Stanford Social Innovation Review

2023’s upsurge in forced migration represents the intensification of an ongoing trend. As policymakers struggle to respond to the unfolding human catastrophe, they have increasingly turned to the possibilities offered by technology, and data in particular. Civil society and humanitarian organizations are attuned to the reality that these streams of people generate massive amounts of data that can, for instance, help channel aid to the neediest, predict disease outbreaks, and much more. Yet as is so often the case with technology, the potential for good is accompanied by certain risks.

Too many organizations concentrate on raising awareness about an issue without knowing how to translate that awareness into action, by getting people to change their behavior or act on their beliefs. It’s time for activists and organizations to adopt a more strategic approach to public interest communications. Social change activists need to use behavioral science to craft campaigns that use messaging and concrete calls to action that get people to change how they feel, think, or act, and as a result create long-lasting change.
[Ann Christiano is the Frank and Betsy Karel Endowed Chair in Public Interest Communications and Professor in the Department of Public Relations. Annie Neimand is a Ph.D. candidate in the Sociology Department.]