alethea Hannemann, who formerly served as vice president of product and national programs at the Taproot Foundation, share their personal experiences with the methodology.       https://ssir.org/podcasts/entry/lean_experimentation_for_the_social_sector_build_smart_to_learn_fast

In a time of profound and sustained disruption and volatility, organizations need greater agility, innovation, and creativity than ever before. In this talk from our 2015 Nonprofit Management Institute, Andrew Zolli provides a big-picture view of critical trends and forces of change that will shape the decade to come. He discusses the biases that limit our understanding and explores new ways that organizations can create more resilient organizational strategies and cultures. Zolli is the co-author of Resilience: Why Things Bounce Back and the former director of the innovation and social change network PopTech. He serves as an advisor to organizations including DataKind and The Workshop School. https://ssir.org/podcasts/entry/thriving_in_an_age_of_volatility

How can the social sector develop to meet new and ongoing challenges in the 21st century? And how can individual social entrepreneurs and organizations find their place within this changing environment? In the concluding session of our Frontiers of Social Innovation forum, Zia Khan, vice president for initiatives and strategy at the Rockefeller Foundation, discusses questions such as these with Johanna Mair, academic editor at SSIR and professor of management, strategy, and leadership at the Hertie School of Governance. https://ssir.org/podcasts/entry/the_evolving_role_of_social_innovation

Health is more than health care. It’s also a product of several social factors, including education, income, race or ethnicity, and neighborhood environment—which means that attaining health equity will require addressing many larger social and economic issues. How can we accomplish this goal? That’s the topic of this panel from our Frontiers of Social Innovation conference, featuring Faith Mitchell, president and CEO of Grantmakers In Health, Dr. Robert Ross, president and CEO of The California Endowment, and Nick Tilsen, the founding executive director of the Thunder Valley Community Development Corporation, an grassroots organization of the Oglala Lakota Nation. They discuss how they are applying a health equity perspective to their work, what they have accomplished, and what it will take to achieve an inclusive—and healthy—society.   https://ssir.org/podcasts/entry/how_can_we_advance_health_equity

In this panel from our Frontiers of Social Innovation forum in May, Rob Reich, professor of political science at Stanford University and faculty co-director of the Stanford Center on Philanthropy and Civil Society, moderates a discussion about how foundations, which are arguably the product of marketplace excess, can nevertheless be a vehicle to remedy inequality and advance social justice. The first panelist is Darren Walker, who as president of the Ford Foundation has spearheaded the organization’s shift toward a focus on inequality. The second is Craig Newmark, the founder of the popular online classified advertising site Craigslist, who has since established Craigconnects, a platform to support a range of organizations in areas from veterans affairs to women in tech to ethical journalism. https://ssir.org/podcasts/entry/the_role_of_foundations_in_addressing_inequality

Organizations around the world spend billions of dollars each year trying to lift people out of poverty. Despite the best of intentions, many of these efforts fail, and many others achieve less than optimal results. But some organizations have successfully designed, funded, implemented, and scaled impressive anti-poverty interventions. In this panel, SSIR’s Eric Nee talks to leading experts from three. Asif Saleh, senior director of strategy, communications, and empowerment at BRAC, talks about what the world’s largest NGO has learned about scaling up programs. Yale economist Dean Karlan outlines lessons that Innovations for Poverty Action, the nonprofit research and policy organization he founded, has drawn from more than a decade of evaluating poverty programs around the world. And Kevin Starr talks about the evidence-based approach that the Mulago Foundation, where he is managing director, uses to find and fund poverty-fighting organizations.       https://ssir.org/podcasts/entry/what_have_we_learned_ab

In this talk from our Frontiers of Social Innovation forum in May, Trabian Shorters offers perspective and perception tools that we all can use to update our narratives on race, communities, and America’s future. He demonstrates how far too often, we focus on negative statistics about groups such as Black men, rather than emphasizing their strengths, positive contributions, and future potential. And he shows how a technique called “asset-framing” can help us tell positive stories about people and encourage the understanding, empathy, and optimism that are necessary for meaningful social change. Shorters is founder and CEO of BMe Community, a network of all races and genders committed to building better communities across the United States and promoting and celebrating the contributions of Black men. Before starting BMe Community, Shorters served as vice president of the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation and worked as a tech entrepreneur. His work on “asset-framing” earned him an Aspen Institute Fellowshi

In this recording from our recent Frontiers of Social Innovation conference, Angela Glover Blackwell talks about why, for United States to grow and prosper, policymakers must adopt new approaches to produce good jobs, ensure reinvestment in low-income communities, upgrade the education and skills of an increasingly diverse workforce, and create opportunities for everyone to apply their talents. She also shows how equity, inclusion, and fairness are no longer just moral issues but also economic imperatives: Equity is the superior growth model. Blackwell is founder, president, and CEO of PolicyLink, an organization working to advance economic and social equity. A lawyer by training, she previously served as senior vice president at the Rockefeller Foundation and founded Urban Strategies Council in Oakland, Calif. https://ssir.org/podcasts/entry/the_role_of_public_policy_in_alleviating_poverty

In the opening keynote at SSIR‘s February 2016 Data on Purpose conference, Jake Porway shares best practices for data storytellers and shows why knowing what the data is or is not saying is critical to creating ethical and accurate visualizations. Among other things, he explains the pitfalls of pie charts, why you should be wary of word clouds, and why good data storytelling ultimately means good statistics. He also argues that the real power of data storytelling lies not just in reporting on past activity, but in making decisions that drive decision-making in the future. Porway is the founder and executive director of DataKind, a nonprofit that uses data science in the service of humanity. He previously worked at the New York Times R&D Lab, Google, and Bell Labs, and has spoken at IBM, Microsoft, and the White House. He holds a bachelor’s degree in computer science from Columbia University and a master’s degree and a doctorate in statistics from the University of California, Los Angeles. If desired, you

In the closing keynote of SSIR‘s February 2016 Data on Purpose conference, which was themed around “Telling Great Stories With Data,” Andrew Means looks at the importance of using storytelling to raise funds and motivate teams—but also the risks of telling the wrong stories. He argues that in a world increasingly reliant on data, we need to be able to accurately quantify organizations’ impact, and be careful about when and how we turn to dramatic, unrepresentative stories. Andrew Means is the cofounder of The Impact Lab, a data science shop that works with nonprofits, foundations, and government agencies solving social problems. He has previously held leadership positions at the University of Chicago’s Center for Data Science and Public Policy, Groupon, and the YMCA of Metropolitan Chicago. If desired, you can follow along with the slideshow for Means’ presentation here. https://ssir.org/podcasts/entry/podcast_whose_story_are_we_telling