named programs · 2 · from sources
What they call their work
LEGO Foundation Fellowship
Global three-year fellowship for early- and mid-career researchers studying children’s thriving, with $300,000 in flexible funding and cohort-based exchange. Focus areas include children in crisis, neurodivergent children, and AI’s impact on learning.
Public Exchange Network
National network that connects university researchers with government, nonprofit, and industry partners to address urgent societal challenges such as climate resilience, food insecurity, and urban sustainability through actionable research.
activities · 4 groups
What they do
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Leadership & Policy Dialogue Forums 2 activities
- Advocating for public investment and institutional support for social science researchEngages in advocacy efforts to strengthen public and institutional commitment to social science, including testifying before Congress, helping establish COSSA as an active advocacy coalition, and convening leaders to discuss trust in higher education and research.
- Convening stakeholders to link research with policy, practice, and public trustOrganizes conferences, panels, workshops, and networking events—including the 2025 College and University Fund Conference and Deans' Breakfast—to connect researchers, practitioners, funders, and policymakers; strengthens research standards; and promotes public understanding and trust in social sciences through dialogue and knowledge exchange.
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Academic Research Dissemination 1 activity
- Advancing social science research through interdisciplinary and international collaborationProduces and supports innovative, actionable research on public issues by fostering cross-institutional collaborations among universities, funders, and government entities; commissions reports; publishes findings in flagship journals and platforms like Items; and advances knowledge in areas such as peace and security, race, data infrastructure, and economic research evaluation.
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Research and Scholarly Fellowship Support 1 activity
- Building research capacity and strengthening scholar developmentStrengthens the next generation of social scientists through mentoring programs, research consortia, and training initiatives; appoints scholarly committees; convenes interdisciplinary networks; and supports scholar development across geographies and disciplines, including through historical programs like the Sexuality Research Fellowship Program (1996–2006).
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Design and Architecture Education Support 1 activity
- Funding research and fellowship programs in partnership with foundations and government agenciesDesigns, administers, and awards grants for interdisciplinary and international research and fellowship initiatives, including the LEGO Foundation Fellowship, Charles E. Lindblom Memorial Fellowship, and Just Tech Fellowship, supporting early- and mid-career researchers across diverse fields such as child development, technology and society, and economic research.
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financials · form 990 · fy2024
revenue
Total revenue$14.24M
Contributions & grants$8.89M62%
Program service revenue$00%
Investment income$5.28M37%
Other revenue$60K
expenses
Total expenses$15.47M
Program expenses86%
Admin / overhead13%
Fundraising1%
Salaries & benefits$7.93M
Grants paid out$1.75M
Largest expense lineCompensation
balance sheet
Total assets$68.90M
Cash$10.42M
Investments$49.52M
Liabilities$8.78M
Net assets$60.12M
Liquid reserves46.5 mo
6 years on record · 2019–2024 · YoY revenue -14.6%
leadership · form 990 part vii · fy2024
Who runs it
paid leadership · 7
| Name | Title | Hours/wk | Compensation |
|---|---|---|---|
| ANNA HARVEY | PRESIDENT | 35 | $383K |
| CARL JOHAN FREDRIK PALM | COO & VP OF ADMIN AND OPS | 35 | $307K |
| CYRIL OBI | PROGRAM DIRECTOR | 35 | $236K |
| KRISTEN LEWIS | PROGRAM DIRECTOR | 35 | $234K |
| CALLY WAITE | PROGRAM DIRECTOR | 35 | $216K |
| LISA YANOTI | DIRECTOR OF FINANCE | 35 | $199K |
| ZACHARY ZINN | DIRECTOR OF IT & DIGITAL COMMS. | 35 | $174K |
board members · 16
- AARON CHATTERJI — DIRECTOR
- GINA NEFF — DIRECTOR
- INGELA ALGER — DIRECTOR
- IRA KATZNELSON — DIRECTOR
- JOSEPH SCHULL — DIRECTOR
- MARC FEIGEN — DIRECTOR
- MARGARET LEVENSTEIN — DIRECTOR
- MELISSA NOBLES — DIRECTOR
- MIGUEL URQUIOLA — DIRECTOR
- NAOMI LAMOREAUX — DIRECTOR
- PHILIP ZECHER — DIRECTOR
- RAKA RAY — DIRECTOR
- SHERRY GLIED — SECRETARY
- TIL SCHUERMANN — TREASURER
- WALTER W POWELL — DIRECTOR
- WILLIAM H JANEWAY — CHAIRPERSON
relationships · 54
Who they work with
- Alfred P. Sloan Foundation Funder — Provided funding for the Economic Research Rescue Fund initiative
- American Anthropologist Partner — Journal whose research is featured in SSRC's Frontiers in Social Science publication
- American Political Science Review Partner — Journal whose research is featured in SSRC's Frontiers in Social Science publication
- Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Funder — Provides financial support for SSRC programs
- CLEAN LA Partner — Partner organization conducting free soil testing for lead in Los Angeles County after the 2025 wildfires.
- CLEAN STL Partner — Partner organization conducting soil and air contaminant testing in St. Louis after the 2025 EF-3 tornado.
- City and County of Los Angeles Partner — Government partner collaborating on Public Exchange initiatives including environmental testing and food security.
- City of St. Louis Partner — Municipal partner engaged in environmental health and resilience projects through Public Exchange.
- Consortium of Social Science Associations Partner — Transformed COSSA into an active coalition defending public investment in social research.
- Dana Foundation Funder — Represented in a panel on funder perspectives at the 2025 College and University Fund Conference.
- Department of Angels Partner — Community-based partner organization involved in Public Exchange initiatives focused on social services and equity.
- Doris Duke Foundation Funder — Represented in a panel on funder perspectives at the 2025 College and University Fund Conference.
- Ford Foundation Funder — Provides financial support for SSRC programs
- Ford Foundation Funder — Supported the SSRC’s Sexuality Research Fellowship Program from 1996 to 2006.
- Henry Luce Foundation Funder — Represented in a panel on funder perspectives at the 2025 College and University Fund Conference.
- Hewlett Foundation Funder — Represented in a panel on funder perspectives at the 2025 College and University Fund Conference.
- Japan Foundation Partner — Co-sponsors the SSRC-JF Next Generation Japan Studies Development Program with the Social Science Research Council.
- Just Tech network Network — Broad network of peers, external partners, and alumni engaged with the Just Tech Fellowship program
- Keck Medicine of USC Partner — Healthcare partner involved in Public Exchange projects related to community health and environmental exposure.
- LEGO Foundation Funder — Primary funder and collaborator in the LEGO Foundation Fellowship program
- LEGO Foundation Partner — Partnered with SSRC to develop and administer the LEGO Foundation Fellowship.
- Los Angeles Regional Food Bank Partner — Nonprofit partner using Food Base LA dashboard to distribute food resources to families experiencing food insecurity.
- National Endowment for the Humanities Funder — Provides financial support for SSRC programs
- National Science Foundation Government — Source of originally funded research projects that were later paused or terminated
- National Science Foundation (NSF) Funder — Provides financial support for SSRC programs
- Open Society Foundations Funder — Provides financial support for SSRC programs
- Rockefeller Foundation Funder — Provides financial support for SSRC programs
- Santa Clarita Valley Water Agency Partner — Local water agency partner in environmental and infrastructure research projects.
- Solar AquaGrid Partner — Private-sector partner in the California Solar Canal Initiative to deploy solar infrastructure on aqueducts.
- Southern California Association of Governments Partner — Regional planning agency collaborating on cross-jurisdictional research initiatives through Public Exchange.
+ 24 more
strategies · 4
How they approach the work
Named approaches extracted from this org’s sources. Where others share an approach, follow it to see the full set of orgs running it.
- Citizen-Informed Research Evaluationmethodology: citizen-led_research_evaluationBy incorporating citizen review into research evaluation, the SSRC enhances societal impact assessment beyond traditional peer review, because public values and lived experience improve the alignment of research with community needs and democratic priorities.
- Convening-Driven Knowledge Integrationmethodology: convening_innovation_networksBy convening institutional partners, scholars, and practitioners across disciplines and geographies, the SSRC links social science research to public needs and strengthens research standards, because structured collaboration generates more relevant, credible, and actionable knowledge than isolated academic work.
- Interdisciplinary and Inclusive Capacity Buildingmethodology: inclusive_knowledge_productionBy investing in emerging researchers and fostering international, cross-disciplinary collaboration, the SSRC expands the diversity of perspectives in knowledge production, because inclusive and interdisciplinary networks generate more innovative and globally relevant social science.
- Partner-Driven Research Translationmethodology: partner-driven_research_translationBy using practitioner-led coordination and co-defining research with external partners, the SSRC ensures university-generated knowledge addresses real-world problems, because aligning academic inquiry with non-academic expertise increases the relevance, management, and uptake of research outcomes.