We are an action-oriented training center and research lab located within the University of Pennsylvania School of Social Policy & Practice.
What We Offer
Our alternative learning opportunities—both in person and online—equip those who seek to make a social impact through the application of practical research and our community of educational partners and mentors.
Events + Sessions
Workshop: The New Civic Commons: How Public Libraries Can Build Social Cohesion and Promote Civic Renewal
October 28 from 3pm-4:30pm
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#desc; use the code LIBRARY for a 20% discount.
Workshop: Aligning Purpose and Presentation: Auditing Digital Media for Social Impact
Our online presence is often the first way people learn about our organizations, ventures, or even ourselves as individuals. For mission-driven organizations and ventures, aligning digital outreach with social impact goals and reaching key stakeholder audiences can feel challenging. In this workshop, participants will learn how to conduct a Digital Media Audit. This tool facilitates a systematic, holistic examination of an organization’s online presence, with the goal of assessing the relationship between digital practices and mission. Participants will have the opportunity to audit a sampling of their own digital practices, as well as the digital practices of their stakeholders. They will leave the session with a Digital Media Audit worksheet to continue their analysis beyond the workshop and facilitate strategic communications plans with their team.
Watch the RecordingWorkshop: Persuasive Communication: Telling Stories of Personal Purpose and Impact
Over the last year, people all around the world have responded to the pressures of the pandemic by carving out space for novelty in their careers, communities, and homes. How do we communicate these changes to others? This workshop will address how we communicate the people, values, and lessons that matter to us most, whether at work, or in other dimensions of our lives.
Watch the RecordingWorkshop: Kindly Critical: A New Approach to Motivating Yourself and Others
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This workshop will present the latest research on self-compassion, as well as reference a series of related behavioral change approaches that build off self-monitoring, self-assessment, and self-kindness principles. Attendees will leave this workshop with a preliminary understanding of the potential impact and limitations of self-compassion focused interventions, a series of tangible exercises that can be applied to either one’s self or teams, and a greater sense of confidence in implementing these practices in our day-to-day lives.
Watch the RecordingWorkshop: Finding Your Facilitation Flow: Techniques to Ease Connections
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Faced with increasingly complex problems, teams today rely on connection and collaboration to find acceptable solutions. Effective facilitation has become a necessary skill and practice toward this end. Drawing on a decade of experience, CSIS facilitators Anna Dausman and Kaveh Sadeghian present some of their own beliefs and practices around facilitation and convening.
Workshop: Real Talk: Navigating Rest and Reentry in Times of Transition
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In this workshop, we ask participants to conduct a “wellness audit” and set an intention for routines and priorities in the days ahead. The framework we share is for anyone with questions about what life will look like as pandemic restrictions are lifted, as well as for anyone going through a life transition more broadly.
Watch the RecordingPanel: 2021 Racial Equity & Philanthropy
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Join us for the 2021 Racial Equity & Philanthropy Panel, organized by the Nonprofit Leadership Master’s Program and CSIS. We hope this conversation leads to greater insights on the role of philanthropy in furthering racial justice.
Watch the RecordingDiscussion: Reimagining Volunteerism in COVID-19
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Tune in to our recent conversation examining how nonprofits and social impact organizations can creatively mobilize volunteers during COVID-19.
Watch the RecordingWebinar: Raising Philanthropic Capital in Uncertain Times: 360 Degree View
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Listen back on CSIS’ and CCS’ final panel on the full, changing landscape of philanthropy.
Watch the RecordingWorkshop: Adapting in the Times of COVID-19
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We partnered with Cafe Momentum to host a 90-minute workshop on how organizations might best respond to the competing needs of their communities, funders, and teams in this turbulent time.
Watch the RecordingWorkshop: Routine Reset for Social Impact Practitioners
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As a community, we took time to acknowledge and respond to our new reality, do a wellness audit, and set reasonable goals for the immediate future.
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Alumni Engagement
Alumni of CSIS programs, including the Executive Programs, Penn Social Impact House, Penn Impact Lab, and Global Social Impact House, are invited to join our private professional group to network and collaborate.