Looking Back to Look Forward

(Photo by iStock/AUNG MYO HTWE)  

When I first started meeting with the leadership team of Stanford Social Innovation Review—and its parent, the Stanford Center on Philanthropy and Civil Society—about potentially joining the organization, I went to the archives. Reading widely across more than 20 years of publishing at the forefront of social innovation and change was inspiring, reminding me not just why I was taking the meetings but why I got into the business of journalism and publishing to begin with.

Like others, I was drawn to the potential to make a difference. And over the years, from launching health and technology coverage at The Atlantic to serving as the editor in chief of Pacific Standard, a National Magazine Award-winning nonprofit operating at the intersection of narrative journalism and peer-reviewed research, I’ve been fortunate enough to participate in the creation of work that does just that. Teams I’ve previously been a part of have informed legislation on Capitol Hill and shifted the way readers see and engage with important issues, both outcomes worthy of the effort.

Improving people’s lives, whether on a grand scale or an intimate one, is the work SSIR has been dedicated to from the very beginning. It does this by convening agents and leaders of social change; providing a global platform for the dissemination of new ideas and research; offering an inside look at the groups getting it right; reporting on potential solutions to social, environmental, and organizational problems; and offering valuable takeaways and lessons for those on the ground doing the hard work—for you.

Those efforts will not change. But that doesn’t mean this is a static organization. A tour through the archives shows how much SSIR has evolved, always with the goal of better fulfilling its mission and serving its audience. As the field of social innovation has grown, so too has Stanford Social Innovation Review. Since its founding as a magazine, SSIR has launched international editions; partnered with a wide variety of groups that share our values to sponsor ambitious story packages on the state of philanthropy, implementation science, next-generation nonprofits, and much more; organized events both large and small, in person and online for anyone to access; and expanded across social channels, email newsletters, and podcasts.

And we’ll continue to evolve. As SSIR’s new editor in chief, I hope to collaborate and learn from the extraordinary team that brings SSIR to life every single day, in all its formats and extensions. And I hope to collaborate and learn from you, too. I invite you to leverage SSIR’s many resources and to actively participate in their creation. Review our submission guidelines if you have a story to share, or email me directly at [email protected] with your feedback. What do you want to see more of? Less of? What kind of content or whose voices are most helpful or inspiring to you? What are we doing well, and what could we be doing better? SSIR works best when it works for you.

As we look to the future—to the next 20 years of SSIR—we’ll be asking, with every story we publish and editorial or business decision we make, how we can best serve our audience so you can best serve others. How we can provide you with the tools and insights you need to make a difference.

Read more stories by Nicholas Jackson.