ICLEI — a global network of cities, towns and regions committed to building a sustainable future, through facilitating hundreds of citywide green projects.
Oxfam International — a collaborative of 20 charities committed to alleviating global poverty, in issue areas like economic well-being, natural resources and rights , and others.
CARE — a global humanitarian organization committed to disaster relief through long-term solutions in girls education, microfinance, and many other initiatives.
World Food Programme — a UN branch addressing hunger and promoting food security across 83 countries, with projects supporting cash and in-kind food assistance, disaster risk reduction, and more.
International Federation of the Red Cross — a worldwide humanitarian aid organization providing international assistance following natural and man-made disasters, supporting everything from community pandemic preparedness to forecast-based financing.
Save The Children International — a development and relief services charity with a worldwide scope, lending support through projects like Numeracy Boost, School Health and Nutrition, and more.
International Rescue Committee — a global humanitarian-focused NGO focused on Safety, Health, Empowerment, Education, and Economic well-being.
UNICEF — the U.N branch dedicated to children, working to support young people with disabilities, healthy adolescent development, and more.
USAID — an independent U.S agency administering civilian foreign aid and development assistance through a wide range of results-oriented projects like a sustainable milk economy in Ethiopia and a renewed tax system encouraging innovation in Georgia.
“It was a throwaway line in a politician’s speech.” That’s how Richland Source reporter Brittany Schock first learned that Richland County had Ohio’s worst infant mortality rate. But that line sparked Schock’s curiosity on “what [was] working” to address infant mortality, which ultimately inspired a stellar solutions story on “baby boxes.” Freelancer Holly Robertson similarly recalled how her BRIGHT magazine story on Vientiane Rescue came from a public ceremony — the Ramon Magsaysay Award, or what Robertson called “Asia’s version of the Nobel prize.” Here are six other sources where journalists may find SJ inspiration from public discourse:
U.S Conference of Mayors — a non-partisan organization of cities with populations of 30,000 or more, spearheading initiatives like preventing childhood obesity, or enhancing city livability.
European Public Service Awards — an initiative of the European Institute on Public Administration (EIPA) rewarding innovative public sector responses to societal problems. Past awards have recognized Bucharest’s efforts to improve the situation of their Roma citizens and the Andalusian government’s establishment of an e-library on health resources.
The All African Public Service Innovation Awards — a joint venture of the African Union and the Pan-African Conference of Ministers to celebrate innovation in the public sector. In 2018–19, the coalition is awarding achievements across four categories: service delivery to citizens, creative partnerships across sectors, innovation in building accountability, transparency, and ethics in public service, and enhancing the effects of the fourth Industrial Revolution.
UN Public Service Awards — an initiative recognizing “excellence in public service at the global level,” which has reviewed more than 4000 initiatives from 82 countries to date.
Nonprofit Coordinating Committee of New York Excellence Awards — a coalition recognizing “innovative and replicable nonprofit management practices.” Past winners include a program enabling under-resourced schools to teach music and an organization that provides culturally relevant services that support an enriched quality of life.
Positive Change Effies — a World Economic Forum-powered ceremony that awards organizations promoting marketing communications that enhance “the greater good” through two categories: Environmental and Social Good. Case studies on past winners include efforts like “Groceries over Guns” and “The Power of SHE.”
SJN cautions against writing a “think tank piece” — stories of promising ideas that haven’t yet been implemented. But that’s not to say think tank research can’t help seed great solutions stories! These 10 academic powerhouses are a great starting point for SJ investigations:
(52) Pew Research Center — a U.S-based “fact tank” that produces research and datasets gauging the public’s attitude on hundreds of topics from the importance of religion to internet, science and tech.
World Resources Institute — a global research organization spanning 50 countries to research “six critical issues at the intersection of environment and development”: climate, energy, food, forests, water, and cities and transport.
Bruegel — a Brussels-based think tank that explores international economic policy on ideas such as how to make crowdfunding work in Europe and how to ‘green’ monetary policy.
The Earth Institute — a Columbia University-based institute combining “research in the physical and social sciences, education and practical solutions to help guide the world onto a path toward sustainability.”
RAND Corporation — a global nonprofit think tank that purports to provide “objective analysis, effective solutions” on research spanning Infrastructure and Transportation, Children, Families, and Communities, and more.
Kaiser Family Foundation — a U.S-based nonprofit researching healthcare issues ranging from global health policy, health costs, and more.
Center for an Urban Future — a New York City-based nonprofit researching “smart and sustainable policies that reduce inequality, increase economic mobility, and grow the economy.”
The Carnegie Endowment for International Peace — a global network of policy research centers in Russia, China, Europe, the Middle East, India, and the United States, working to research and advance peace through a wide range of sectors.
The Learning Policy Institute — a California-based nonprofit researching education policy across five areas: deeper learning, educator quality, early childhood learning, equitable resources and access, and accountability and improvement.
National Bureau of Economic Research — a U.S-based nonprofit covering a wide range of economic policy research topics, such as immigration and innovation, and childhood interventions.
Forget the fluorescent lights, bad coffee, and tedious panels. The takeaways from these five conferences on social innovation (more here) could help journalists get their solutions-oriented gears cranking:
Net Impact Conference — an annual conference convening impact leaders to spark “ a dynamic exchange of ideas about how to tackle our toughest challenges.” Watch last year’s keynotes on speakers ranging from Douglas Baker of Ecolab to Andrew Yang of Venture for America.
The Global People’s Summit — a 100% online gathering to encourage citizens and leaders from around the world to “collaborate, share best practices, foster innovation, build community, celebrate success, influence global agendas, and find new ways to translate their vision into action.”
Social Innovation Summit — a global gathering focused on convening the “black swans and wayward thinkers” to build the ideas of tomorrow. The agenda is here.
Social Good Summit — a joint venture between the U.N, Mashable, and 92nd Street Y to explore“how technology and new media can be leveraged to address global issues,” with respect to the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals.
The Future of Everything Festival — a Wall Street Journal-supported festival that convenes futurists on themes such as money, culture, style, technology, and health & humanity.
The Report for America Solutions Bank — your go-to resource for accelerating social change around the world’s biggest challenges. It includes proposals submitted by competitions managed by Lever for Change, an affiliate of the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation.
68 places later, we confess: sometimes, reporters find solutions story ideas the same way they find non-solutions story ideas. Here are sixjournalists who did just that:
People involved in the problem — When freelancer Amy Yee (also one of the most prolific authors in the Solutions Story Tracker™) was in Senegal, she recalled the striking number of female prisoners in jail for alleged infanticide or abortion. Amy then asked the prisons manager what could reduced that number. Her reply? “Family planning.” That sparked Amy’s interest in understanding what‘s working to increase access in family planning — which she reported for The Lancet.
People involved in the solution’s implementation — Sarita Saroshini’s PRI story on Ugandan women’s empowerment also came through word of mouth. But this time, the source Sarita met was an active part of the solution — a baking group that provides women with both supplemental income and emotional support.
Sources from other stories — Aysha Khan of Religion News Service was in the midst of reporting a story on criminal justice reform and Islam, when a source told her she was working on a bail fund project. Khan’s next story? A deep dive on that Muslim community crowdsourced bail fund.
Social Media — Dougal Shaw explained how he always includes his Twitter handle on his BBC pieces. “When somebody..thinks ‘that reminds me of something else where I live’,” they can contact Dougal and help lead him to his next SJ investigation.
Your audience — After Gabrielle Glaser published a book on the rise in drinking among U.S women, thousands of readers wrote to her — with questions on one chapter in particular: how do treatments for alcohol use disorder work? That repeated question prompted Glaser to pen a science-based solutions piece for The Atlantic on the treatment options that fail, and the ones that work.
Google — “Who’s doing it better?” That’s the golden question to ask to spark solutions journalism investigations. And when Erica Evans of Deseret News realized her audience was sick of hearing about air pollution — a longstanding problem in Salt Lake City — that’s exactly what she Googled. Her results? Oslo, which prompted her to write this SJ story on the city’s innovative responses.
NOTE: This list was last updated on April 29, 2019. Have a recommendation for this list? Email juliah[at]solutionsjournalism[dot]org.
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