Invest in IRiSS

Scientific Solutions to Social Issues

A combination of massive data sets and powerful new computing tools are opening up new frontiers in research. At the same time, Stanford faculty and students are increasingly interested in applying their research to social issues like poverty, inequality, philanthropy, and democratic stability. The Institute for Research in the Social Sciences was founded to provide a home for this research, to train the next generation of scholars and policy innovators, to facilitate collaborations with the School of Education, the Law School and the Graduate School of Business, and to provide faculty and students with cutting-edge research tools to take advantage of new technology.

Your gift of any size is an important investment that supports the Institute’s highest priorities, which include: 

• Seed grants, which allow faculty to pursue high-risk, high-reward research projects that are so innovative that traditional funding sources are not available. Once these projects develop a track record of success, they are able to establish other funding sources. Recent seed grants have funded research on the worldwide environmental justice movement, the predictability of economic recessions, and the negative consequences of China’s one-child policies.


• New technology that is critical to social science research. For example, the Institute has made a major investment in creating and maintaining large-scale census data sets, making them accessible to as many researchers at Stanford as possible.


• Research opportunities for undergraduates, who will have the chance to work alongside faculty. In doing so, they will learn to apply rigorous methodologies to complex social and political issues that will help them seek solutions to pressing challenges in any field they enter.

 To support IRiSS and social science research at Stanford, click on this button:

Any gift to IRiSS supports the Institute's key programmatic goals and activities.  For more information about IRiSS programs and research, contact Chris Thomsen, Executive Director at (650) 799-8843. To discuss IRiSS gift opportunities or make a gift, contact Cindi Trost, Associate Director for External Relations at (650) 724-2812.