You want to start a career in social impact. How can you stay up-to-date on the latest trends?

The best way to stay updated is reading. Read the newspaper, sign up to newsletter, follow journalists and read long opinion pieces. And most importantly read reports. Be it UN reports or any other org releasing insights, read them. And then question and fact check everything you read. Not everything you read is the absolute truth. Make your own opinion!

In my experience, one needs to be where other people in the social impact are. Find networks of people in social impact and the best way is to get involved with organizations like ILSS, Dasra etc which are connecting people. Attend events by organizations you would like to follow or in the domain you are interested in and that's where you meet most of the people. Make friends and build meaningful relationships. Follow the same people on Social Media to stay up to date.

When I was pivoting from an ESG lawyer to social impact consultant, one aspect I was always working towards was to keep myself abreast about the latest development and research in the field. To do so, I adopted the following strategies: 1. Signed for newsletters and blogs from industry experts and read these pieces religiously 2. Participated in conferences and seminars Botha. s presenter and an attendee 3. Joining social impact working group as a volunteer to engage with thought leadership

Create a resource pool for yourself. Podcasts, newsletters, academic articles and international and national reports. This will help you view projects rom a multi-sectoral lens and will inform you on latest developments, scope for your contribution and more importantly will allow you to find a niche that resonates with you.

Go straight to the source: the peak industry bodies, and the big players. Remember to have a healthy balance between consumption and creation: so for every hour spent learning, another half an hour should be spent on creating content that's shared. The best way to learn is to teach, and to do. Think of creating content like writing up your study notes, through the lens of content marketing principles: is this useful? Is this valuable? Is this relevant? How can I make what I'm learning useful, valuable and relevant, to my social enterprise peers?

I would say the best way is to connect and network with other people who work on the ground and stay updated with the grass-root situation which will hardly ever be available in any other blog or a newsletter. It is often the best way to realize the on-ground reality and being updated to bring impact.

1st step to get started : 1) join an online community. 2) Go through the requirements that firms are asking for. 3) if u have such skills then actively apply in such offers. 4) if not then learn such skills, apply it in real time and then again repeat the 3rd step.

Following networks, groups, and communities, seeking organizations that offer some type of volunteer work and have a network structure. Look for impact hubs and organizations that have observed this in a more cross-cutting and holistic manner.

Events like those organized by the Summit, where we see booths dedicated to ESG and environmental impact, are excellent spaces to stay updated on discussions that are global trends. Universities also have some type of involvement in specific areas, so it is important to discover what your area of focus is - would it be education? social entrepreneurship? impact businesses? And finally, to keep up with institutions that are working in this regard, such as the UN, the World Bank, and Brazilian foundations that publish reports on their activities and much more.

Courses can be both general, in order to understand what social entrepreneurship is and what it involves, as well as more specific ones, such as those concerning impact monitoring and evaluation. There are many free courses, such as those at ENAP, but there are also other platforms and paid courses. Public policy courses will also address this theme since the social impact area draws heavily from this source - from a public policy perspective that is not only done by governments. So, in this sense, you can look at many things that are addressing public policies and social programs because they will most likely be in dialogue with the social impact area.

The best way to learn is to do. And that goes double for business. Gaining experience through volunteering or pro bono work is ideal, but be careful. Consider this as you would an apprenticeship: it should have clear parametres. You can't work for free forever (that's for the privileged elite) and propping up unsustainable, unprofitable social enterprises perpetuates bad practise. So be discerning. Be picky. And be objective with your experience - it's likely you know more than you're giving yourself credit for.

The best way to start a career in social impact is to get your hands dirty (so to speak) with volunteering and pro bono work in the field of your interest - education, health, environment, animals, etc. This gives you a direct first-person perspective into how your career would look if you were to take this on as your career. This helps you gain practical skills necessary. It always gives you a sneak peek into the skills required for a full time career here.

Whatever area of social impact is your passion, one thing to get the experience recruiters will eventually want to see if just do! Start in your local community and offer to your spare time to volunteer. So many non-profits need all the help they can get.

I'd be careful about following trends. Rarely will the real messy, impactful, stubborn problems be trendy. Figure out your passion, what switches you on (or makes your blood boil) or what kind of work is going to get you out of bed in the morning with a spring in your step, and focus on that. Trends come and go, real problems stick around much longer.

Network with professionals working in social impact, both locally and globally, to exchange insights and stay informed about current developments. I believe this is also one of the best way to stay updated.