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RW Institute's public Technology Review area, including the current 2026 review page, participating solution list, timeline, and marketplace opportunities.
arrow_forward Open reviewA practitioner-facing overview of the three Keystone Behaviors: Conducting the Brief, Guiding Volunteer Experiences, and Conducting the Debrief. Designed for training contexts and quick reference.
account_tree View frameworkExplores how empathy breaks down across group boundaries. Examines intergroup empathy bias through three component processes — experience sharing, perspective taking, and empathic concern — and identifies factors at both group and individual levels that contribute to empathic failure. Draws on South African post-apartheid context to suggest strategies for mitigation through reciprocal mutual engagement.
download Download PDFRW Institute facilitator scripts for briefing and debriefing volunteer experiences. Ready-to-use language for practitioners running the Brief-Guide-Debrief cycle with volunteer groups.
download Download PDFA sector-wide declaration published by Volunteer Groups Alliance in December 2025. Outlines the structural and philosophical shifts needed for employee volunteering to generate genuine social change rather than optics.
download Download PDFThe definitive annual benchmark on corporate giving and employee engagement from CECP (Chief Executives for Corporate Purpose). Essential reference data for CSR leaders making the case for program investment and scope.
open_in_new View sourceElinor Ostrom's foundational paper challenging the 'zero contribution thesis' — the assumption that rational self-interested individuals won't cooperate for collective benefit. Reviews experimental and real-world evidence showing that people do cooperate, and examines how social norms evolve to sustain collective action without external enforcement.
download Download PDFBibliometric analysis of corporate volunteering research from 1990 to 2015, mapping publication patterns, methodological trends, and the development of the field over 25 years.
open_in_new View sourceAcademic article tracing the shift in corporate volunteering from charity-based activity toward partnership-oriented social impact. Examines how the relationship between companies and communities has evolved.
open_in_new View sourceChris Jarvis argues that most corporate volunteer programs are designed for logistics, not for the people doing the volunteering. The talk introduces the core RW principle: if you design volunteer experiences around proximity, briefing, and reflection, you get behavior change, not just participation hours.
open_in_new View sourceResearch paper examining how employee volunteering builds social capital and contributes to corporate social responsibility outcomes. Connects volunteering program design to organizational-level benefits beyond participation metrics.
open_in_new View sourceJournal of Management review that organizes employee volunteering research across individual, organizational, and societal levels and proposes a framework for future study. A strong starting point for anyone building a research-informed program.
open_in_new View sourceSustainability journal article reviewing employee volunteerism concepts and the current state of the field. Provides a conceptual map of how the research community defines and studies corporate volunteering.
download Download PDFA practical implementation guide from Prosocial World for applying evolutionary science and contextual behavioral science to group design. Foundational reading for anyone building programs grounded in cooperation theory rather than incentive mechanics.
download Download PDFThe foundational study on prosocial sensemaking in organizations. Employees enabled to act prosocially through giving and volunteering programs respond with increased affective commitment to their employer. The paper provides the empirical base for the business case that transformative volunteering strengthens retention and engagement.
open_in_new View sourceMichael Norton presents research showing that spending money on others produces measurably greater happiness than spending on yourself. The data extends to workplace giving and volunteering, making the case that prosocial behavior benefits the giver as much as the recipient.
open_in_new View sourcePlatform connecting over 200,000 organizations with people seeking volunteer opportunities and social-impact careers. A practical starting point for companies building employee volunteer pipelines with community partners already using Idealist.
open_in_new View sourceAI-powered platform that connects employees with colleagues who hold relevant experience and expertise. A delivery partner in RWI programs focused on knowledge-sharing as a form of prosocial engagement.
open_in_new View sourceNancy Franz article on moving volunteer administration from transactional task management toward transformative volunteer learning environments. One of the earliest academic treatments of the transactional-transformative distinction in volunteering.
download Download PDFA long-form RW Institute article on why meaning does not arise automatically in volunteer experiences, and why framing, live facilitation, and reflection have to work together if a program is meant to change people rather than simply occupy them.
article Read articleResearch hub, practitioner tools, and frameworks from David Sloan Wilson's organization applying evolutionary and contextual behavioral science to groups, organizations, and communities. The theoretical backbone for much of RWI's program design.
open_in_new View sourceVolunteer leader training aid for adapting transformative volunteering practices to online and remote contexts. Covers facilitation techniques, engagement strategies, and how to preserve proximity in virtual settings.
download Download PDFSystematic literature review on skills-based volunteering examining the intersection of employee volunteering, skills deployment, and human resource outcomes. Useful for CSR leaders evaluating whether skills-based programs produce different results than traditional volunteering.
download Download PDFDr. Lasana Harris discusses his fMRI research showing that the brain can fail to activate social cognition circuits when encountering people from certain out-groups. His work on dehumanization and re-humanization is central to understanding why the Brief exists and why proximity alone is not enough.
open_in_new View sourceRealized Worth framework and worksheet for mapping a strategic social impact program structure across vision, supporters, programs, people, and capacity. A practical planning tool for CSR leaders designing or restructuring their programs.
download Download PDFDavid Eagleman demonstrates that a single word label can determine how much you care about another person in pain. The episode maps the neural mechanics of in-group and out-group formation, directly relevant to understanding why volunteering programs must be designed to cross social boundaries.
open_in_new View sourceVolunteer leader training aid focused on conducting debriefs as a keystone behavior in transformative volunteering. Covers question design, facilitation moves, and how to turn volunteer experiences into lasting learning.
download Download PDFNeuroscientist V.S. Ramachandran explains how mirror neurons allow us to learn complex social behaviors and form the neural basis of empathy. The talk provides the neuroscience foundation for why proximity and face-to-face contact are the primary design variables in volunteer program effectiveness.
open_in_new View sourceA Realized Worth framework on how physical and psychological proximity to those we serve drives lasting prosocial behavior change in volunteers. The research case for designing volunteer experiences that close the distance between helper and helped.
download Download PDFResearch article introducing the volunteer matrix for positioning volunteer organizations and understanding competitive dynamics in volunteer markets. Useful for nonprofits and companies thinking about how their programs relate to the broader ecosystem.
open_in_new View sourceA 2019 ERP study complicates the standard narrative about power and empathy. High-power participants show amplified sensory processing, not reduced. The problem is not engagement. The problem is orientation. Includes the neuroscience of the Brief, the distress-compassion circuit distinction, and the dosage problem.
article Read articleA behavioral science guide to why change is hard, why transformative volunteering is worth designing for, and what may be happening inside people as they move through the Tourist-Traveler-Guide journey.
article Read articleChris Jarvis explains how volunteering may reshape empathy responses toward groups we do not naturally identify with. The conversation covers RW Institute's working model of the Brief, the role of proximity in breaking barriers, and how a transformative approach can support perspective shifts over time.
open_in_new View sourceHow to identify where participants are in their learning journey and design experiences that meet them there. Covers the three orientations, how they shift during an experience, and facilitation moves for each.
account_tree View frameworkRealized Worth framework explaining the difference between transactional and transformative volunteering and why the mindset shift matters in corporate volunteering. Covers what each approach produces and how to move from one to the other.
download Download PDFVolunteer leader training aid for teaching the contrast between transactional and transformative volunteering. Designed for use in champion training sessions and program leader onboarding.
download Download PDFFrequently asked questions about transformative volunteering: what it is, how it differs from traditional corporate volunteering, why it matters for empathy and social impact, and how to get started.
download Download PDFRealized Worth framework for designing virtual volunteering opportunities around program alignment, partner fit, cause focus, employee outcomes, and employee choice. Built for practitioners adapting in-person programs to remote formats.
download Download PDFRealized Worth framework describing governance models and structures for employee volunteer leadership networks. Covers roles, responsibilities, and network architectures that scale.
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