The New Scholars Strategy Network Website

Welcome to our new online home! As of April 4th, 2018, the Scholars Strategy Network website has a new look and improved capabilities. This is the first redesign of the website since SSN launched in 2011. The new site is built to help journalists, policymakers, and civic leaders create relationships with scholars. The redesign reflects the mission and guiding principles of SSN, and incorporates six years of organizational learning. Read on for more information about new features, design choices, and our process:

The New Logo

The new logo is made up of five moving circles that represent the parts of the SSN community: scholars, policymakers, civic leaders, journalists, and the SSN national staff. Throughout the network and across the nation these relationships look different, but the goal is the same: to use research to improve policy and make democracy work better for everyone. The circles create different shapes based on the different ways they are connected. The resulting logo is flexible and dynamic, reflecting the collaborative and responsive way SSN operates.

The primary goal of the new website is to help journalists, policymakers, and civic leaders connect with scholars. Scholars want to use their research to inform policy challenges, and journalists, civic leaders, and policymakers are essential partners in that process. Every member scholar has a new profile page with a prominent contact button, and other opportunities to connect with scholars are featured throughout the site.

Stronger Search

The new SSN website makes it easy for journalists, policymakers, and civic leaders to find research; and scholars and students will benefit from the improved search function too. Six years of data made clear that people came to the old site to find research first, and then to read. That’s why the new homepage is clear and simple and features a large search bar front and center. The new search function is more sophisticated and powerful, and it is easy to find on every page of the new site. Search results are now organized so readers can more quickly find what they need among the different types of content SSN offers.

A Nation of States

Unique among research organizations, the Scholars Strategy Network is a federated network. In an era of dysfunction in Washington, SSN chapters are positioned to inform policy debates at the state, local, and national levels. The new website gives SSN chapters a greater presence so that journalists, policymakers, and civic leaders know where chapters are located, what they are up to, and how to get in touch with local leaders and members.

We hope you'll enjoy the new site, and we look forward to your feedback!

Avi Green
Executive Director