NNSI Editorial Team

Two people filling out a form on a clipboard. The person holding the clipboard is a doctor.

U.S. Potential Path to Addressing Health-Related Social Needs: Drawing Lessons from State Innovations

Today, 40% of Americans face significant material hardship, which includes limited access to vital resources such as nutritious food, medical care, affordable housing, and essential utilities. Yet, the support provided by social service agencies and nonprofit organizations reaches less than 16% of those struggling with material hardship, leaving the majority to manage on their own. What happens when someone cannot pay rent or has a disconnected phone? These unmet health-related

How Can States Build Better Relationships between Health Care Organizations and Community Based Organizations?

Healthcare providers, organizations, and payers recognize the connection between social needs and health outcomes. These social needs are often described as the social determinants of health (SDOH). SDOHs are the environmental and social factors that influence health outcomes. Research indicates that improving social conditions— such as adequate food, secure housing and income, access to healthcare, and dependable transportation — is crucial to addressing health inequalities and outcomes. With the increasing

Real-World Wicked Problems

Wicked problems are much like board games. Board games can look wildly different, but their inherent underlying premise–the nature of what it means to be a ‘board game’–stays largely the same. Wicked problems are classified by their multi-dimensionality, complexity, and inherent lack of solution. Like board games, wicked problems come in all shapes and sizes, but the inherent complexity of their nature–the nature of what it means to be a

It Matters How You Do It: NNSI’s High-Impact Networks Campaign

Today’s nonprofit landscape is full of social impact networks– but not all of them are effective. Even if a network is making a difference in their community, there is always room for growth. In a landscape saturated with networks addressing a plethora of wicked problems, communities want to see impacts that are beneficial and substantive. When a network engages in high-impact practices, their operations thrive. High-impact networks have strong theories

Wicked Problem and Design Thinking

Every day, we are confronted with problems–small and large scale. Design thinking provides a systematic approach to solving these problems. Formally, design thinking refers to the diverse and interrelated approaches, techniques, and tricks to scientifically addressing the problems we face individually and collectively. This blog is dedicated to understanding the connection between design thinking and wicked problems. Wicked problems are problems without a singular cause or an immediate solution. They

Understanding and Navigating Saturated Referral Landscapes

Finding and accessing help can be daunting. Individuals in need must figure out where to start, who to ask for help from, and how to go about receiving that help. Navigation systems have recently been introduced as a solution to aid these individuals in overcoming these barriers. Navigation systems are organizational arrangements designed to support individuals in locating and obtaining valuable benefits, programs, and services. In other words, navigation systems