Newbie’s Guide to the Stanford Social Innovation Review (SSIR) Website: 6 Things to Try

The Stanford Social Innovation Review (SSIR) is the premier publication for the study of social innovation. And that’s key to know if you are exploring the field as a career or social innovation hobbyist.

SSIR features stories on a broad range of issues ranging from education, socially responsible investment, social entrepreneurship, social media movements, foundation perspectives, non-profit management, to global issues such as poverty, education, and human rights. And it delves into issues—through various media platforms, interviews with thought leaders, and community engagement.If you are a social innovation newbie, you may want to take a tour of what’s available before you commit to becoming an SSIR member receiving glossy quarterly magazines and premium access to SSIR’s robust website.

Below are a few suggestions on how to traverse your way through the online treasure trove that is the SSIR website. According to SSIR, only 20% of the website is accessible to non-subscribers. So this is an effort to ensure that you know what is available to the public and where to find it.

6 Things A Non-Subscriber Can Do on SSIReview.org

1. Tune in to Podcasts

Select the Podcasts tab and you will be taken to the index page listing podcasts available for listening. The podcasts are ordered by date and indicate cost in brackets. Notably, the vast majority of the podcasts listed are free to the public for viewing.
Here are a few podcast titles of interest:

• “Promoting Social Entrepreneurship Among the Youth” (Bill Drayton)

• “Solving Infant Mortality with Social Entrepreneurship” (Jane Chen)

• “Social Entrepreneurship in Education” (Piyush Mangukiya)

• “Design Thinking for Social Inclusion” (Jocelyn Wyatt)

• “The Power of Leadership in Social Enterprise” (Jonathan Reckford)

2. Read Book Reviews

Whether you bookworm the old-fashioned way—with pages—or have adopted a tablet for reading, SSIR book reviews may provide inspiration for your next book club pick. The listings include links to buy the book and the reviews are available for public perusal.
Here are a few interesting reads and excerpts of the SSIR reviews:

• Giving Well by Illingworth, Pogge & Wenar

(review by Chip Pitts): “Its main contribution may be that it highlights the vital need for greater and more ethical generosity—and for continuous improvement of the effectiveness of the “new philanthropy.

• Philanthrocapitalism by Mathew Bishop and Michael Green

(review by Joel Fleishman): “The short of it is, I plan to make this book required reading for students in my 2009 spring term course on philanthropy, voluntarism, and nonprofit law and management at Duke University.

• The Search for Social Entrepreneurship by Paul Light

(review by Diana Wells): “His book is well written, accessible to nonacademic readers, and datarich— Light balances substantial literature review (500 studies) with the presentation and analysis of his own multiple research endeavors.”

3. Engage in the Community

Just like Prince promises you don’t have to be rich to be his girl, SSIR assures that you don’t need to be a subscriber to start engaging in its robust community. For articles accessible to the general public, you can comment and discuss using the comment boxes. If you are new to the field and trying to build understanding and awareness, these comment fields can very useful in connecting and engaging.

4. Sign Up for the Free Weekly eNewsletter

Go to the SSIR homepage and in the right navigation bar you will see your a space to easily and painlessly sign up for the weekly Stanford Social Innovation Review enewsletter. It’s a quick add and can plug you into SSIR’s upcoming events and publications.

5. Peruse Accessible Articles

If you find yourself to be more of kinesthetic learner, you may be eager to get out to live events and engage with a community by shaking hands, exchanging business cards, and asking questions using your vocal chords rather than your keyboard. The SSIR Events page lists upcoming happenings with links to registration or more information.
Here is a snapshot of events listed for the coming months:

• SOCAP11

(Sept 6-9, San Francisco)

• 2011 Social Venture Network Fall Conference

(Oct 27-30)

• 2011 Net Impact Conference

(Oct 28-29, Portland)

• Social Enterprise Alliance Summit

(Oct 31-Nov 2, Chicago)

6. Follow SSIR

And one of the easiest ways to connect with SSIR website content is simply to follow SSIR on Facebook, on Twitter, or via LinkedIn. It’s a way to let the content come to meet you.

And if you like what you see as a new user, you can always consider ‘investing’ in change by signing up to be an SSIR member and gaining access to much more of the site including digital archives of past magazine issues, webinars, and other podcasts and content.