USC Sol Price Center for Social Innovation

What USC Sol Price Center for Social Innovation does

The USC Sol Price Center for Social Innovation is a non-profit academic research center within the USC Price School of Public Policy (Sol Price School of Public Policy) at the University of Southern California, located in Los Angeles, California. The center's stated mission is to develop ideas, practices, and leaders that enhance quality of life, with a research focus on urban challenges including homelessness in L.A. County and economic inequality, framed around the goal that zip code should not determine life outcomes. It operates specialized research labs — the Spatial Analysis Lab (SLAB) and the Urban Data Lab — supporting data-driven social innovation research.

The center offers two primary academic programs: the Master of Nonprofit Leadership and Management (MNLM) degree and the Certificate in Social Innovation. Delivery modalities span on-campus residential programs in Los Angeles, online degree programs (Executive MHA, Online MPA), a Washington D.C. semester program with internships, and global executive continuing education through IPPAM. The center sits within the broader USC Price School portfolio, which includes the Bedrosian Center on Governance, the Schaeffer Center, and the Center on Philanthropy and Public Policy, enabling cross-disciplinary work across public policy, urban planning, health administration, and nonprofit management.

The center does not operate as a commercial enterprise. Its constituents are graduate students, policymakers and government agencies, and low-income families and underserved communities in the Los Angeles region. No first-party revenue, enrollment, headcount, or financial data is disclosed. The center's distribution beyond academic programs is supported through a multi-channel communications footprint including YouTube, LinkedIn, Instagram, X, TikTok, Facebook, email newsletters (The Price Post), podcasts, and in-person events.

Name

USC Sol Price Center for Social Innovation

Legal name

University of Southern California

Website

https://socialinnovation.usc.edu

Company type

Private

Founded year

2026

Operating status

Operating

Short description

The USC Sol Price Center for Social Innovation is a non-profit academic research center within the USC Price School of Public Policy that studies urban challenges such as homelessness and economic inequality, operating specialized data labs and offering graduate programs in nonprofit leadership and social innovation.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Public Policy Education and Research

NAICS

Research and Development in the Social Sciences and Humanities (54172), Educational Support Services (611710), Grantmaking and Giving Services (81321)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300)

akta.pro industry

PRIMARYEDAHABAD

Social Sciences & Public Policy Research Universities

Education/Higher Education (Colleges & Universities)/Private Research Universities

SECONDARYBPAGADAE

College Access, Scholarships & Student Success Nonprofits

Business & Public Services/Nonprofit, NGO & Social Services/Education & Youth Development Nonprofits

SECONDARYEDAGAFAD

Social Sciences Scholarly Publishing

Education/Educational Publishing & Learning Content/Academic & Scholarly Publishing (Journals, Monographs)

Keywords

• Social innovation research
• Nonprofit leadership education
• Public policy programs
• Urban studies research
• Equity and economic mobility

Headquarters

HQ city

Los Angeles

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Others

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

The USC Sol Price Center for Social Innovation is an academic research center that develops ideas, practices, and leaders to enhance quality of life for low-income families and underserved communities. It offers academic degree and certificate programs (Master of Nonprofit Leadership and Management, Certificate in Social Innovation) and conducts data-driven research addressing urban challenges such as homelessness, economic inequality, and zip code-based disparities, operating through specialized research labs including the Spatial Analysis Lab (SLAB) and Urban Data Lab.

Product overview

USC Sol Price Center for Social Innovation is an academic research center within the USC Price School of Public Policy, not a technology product company. It offers two primary academic programs: the Master of Nonprofit Leadership and Management (MNLM) degree and the Certificate in Social Innovation. These programs support the center's research mission of tackling urban challenges such as homelessness and economic mobility to advance equity and opportunity for low-income families.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Master of Nonprofit Leadership and Management (MNLM) A master's degree program focused on developing leadership and management skills for nonprofit organizations, aligned with the Social Innovation research center's mission of advancing equity and opportunity for low-income families. Designed for graduate students pursuing careers in social innovation and nonprofit management.
• Certificate in Social Innovation A certificate program focused on developing innovative solutions for social challenges, aligned with the Social Innovation research center's mission of advancing equity and opportunity for low-income families. Designed for students and practitioners seeking credentials in social innovation.

Quantifiable outcome

• Development of new economic pathways to ensure zip code does not determine life outcomes

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• NYU Furman Center for Real Estate and Urban Policy: NYU's Furman Center is a university-based research center producing data-driven scholarship on housing, neighborhoods, and urban policy, mirroring USC Price's data lab approach to urban challenges like homelessness and affordability.
• UC Berkeley Institute of Urban and Regional Development: Berkeley's IURD is a comparable university-based interdisciplinary research center focused on urban planning, social equity, and policy — addressing many of the same California urban challenges as USC Price.
• Indiana University Lilly Family School of Philanthropy: IU's Lilly Family School is a leading academic center for philanthropic studies and nonprofit research, parallel to USC Price's Center on Philanthropy and Public Policy and MNLM nonprofit leadership program.
• Harvard Kennedy School - Center for Public Leadership: Harvard Kennedy School's Center for Public Leadership is a comparable elite private-university-based research and leadership center operating within a top public policy school, conducting cross-disciplinary scholarship on governance, equity, and social impact.
• Stanford Center on Poverty and Inequality: Stanford's Center on Poverty and Inequality operates from a top private research university, producing research on economic inequality, mobility, and social policy — directly paralleling USC Price's equity and economic mobility focus.

Broad incumbents

• Urban Institute: The Urban Institute is a larger, established nonprofit research organization that conducts social and economic policy research on issues including housing, inequality, and homelessness, overlapping with USC Price's applied urban policy work.
• Brookings Institution: Brookings is a major nonprofit policy research institution producing influential work on economic mobility, urban policy, and governance — competing for the same funders, policymakers, and media attention as USC Price.
• RAND Corporation: RAND is a large, established research institution with deep expertise in social policy, urban issues, and housing/homelessness research, providing comparable research outputs and serving overlapping government and philanthropic clients.

Emerging players

• MIT Center for Civic Media / Civic Data Design Lab: MIT's Civic Data Design Lab applies spatial and data-driven research to urban equity challenges, mirroring USC Price's Spatial Analysis Lab approach to data-informed urban policy research.

Regional players

• Case Western Reserve Center for Community Solutions: Case Western's community-facing research centers conduct place-based social innovation and equity research in different regions but operate with a comparable university-center structure and mission.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights5 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/USCPriceCSI
• YouTubeyoutube.com/c/uscprice
• Facebookfacebook.com/uscprice
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/school/uscprice
• Instagraminstagram.com/uscprice
• TikToktiktok.com/@uscprice

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about USC Sol Price Center for Social Innovation