Mason is a member of Stanford University’s Pathways of Public Service and Civic Engagement Working Group.
The Pathways, describing how we can contribute to the common good, pathways intersect, demonstrating the interdependent nature of working toward social change.
There is no one single path and people move in and out of these pathways over time and in different contexts.
The Six Pathways
- Community Engaged Learning and Research: Connecting coursework and academic research to community-identified concerns to enrich knowledge and inform action on social issues.
- Community Organizing and Activism: Involving, educating, and mobilizing individual or collective action to influence or persuade others.
- Direct Service: Working to address the immediate needs of individuals or a community, often involving contact with the people or places being served.
- Philanthropy: Donating or using private funds or charitable contributions from individuals or institutions to contribute to the public good.
- Policy and Governance: Participating in political processes, policymaking, and public governance.
- Social Entrepreneurship and Corporate Social Responsibility: Using ethical business or private sector approaches to create or expand market-oriented responses to social or environmental problems