Thematic Workshops 2025-2026

The path to impact at scale starts with thinking big and setting an ambitious vision. Join this interactive session to help your team brainstorm and align on an ambitious vision for impact at scale, and to workshop your particular path from science to impact at scale based on understanding the demand for your proposed scientific insights.

This workshop is intended for PIs and senior lab staff with design control over your partnership-based research project. Feel free to bring 2-3 members of your team.

This session will be followed up in the Winter Quarter with a Scaling Impact Pt. 2 (see below). If you attended SIL’s Designing Research for Impact workshop on August 13, 2025, the content will be similar.

Join us to explore the wins, losses and the lessons learned along the way when working towards implementing change.

This event will highlight the work of the SIL-funded Digital Access to Justice team and their experience building buy-in for interventions that changed the status quo within the LA County Superior Courts. Learn the behind-the-scenes strategy and operations of how this lab built relationships and navigated changes with the court leadership and operational staff. Hear from your colleagues and discuss with other SIL-funded teams what it takes to be a leader of change, especially when the path forward can be complex or uncertain.

Lunch will be provided for participants who RSVP at least 1 week in advance.

Your ability to successfully navigate Stanford’s research administration ecosystem can have huge implications on your project’s timeline; SIL labs have built a wealth of experience working through Stanford processes to successfully produce impact-focused and partnership-based research.

Join us for a lightly-facilitated conversation with each other about lessons learned and best practices for getting - and keeping! - your project(s) on track.

Storytelling is one of humanity’s oldest tools for making sense of the world. It helps us ask questions, find meaning, and imagine what’s possible. Today, as technology floods us with competing narratives, the ability to tell clear, engaging, human stories is more important than ever—especially for scholars committed to leveraging science in service of the public good.

You’re invited to join Stanford Impact Labs’ Strategic Communications and Outreach team for a workshop exploring the intersection of storytelling and social science. Participants should come prepared with 2-3 story ideas that illustrate the why behind their impact-driven research. An idea might center on a guiding question, a real-world need, a surprising insight, an emerging solution, or a key lesson—be it a success, failure, or moment along the journey from science to impact.

Together, we’ll work in small groups to help each other develop ideas into more evolved story arcs and consider what scenes to develop, what jargon to cut, and what action to invoke.

What does it take for research to meaningfully influence public policy?

This 90-minute webinar uses the California legislative process to examine bill cycles, legislator turnover and incentive structures that shape decision-making. Featuring Brian Brennan, from 21st Century Alliance, the session will explore case studies and highlight practical rules of thumb for producing policy-relevant research.

Participants will gain insights into how to understand their audience, build relationships that foster policymaker buy-in, and position their work to have real impact.

Join Misan Rewane, SIL’s Executive Director, experienced social innovator and non-profit founder, for an interactive session focused on tackling real organizational challenges. Using practical tools, you’ll explore and identify approaches that align people, processes, and purpose.

This is a working session, not a lecture—you’ll share challenges, exchange ideas with other labs, and co-create strategies you can pilot right away. You’ll leave with fresh perspectives, tailored next steps, and a network of peers committed to learning and growing together.

Come ready to learn, share, and connect with colleagues over lunch. Lunch will be provided for participants who RSVP at least 1 week in advance.

Join us for an informal lunch roundtable where SIL-funded research teams can share experiences navigating research practice partnerships, particularly when external factors impact your plans. This interactive session will gather researchers and staff to discuss practical challenges and opportunities when working with external stakeholders across private, public, and non-profit sectors.

SIL Faculty Director Matthew Gentzkow will share insights from his Healthier Smartphone Use project, collaborating with private and public partners. Rather than a formal presentation, this roundtable creates space for open dialogue about partnership dynamics. You'll hear insights from fellow researchers and contribute your own experiences to the conversation.

Come ready to learn, share, and connect with colleagues over lunch. Lunch will be provided for participants who RSVP at least 1 week in advance.

With multiple paths to impact, how will you know what will work at scale?

This interactive session will focus on applying Lean Impact principles to your project’s hypothesized pathway(s) from science to impact at scale. Participants will start to set a learning agenda for scale, engaging with other teams to discuss practical next steps on the path to impact at scale.

This workshop is a good fit for PIs and senior lab staff with design control over the partnership-based research project. Feel free to bring 2-3 members of your team. Attendance of the prior Scaling Impact Part 1 workshop is not a prerequisite to joining this session.

In this session, we’ll explore ways to engage with the policy ecosystem beyond legislative approaches. Featuring speakers from RegLab and other leaders from SIL labs, join us for a broader look at additional levers for influencing policy.

More details about this session will be shared by the beginning of Spring Quarter.