Joining the network is easy – and free! Sign up below for more information about SSN membership eligibility and our two-step joining process. Register for an upcoming new member orientation, writing session, or skill-building workshop.
Interested in SSN Membership?
Media Support
Place OpEds and connect to journalists with help from SSN’s experienced team.
Powerful Relationships
Leverage the network to connect with decision makers.
Get Training
Maximize the impact of your time and research.
Build Community
Join a growing community of leading scholars in chapters across the country.
Take the first step.
Are you a university scholar or researcher with peer-reviewed work? Sign up for more information on joining the network.
Learn More About Membership
Read about the benefits of joining a national network of university-based scholars who are committed to using research to improve policy and strengthen democracy. Our two-step membership process is free and offers hands-on support for scholars interested in deepening their public engagement skills.
Summer Programming
Available to SSN members and researchers in the process of joining the network.
New Member Orientation
Learn about SSN's mission, the value of membership, and the steps to becoming a member. Attendees will have time to brainstorm their written policy or media contribution, as well as ask questions about the membership process.
Sessions are held twice monthly on Wednesdays. View the full schedule and register below
Member Workshop
Gain access to exclusive member-only workshops to build core skills of engaging with policymakers, civic leaders, and the media. New trainings offered monthly on topics such as OpEd writing and building relationships with policymakers.
Sessions are held on the third Thursday of each month. View the full schedule and register below
Writing Session
Join like-minded scholars for biweekly writing sessions to draft policy or media contributions. Sessions will be lightly programmed with the option to sign up for 15-minute coaching slots with SSN policy and communications staff.
Sessions are held on the second and fourth Thursday of each month. View the full schedule and register below.
Member Spotlights
Read about how SSN members have advanced research-based policymaking across the country.
“The thing that's so exciting is that takeaways and language from our research – that article in PNAS and our op-ed in Newsweek – appears in the interagency working group's MENA proposal."
Read Neda Maghbouleh's member spotlight here.
“The easiest, most politically viable, and most effective way to expand turnout and make local democracy more representative is to shift the timing of local elections so that officials in cities and suburbs are elected at the same time as presidents, governors, and legislators, at times when voter interest and turnout is at a peak.”
Read Zoltan Hajnal's member spotlight here.
Nominate a Scholar
SSN will reach out with information about how to join the network.