A strategy for social change is essential for nonprofit and for-profit social ventures of all sizes and missions. An effective strategy also lies at the core of many public policies. This two-part SSIR Live! webinar teaches essential strategy development skills for addressing social problems.  Both early-stage and experienced social entrepreneurs, philanthropists, impact investors, policymakers, and policy advocates will find significant value in this live, interactive course.

This 180-minute live-participation e-certification series will walk you through the entire process of developing a strategy for social change in three phases, addressed across the two sessions:

1. Understanding the problem
2. Building a theory of change
3. Testing and iterating your theory of change

You will dive into a real-life example with fellow participants and learn to apply these same techniques in your own work. This interactive series, with multiple Q+A segments, will help you consider new, clear ways of setting your course of action and adapting it along the way. Most importantly, this program series will demonstrate how you can build and revisit your strategies in your own developmental paths to social change.
 

Program Details:

Part I: Understanding Social Problems and Approaches
What’s your problem? Laying the strategic foundations for change.
Date: Monday, April 15, 2024
Time: 10:00 a.m.-11:30 a.m. PT / 1:00-2:30 p.m. ET [90-minute session]

The greatest challenges in pursuing a process of social change are made clearer and easier through a consideration of where you are headed. This webinar will help you:

• Clearly scope the problem you wish to address: What is the essential nature of your problem? What are its causes at the proximate and more fundamental levels?
• Articulate what success in solving a problem looks like: What do you need to see happen to make you satisfied with your outcome?
• Choose an effective approach to address a problem: What are the ways you can approach the problem, at which level of causation, and which “lever” do you want to pull to produce change?
   

Part II: Creating and Using a Theory of Change
What’s your plan? Putting a theory of change to work for you.
Date: Tuesday, April 16, 2024
Time: 10:00 a.m.-11:30 a.m. PT / 1:00-2:30 p.m. ET [90-minute session]

We approach social change with best guesses about the nature of the problem and how it might be fixed. Those guesses turn actionable when they are described and discussed with collaborators, laid out for elaboration and questioning, and available for review and reconsideration. This webinar will help you:

• Develop a theory of change: What actions will you take, what must others do, and what are the intermediate results and outcomes you expect?
• Anticipate barriers to success: How will you overcome the likely obstacles and what precautions will you take?
• Build opportunities for feedback: What will you need to see along the way to decide to stay the course, shift gears, or even rethink your strategy?
• Test your solution and make necessary improvements: Did your strategy make the difference you hoped and what will be your next steps?

Getting into the practice of asking the questions posed in parts I and II of this series will exercise the capabilities we all need to effectively accomplish our social change goals.

Program Features:

Designed by Experts
This SSIR Live! webinar is developed and facilitated by Paul Brest, interim dean and professor emeritus (active) at Stanford Law School, a lecturer at the Stanford Graduate School of Business, codirector of the Effective Philanthropy Learning Initiative at the Stanford Center on Philanthropy and Civil Society, and codirector of the Stanford Law and Policy Lab. He was president of the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation from 2000 to 2012. He is co-author of Money Well Spent: A Strategic Guide to Smart Philanthropy (2nd ed. 2018), and has written many articles on nonprofit strategy, philanthropy, and impact investing. He also the co-creator of the free online interactive courses “Thinking in Systems” and “Developing a Strategy for Social Change,” the second of these a complement to the live course, giving you the opportunity to review and practice with additional worked examples.

Interactive Examples
This live program series will be interactive, with opportunities to ask questions. You will explore the key concepts through activities and illustrative real-world examples. Come ready to think and participate actively!

Extensive Learning
This program is produced in conjunction with Paul Brest, Stanford professor, former president of the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, and faculty director of the Effective Philanthropy Learning Initiative. It is 180 minutes long and divided into two 90-minute sessions: Part I: Understanding Social Problems and Approaches [April 15] and Part II: Creating and Using A Theory of Change [April 16].

Real-World Case Examples
The webinar will work through a concrete example that will serve as a template for other issues that participants can pursue.

Participation e-Certificate
Demonstrate your commitment to building your skills. Your participation entitles you to receive a downloadable participation e-certificate from the Stanford Social Innovation Review and the Effective Philanthropy Learning Initiative at the Stanford Center on Philanthropy and Civil Society, after attending this SSIR Live! two-part webinar-workshop. You are eligible to receive the participation e-certificate once you have successfully participated in both parts I and II of this program.

Who Should Join? 
A strategy for social change is essential for nonprofit and for-profit social ventures of all sizes and missions, and lies at the core of many public policies. It is valuable for:

• Early-stage and experienced social entrepreneurs
• Philanthropists
• Impact investors
• Policymakers
• Advocates for the adoption of government policies

This webinar will walk you through the entire process of developing a strategy for social change in three phases, addressed across the two sessions.

1. Understanding the problem
2. Building a theory of change
3. Testing and iterating your theory of change

Participants will work through an example of a social problem of broad concern. A downloadable workbook will be provided, one that offers guided activities, applying each step of the process to a social problem of your choosing.
 

Closed Captioning Available
Live transcription is available for this program. To activate closed captioning during the live broadcast, click on the upward arrow next to the CC icon and select the subtitling option. To disable closed captioning, click on the upward arrow next to the CC icon and select the hide subtitling option.

On-Demand Version
Register and access the recording of the live event on-demand 24 hours after the webinar ends and anytime over the next 12 months.

Price: $249
This price includes access to the live interactive webinar-workshops, unlimited access to the recorded webinar video, and downloadable slides for 12 months.

Refund Policy: Recordings of all webinars and any associated materials are accessible asynchronously after the live program for 12 months from the date of the program. As a standard policy, SSIR does not offer refunds on registrations. Any requests for refunds should be submitted in writing to [email protected] and will be considered on a case-by-case basis. Should a refund be warranted, it will be processed after the webinar.

If you have any questions about this program, write to us at [email protected].