Stanford Social Innovation Review

The Era of Relational Intelligence An SSIR Author Conversation Isabelle Hau, Executive Director, Stanford Accelerator for Learning Mitchell Stevens, SSIR Academic Editor Monday, March 9, 2026 12 PM Pacific/3 PM Eastern

Building relational infrastructure is a requirement for human flourishing in the age of AI.

SSIR’s new academic editor Mitchell Stevens speaks with Isabelle Hau about her forthcoming SSIR story, “Welcome to the Era of Relational Intelligence.”

Monday, March 9: stanford.zoom.us/webinar/regi...

Building Organizational Capacity for Constructive Conflict (SSIR) Why compliance systems fall short, and how organizations can develop the skills and systems they need to effectively navigate and ultimately benefit from conflict.

Many organizations orient toward avoiding complaints, lawsuits, and regulatory scrutiny, but in doing so, they miss opportunities to surface and correct problems early through systems that build employees’ trust.

When Nonprofit Leaders Should Think Like Creatives (SSIR) A new management paradigm for maximizing impact.

When #Nonprofit Leaders Should Think Like Creatives via @ssir.org

What Else Can We Do? The Thirteen Intentions of Philanthropy (SSIR) A year of turbulence has exposed the dangers of philanthropic monocultures and upended assumptions about impact, effectiveness, and scale. Embracing the varied intentions that motivate people to give ...

"The issue is not that the model is inherently misguided, but rather that it has bred a moral monoculture that equates 'doing good' with 'getting to scale' and 'maximizing impact.'

The problem is that, as with any monoculture, it’s brittle when conditions change and susceptible to shocks."

ICYMI: The latest issue of @ssir.org highlights the TRECC program, funded by the Jacobs Foundation, and how it has helped governments pilot and scale approaches for improving education access and quality in Côte d’Ivoire 🇨🇮

Read more 🔗 ssir.org/articles/ent...

#FoundationalLearning #SystemsChange

This Is What Love Looks Like (SSIR) I have seen with my own eyes what happens to a community when love becomes policy's guiding star.

FRIDAY READ: "THIS IS WHAT LOVE LOOKS LIKE"

the recent @ssir.org has a special supplement on a love-centered #transformation for #communities. My favorite is this piece from author Shanell Keene. "But when #love becomes the guiding star of #policy, the chasms shrink..."

ssir.org/articles/ent...

Get Moving! (SSIR) An excerpt from Daisy Fancourt’s Art Cure on the science behind the arts and healthier living

"Engage more in the arts.

It’s a deceptively simple recommendation, and probably one of the most enjoyable pieces of advice you could be given. But it’s one we rarely follow. Go outside and start asking US adults whether they did any arts yesterday, and 95 percent of them will say no."

What role have you seen social sector organizations and leaders playing?

"Locally, I think they’re the ones making it happen. Nationally? I think it’s more of a mixed bag..."

Read the entire interview with social movements expert Joe McCannon in yesterday's SSIR newsletter:

Screenshot with text: What is most striking to you about the massive actions we’ve seen in Minneapolis and elsewhere in response to ICE? With the caveat that I haven’t been on the ground in Minneapolis—and there’s no replacement for that perspective—I’ve been most struck by the activists’ courage and persistence. Despite these appalling killings and increasing intimidation, this movement is growing, not retreating. This shows real conviction because they’re up against something truly scary; these are armed forces that have been told by White House officials that they’re above the law. Standing up to that peacefully inspires others to do the same, and we need as much of that as possible across the country right now. Courage builds courage.

This week's SSIR newsletter includes an interview with Joe McCannon, an expert on social change movements and campaigns, about what's happening in Minneapolis:

Powerful, Not Powerless: Emerging Approaches to Massive Action (SSIR) Mass mobilization to combat authoritarianism dates back millennia. New methods can harness the power of the people and advance causes for justice.

Joe is the author of this 2025 article, on how the social sector should understand and utilize mass mobilization tactics:

"The social sector should better understand the potential and risks associated with these approaches and learn how they can be harnessed to advance justice and agency..."

Read the full interview here, and subscribe to receive future newsletter-exclusive features like this one.

Screenshot with text: What is most striking to you about the massive actions we’ve seen in Minneapolis and elsewhere in response to ICE? With the caveat that I haven’t been on the ground in Minneapolis—and there’s no replacement for that perspective—I’ve been most struck by the activists’ courage and persistence. Despite these appalling killings and increasing intimidation, this movement is growing, not retreating. This shows real conviction because they’re up against something truly scary; these are armed forces that have been told by White House officials that they’re above the law. Standing up to that peacefully inspires others to do the same, and we need as much of that as possible across the country right now. Courage builds courage.

This week's SSIR newsletter includes an interview with Joe McCannon, an expert on social change movements and campaigns, about what's happening in Minneapolis:

"Abundance and justice aren't mutually exclusive." Dr. Tiffany Manuel makes the case for equitable housing, including calling for Housing for All, Housing Justice, and Housing Abundance. Read more https://ssir.org/articles/entry/narrative-change-equitable-housing

The Low-Cost AI Illusion (SSIR) What the next economic phase of artificial intelligence means for public interest work and how organizations can protect equity, access, and themselves.

Is low-cost AI an illusion?

As AI shifts from experimental tool to core infrastructure, its underlying economics such as energy, hardware, privacy, and market power are beginning to assert themselves.

That will have serious consequences for equity, public interest work, and organizations:

Investing in Civil Society: The Foundation of Democracy - Stanford PACS I’ve spent most of my career working in some of the world’s most challenging, conflict-ridden, and repressive places. Each place was defined by its local context, but all were fragile states, meaning ...

Drawing on decades of global experience, Nancy Lindborg, President and CEO of @packardfdn.bsky.social and Stanford PACS Advisory Board Member, outlines why and how funders should invest in #CivilSociety as the cornerstone of #democracy.

Read on our #Philanthropy Innovation Summit blog ⤵️

Making the Case for Equitable Housing (SSIR) Abundance and justice aren't mutually exclusive. Narrative lessons from three major advocacy movements of recent years.

In recent years, 3 major narrative movements have pushed the housing debate:

- Housing for All
- Housing Justice
- Housing Abundance

Each has distinct origins, strategies, and contributions, and each has sought to reframe housing as a collective good, a moral imperative, or a policy necessity.

Education’s Civic Dividend (SSIR) The social returns of investments in education too often go unmeasured and undervalued.

"When policy makers and researchers focus solely on financial returns, they risk undervaluing education’s profound influence on personal empowerment, social equity, and collective well-being..."

This really put words to what so many nonprofits are feeling right now. The uncertainty is just as challenging as the funding itself. I appreciate the reminder that survival can’t come from cutting alone—it has to come from innovation, collaboration, and building real financial resilience. The SDA examples show that when strategy and mission stay aligned, it’s possible to adapt without losing purpose. SDA is helping more biz, the reason I’m following this on all socials as it inspires me!

What one commenter says about this article:

How Will Your Nonprofit Survive? (SSIR) In the face of current funding uncertainty, US nonprofits must innovate to sustain their missions.

Three strategies for nonprofit organizations to help them survive through funding disruption and uncertainty:

📈 Innovate to grow
🤝 Strategic partnerships
🏘️ Invest in assets

The Four Principles of Purpose-Driven Board Leadership (SSIR) In the face of increasingly pressing systemic inequities, nonprofit boards must change the traditional ways they have worked and instead prioritize an organization's purpose, show respect for the ecos...

“Purpose before organization: prioritizing the organization's purpose, versus the organization itself.”
ssir.org/articles/ent...

The Science of What Makes People Care (SSIR) Five principles based in social science that will help organizations connect their work to what people care most about.

ssir.org/articles/ent...

The Urgent Need for Data Equity, Justice, and Sovereignty (SSIR) Transforming civic data in the United States is essential to improve our collective health and well-being.

"Data is never neutral or objective. Data systems are designed by people working within institutions, and when those institutions are built on structural racism, patriarchy, and other systems of oppression, the data they produce will reflect and reinforce those same inequities."

Iterative A/B Testing for Social Impact: Rigorous, Rapid, Regular (SSIR) How organizations can close the gap between measurement and implementation

🎉Our new piece on Iterative A/B Testing is out in @ssir.org
with @noamangrist.bsky.social @mandabeat.bsky.social & Tendekai Mukoyi.

A case & toolkit for rigorous, rapid, and regular testing to improve cost-effectiveness at scale👇
💡 ssir.org/articles/ent...
🛠️ www.youth-impact.org/insights/a-b...

Iterative A/B Testing for Social Impact: Rigorous, Rapid, Regular (SSIR) How organizations can close the gap between measurement and implementation

📣 Passionate about closing the gap between evidence and day-to-day implementation? Check out our new article "Iterative A/B testing for Social Impact: Rigorous, Rapid, and Regular" now out in @ssir.org w/ @mandabeat.bsky.social @ccullen.bsky.social Tendekai Mukoyi
ssir.org/articles/ent...

Sowing Backlash, One DEI Training at a Time (SSIR) An excerpt from Fixing Fairness on the fall and rise of workplace DEI

Sowing Backlash, One DEI Training at a Time ssir.org/books/excerp... - Lily Zheng, @ssir.org

Iterative A/B Testing for Social Impact: Rigorous, Rapid, Regular (SSIR) How organizations can close the gap between measurement and implementation

Many nonprofits in LMICs face a critical mismatch: urgent social problems demand rapid program iteration, yet organizations often wait years for externally-produced evaluation results.

When they do conduct rigorous evaluations, one-off studies rarely keep pace with evolving implementation contexts.

Sowing Backlash, One DEI Training at a Time (SSIR) An excerpt from Fixing Fairness on the fall and rise of workplace DEI

"In the same way that we now have nearly a thousand studies showing us the perils of solving workplace DEI problems with training alone, it turns out that we have scores upon scores of research and case studies showing us exactly what works instead."

An excerpt from "Fixing Fairness" by Lily Zheng:

Climate Adaptation Means Building Social Infrastructure (SSIR) Resilience to climate change is less about building walls than cultivating the social capacities for people to navigate uncertainty with agency, solidarity, and security.

"In this moment of cascading climate shocks, adaptation looks more like a mangrove than a sea wall built out of concrete: nurturing the capacities, ties, and institutions that allow people and places to bend without breaking."

Constructive Confrontation (SSIR) An excerpt from The Hypocrisy Trap on how to avoid it

Accusations of hypocrisy are everywhere. Yet despite this noise, little seems to change.

In an excerpt from his new book, "The Hypocrisy Trap," @mhallsworth.bsky.social introduces “induced hypocrisy,” a tactic that offers a new, more respectful way to help people live up to their commitments.

Making Behavioral Science Work for Conservation (SSIR) At its core, conservation is about behavior change. Yet few organizations have put in place the structure, standards, and accountability needed to apply behavioral science effectively.

📢 “At its core, conservation is about behaviour change.”

New @ssir.org article highlights why behavioural science must be central to conservation - from project design to evaluation and systems change.

Read more 👉 ssir.org/articles/ent...

#Conservation #BehaviouralScience #BehaviourChange