About Us

We define prosocial design as the set of design patterns, features and processes which foster healthy interactions between individuals and which create the conditions for those interactions to thrive by ensuring individuals' safety, wellbeing and dignity.

Our Approach

PDN acts as a crucial bridge between research and practice. We:

1. Curate: We identify, translate, and amplify effective design solutions, making them accessible and actionable for tech practitioners.
2. Convene: We create spaces where researchers and practitioners can connect, learn from each other, and collaborate on producing actionable insights.

What We Offer

• Prosocial Design Library: A curated collection of evidence-based design patterns and tools for creating healthy online spaces.
• Monthly Pro-Social Events: Online gatherings featuring experts in the field, fostering connection and knowledge sharing.
• Workshops and Convenings: In-person events that bring together researchers and practitioners to accelerate independent research and inspire innovations.
• Community: A vibrant Slack community of over 400 researchers and practitioners dedicated to prosocial design

Our Values

• Solutions Focused: We prioritize identifying and highlighting design solutions.
• Evidence-Based: We rely on rigorous evidence to guide our recommendations.
• Curiosity & Connection: We foster a community of continuous learning and collaboration.
• Dignity: We honor individual dignity in both our work and our organization.

The Prosocial Design Network is a 501(c)3 nonprofit that promotes prosocial design on online platforms by connecting research to practice. We do that by:

• Identifying, curating and translating evidence-based solutions to build a prosocial web.
• Connecting practitioners and researchers to share and co-create knowledge around prosocial design

You can read more about our mission, vision, and plans for action, in our Pitch Deck.

Many believed the World Wide Web would lead to worldwide peace. Everyone would talk and understand each other. Or so we thought.

It hasn’t turned out that way: even one of the inventors of the Internet says its design is creating outrage and polarization. The Web as we know it now, thirty years later, makes us more addicted, tribal, and afraid.

Yet hope endures to restore some of the potential the Internet once had for understanding and meaningful connection. We know from long-standing research that human decision making is very sensitive to the environment in which it happens.‍ We also know that, as a result, even the subtlest design changes can influence human behavior.‍

Therefore, it’s not a leap to believe that, through better design, we could change the Internet to be a better place.‍ We can even imagine a future in which online interaction between strangers might evoke the same genuine empathy as if they met face-to-face.

We’ve found that many designers express interest in combating hate, harassment, and disinformation online, but find themselves without clear guidance on how to do so. To date, most existing interventions rely on common sense or intuition about what will work, and not empirical science.

Without design interventions to the contrary, our commonly used social interfaces risk aiding and abetting hateful rhetoric’s spread.

At the Prosocial Design Network, we bring together an interdisciplinary team of researchers, designers, technologists, and behavioral scientists, united in a shared mission: harnessing design to foster positive social connections online.

Read more about our Board of Directors, Science Board, Library Team, Advisors, and Fellows, on the Our Team page.

The Prosocial Design Network is made possible with generous, foundational support from:

Additional support is provided by:

To contact the Prosocial Design Network, please send an email to:

info {at} prosocialdesign {dot} org

If you would like to join our Slack community, visit the Join Slack page.