Center for Social Impact Strategy

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Center for Social Impact Strategy

The Center for Social Impact Strategy is a research and action center based at the University of Pennsylvania. We help people change the world.

Housed at Penn, the Center for Social Impact Strategy offers online and in-person learning for changemakers who are looking to develop, build, and scale their impact ideas. We’re currently accepting applications for the Executive Program in Social Impact Strategy and the Executive Program in Faith and Social Impact (deadline is November 18th) and the Executive Program in Digital Media for Social Impact (deadline is December 5th)!

04/21/2026

Join us for our May Speaker series featuring Josh Lavra who is principal at Hopelab. Learn more about the talk below and register at https://bit.ly/SPEAK26. See you online! 🖥️
Talk Description: What does it mean to truly share power with young people – not just in rhetoric, but in research, funding, and strategy? Grounded in Hopelab’s work at the intersection of youth well-being, technology, and equity, this talk highlights concrete stories of co-creating with young people, and the messy, generative work of designing more hopeful futures.

04/14/2026

📍Applications will be opening soon for our Executive Program in Social Innovation Design (XSD)! XSD is a 7-month program designed to help you put your ideas into action right away, equipping you with strategic tools, frameworks & resources to design practices that create a better world.

💡Join us for one of our upcoming live information sessions!
Our information sessions are great ways to learn more about XSD, application details, and program outcomes. Sign up using the registration links in the comments for any of the following dates: April 28, May 26, June 30, and August 4th.

Info registration links
April 28 - https://bit.ly/4tRQbWp
May 26- https://bit.ly/4sykKPI
June 30 - https://bit.ly/424Raq3
August 4th - https://bit.ly/4tNsxKt

04/07/2026

On April 13, 3:00pm-4:30pm, we will acknowledge 10 years of work and discuss how the Center for Social Impact Strategy might leverage its resources for changemakers in the coming decade. Register at https://bit.ly/SPEAK26 . See you online! 🖥️

We invite all CSIS alumni to share their experiences with the CSIS program and curriculum, as well as their own social impact work. As we think about the future, we will discuss how university centers like CSIS can continue to empower world changers. Join us for an engaging conversation that will inspire us to imagine the future impact of our work.

02/09/2026

Our February speaker is Betty Chandy, Director for Technology Integration and Learning at Catalyst at Penn Graduate School of Education (GSE). Learn more about the talk below and register at https://bit.ly/SPEAK26. See you online! 🖥️

Talk Description: Artificial intelligence is woven into our daily lives - from the maps that guide us, to the recommendations we see while shopping, to the systems that quietly help us make decisions. This session will begin with a grounded introduction to what AI actually is, followed by a look at traditional machine learning systems and the ways they’ve improved everyday experiences. From there, Betty will explore the transformative moment marked by the launch of ChatGPT and the rapid rise of generative AI and other technologies reshaping how people study, work, and collaborate. Betty will close with an education‑focused lens on the benefits, risks, and emerging challenges of AI, and what it all means for a sector committed to social impact.

What you can learn during this session
Understand how AI systems (both traditional machine learning and newer generative models) shape everyday experiences, from navigation and online shopping to workplace and learning environments.

Differentiate between traditional machine learning and generative AI, gaining clarity on how the launch of tools like ChatGPT transformed how people study, work, create, and solve problems.

Identify key opportunities and risks of AI in education and social impact contexts, including implications for equity, access, creativity, assessment, privacy, and responsible use.

Speaker’s Bio: Betty Chandy, Ed.D. is the Director for Technology Integration and Learning Design at Catalyst @ Penn GSE, where she leads work that connects learning sciences, online instruction, and emerging technologies to support educators and school systems. She oversees the Virtual Online Teaching (VOLT) and Experiences in Applied Computational Thinking (EXACT) certificate programs, which prepare teachers to design meaningful and accessible learning experiences for diverse classrooms.

03/27/2025

💡There is still time to apply to our May online cohort for the Executive Program in Social Impact Strategy! The Executive Program in Social Impact Strategy is an 8-month online certification for leaders and innovators working to make an impact.

💻The Online format is asynchronous, with synchronous virtual orientations. In addition, executive online students are required to take an extra online social innovation class and have the option to join monthly virtual meet-ups.

Apply and enroll by April 1st for a $1,000 discount! Apply at https://bit.ly/online2025 📝

02/21/2025

Join the Center for Social Impact Strategy (CSIS) and Penn Center for Inclusive Innovation & Technology for our 2025 speaker series! We have an outstanding lineup of speakers who will discuss various topics within the social impact space. To register, please visit https://bit.ly/SPEAK25.

All sessions are Mondays, 3:00 pm - 4:30 pm, hosted meeting-style virtually💻.

11/18/2024

⏰7 days away from our early-enrollment discount deadline .💻 Apply & enroll by November 25th to receive 20% off tuition for SIS-Blended or $1,000 off tuition for SIS-Online.

Hear what Alums are saying about the program: https://bit.ly/3O97MGu
📝 Apply today! The application is free and can take 30 minutes to complete: https://bit.ly/Blended25 || https://bit.ly/online2025
📱Want to speak with someone on the team? Schedule a call here: https://bit.ly/CallCSIS

11/01/2024

We are excited to announce our virtual session on November 25 at 3pm titled "Impactfully Leading Beyond the Numbers," featuring CSIS alumna featuring Susan Ní Chríodáin a CSIS Alum. Register now at bit.ly/sprk24 ! We look forward to seeing you there!

In the social impact space, where metrics and data drive decisions, it is crucial to remember that numbers don’t make decisions – people do. And our emotions play a role in decision-making, whether we acknowledge it or no

During the November virtual session, Susan will explore the vital connection between emotions and organizational performance, highlighting how understanding our body and brain's interconnections can positively influence people, performance, and impact. Just because feelings and emotions are invisible or intangible doesn’t mean they should be ignored. We are all emotional beings, and accounting for our emotions can increase our impact as leaders and help our people and organizations thrive.

Speaker Bio- CSIS alumnus, leadership coach and facilitator Susan Ní Chríodáin, sits at the nexus of business and emotion. Susan founded Beyond the Numbers to revolutionize workplaces. An award-winning chartered accountant hailing from the Big 4, her career spans three continents and a range of diverse leadership positions in a wide variety of commercial and non-profit operational, project, and financial roles in Europe, Africa, Asia, in-person and remotely. She is the author of the recently published bestselling Leading Beyond the Numbers: How Accounting for emotions tips the Balance at Work, where she reveals how to reintroduce humanity into the workplace for improved engagement and fulfillment, benefiting both individuals and organizations. She hosts the popular podcast Life Beyond the Numbers, which invites listeners to discover insights on how to have a more fulfilling work-life.

10/09/2024

📢 On October 15 at 4 pm EST, we will host our Executive Program in Social Impact Strategy Alumni Panel featuring recent graduates.📉Gain insights into their professional backgrounds, experiences in the Executive program, and key takeaways. Register at https://bit.ly/AlumniPanel25. The panelists include:

Jared Deane- SIS '24,
What he says about the program: "It has provided me with the tools I need to build a strong foundation for my social ventures as well as lay a strong foundation for bringing ideas to fruition."

Grace Belizario - SIS '24, Senior Manager of Volunteer and Member Engagement at the American Alliance of Museums; she has experience running national non-profit programs

Diane Bevan SIS '24
What she says about the program: " The insights and principles I’ve gained have enabled me to thoroughly evaluate the Idaho Technology Council, auditing our deliverables for measurable impact."

Andre Herbert, SIS '24 What Andre says: "After showcasing my work in a different way (and completing these courses), my organization promoted me to take on all of the organization’s partnership strategies. "

10/03/2024

Applications are open for our January Executive Program in Social Impact Strategy cohorts! You can choose either a blended or online track that features four core courses + two electives to give an in-depth learning experience to help make your work more effective and efficient.

💻 Our 8-month curriculum is designed to help you put your learning into practice right away, educating students in more than 50 strategic tools, frameworks & resources that you can use to build and scale your ideas. Each assignment is designed to advance your social impact ideas and initiatives — apply what you learn to your work immediately.

🌍 Complete the Executive Program from wherever you are in the world. Most of this program is taught asynchronously and online. All you need is a strong internet connection and the ability to stream video to access our educational materials, teaching team, and an incredible group of world-changing classmates.

🎓 Once you complete your coursework, certified by the teaching team, you will have earned a Certificate of Completion. Although the CSIS Executive Program in Social Impact Strategy is a non-credit program, students who enter the Nonprofit Leadership Master’s (NPL) program after completing the executive program are eligible to complete the NPL program in an accelerated format.

Sharing is caring! Know someone else who you think would be a good fit for this program? Tag them in the comments below! ⤵️

Join our two upcoming information sessions!
October 15 at 4pm EST- Alumni Panel: https://bit.ly/AlumniPanel25
November 12 at 4pm EST- General Information Session: https://bit.ly/SISInfo3
💻Apply today! The application is free and only takes 30 minutes to complete: https://bit.ly/Blended25 , https://bit.ly/online2025
📞Schedule a call: https://bit.ly/CallCSIS

09/26/2024

Join us on October 28, 2024, for our virtual speaker series "The New Civic Commons: How Public Libraries Can Build Social Cohesion and Promote Civic Renewal" featuring Shamichael Hallman. You can register here bit.ly/sprk24.

Workshop Description: America is facing an epidemic of loneliness and isolation, with troubling effects on our mental and physical health. We live in one of the most divisive times in our history, one in which we tend to work, play, and associate only with people who think as we do. How do we create spaces for people to unite—to open our minds, understand our differences, and exchange ideas? During the talk, he will discuss his work and his new book "Meet Me at the Library." The book explores libraries as "sites of encounter" and seeks to demonstrate the public library's unique role in generating opportunities for shared experience among people of all incomes and backgrounds. Meet me at the Library can be purchased here: https://islandpress.org/books/meet-me-library ; use the code LIBRARY for a 20% discount.

Address

3815 Walnut Street
Philadelphia, PA
19104

Website

http://csis.upenn.edu/

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