Social Movement Learning Project

Innovation Network’s Social Movement Learning Project (SMLP) seeks to improve philanthropic support of social movements by creating practical educational tools and guidance to help funders better understand, fund, and assess movement power, progress, and impact. Innovation Network’s SMLP team developed the Power of Social Movements Framework to identify the types of power that movements need to build to challenge the status quo and indicators to track and measure this power. As we create these resources, we are committed to centering and amplifying the perspectives and experiences of grassroots movement builders, including the activists, leaders, and affected communities that are the drivers of movement activity.

The SMLP team continues its work on the Power of Social Movements Framework—including vetting and improving upon the first iteration of the framework and creating other educational tools and resources—to enhance funders’ understanding of social movements and build their capacity to fund and assess social movements. We know that these tools will only be useful if they have buy-in from a variety of stakeholders including movement builders, funders, and evaluators and become part of a larger conversation that enhances their use. Check back for project updates!

Resources

• Power of Social Movements Concepts and Indicators: An overview of the Power of Social Movements Framework including power concepts and indicators for people power, institutional power, influencer power, and narrative power.
• Amplifying Movement Knowledge for Philanthropy: An introduction to the research of the Social Movement Learning Project drawn from an extensive literature review and conversations with over 50 funders, movement-builders, and evaluators.
• Handout: Social Movements Theory of Change and Power Indicators: A handout of the social movements theory of change.
• SMLP Bibliography: A reference list of the academic and practitioner works we’ve consulted.