Jennifer E Mosley, PhD

Professor; Editor, Social Service Review; Faculty Director, UChicago Obama Foundation Scholars Program

she/her/hers

mosley@uchicago.edu

773.834.2583

Address

969 E. 60th Street
Chicago, IL 60637

Office Location: E14

Areas of Expertise

Community

Government and Policy

Homelessness

International

Non-Profit Organizations

Philanthropy

Poverty and Income

Social Work

Urban

Welfare

Research

Jennifer Mosley researches the role of nonprofit organizations as political actors, specifically the role human service organizations, community-based nonprofits, and philanthropic foundations play in advocating for or implementing policy change that affects underrepresented populations. She is particularly interested in the relationship between advocacy and improved democratic representation and how public administration and nonprofit management trends, particularly within collaborative governance and contracting, affect the public policy roles of nonprofit organizations. At Crown Family School, she teaches courses on policy formulation and implementation, advocacy & social change, and organizational theory. As of July 1, 2021 she is the editor-in-chief of Social Service Review, a premier peer-reviewed academic journal housed at the Crown Family School.

Professor Mosley's research shows how human service nonprofits use collaborative governance processes and involvement in policy advocacy to more effectively support the communities or populations they serve, as well as to strategically gain access to greater resources and legitimacy. Her previous work includes studies that investigate how environmental and organizational pressures work together to encourage or constrain different types of advocacy involvement, the extent to which human service nonprofits become involved in advocacy, the specific tactics they choose, and the intersection between collaboration and advocacy. Much of her work explores how these processes take place in the fields of homeless services and child welfare. Other work explores the political activity of a wider variety of nonprofit organizations, for example how communitiy based organizations on the Southside of Chicago attempt to represent the community they serve (and how those actions are perceived by community members) and investigations into the role philanthropic foundations play in both shaping and responding to major policy change.

She is currently extending her research on nonprofits and policy in a number of areas, particularly the democratic legitimacy of collaborative governance networks and how nonprofits have responded to evidence-based practice mandates. Overall, her research agenda is driven by the goal of understanding better how nonprofit organizations attempt to influence the policy environment they are working in, while simultaneously representing the communities they serve to government.

Featured Research Projects

Pursuing Equity? Knowledge Legitimacy and Integration in the Implementation of Evidence-Based Practice in Child Welfare Project details

The Negotiation and Operationalization of Evidence in the Implementation of Child Welfare Policy Project details

Courses

Organizational Analysis for Social Sector Leaders

This course introduces a variety of theoretical perspectives on organizations, in a way that connects key insights from theory to the improvement of...

From the Crown Family School

Understanding Advocacy

How Things Get Done in Cities and Why

Exploring the Disconnect between Policy Makers and Service Providers

See all news articles about Professor; Editor, Social Service Review; Faculty Director, UChicago Obama Foundation Scholars Program Jennifer E Mosley

In the Media

Jennifer Mosley: Counting homeless groups is difficult. COVID-19 will make it 'immeasurably worse.'

Read Smart Cities Dive article

See all media stories featuring Jennifer E Mosley

Awards & Recognition

Award For Excellence in Doctoral Student Mentoring at Crown Family School

Selected Publications

Lam, Marcus, Katz, Hagai, Mosley, Jennifer E. (2022). Los Angeles and the State of the Nonprofit Sector: A Review of Findings and Examination of Three Theses. In: Hoelscher, M., List, R.A., Ruser, A., Toepler, S. (eds) Civil Society: Concepts, Challenges, Contexts. Nonprofit and Civil Society Studies. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-98008-5_30
Mosley, Jennifer E., Suárez, David F., Hwang, Hokyu. 2022. Conceptualizing Organizational Advocacy Across the Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector: Goals, Tactics, and Motivation. Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly. doi:10.1177/08997640221103247
Mosley, Jennifer E. and Park, Sunggeun Ethan. 2022. “Service Providers’ Influence in Collaborative Governance Networks: Effectiveness in Reducing Chronic Homelessness.” Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory 32(1): 130-149.
Mosley, Jennifer E. and Wong, Jade. 2021. “Decision-Making in Collaborative Governance Networks: Distinguishing Between Input and Throughput Legitimacy.” Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory 31(2): 328-345.
Mosley, Jennifer E. 2021. “Cross-sector Collaboration to Improve Homeless Services: Addressing Capacity, Innovation, and Equity Challenges.” Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, 693.
Park, S.E., Mosley, J.E., Grogan, C.M., Pollack, H.A., Humphreys, K., D’Aunno, T, and Friedman, P.D. 2020. “Patient-centered Care’s Relationship With Substance Use Disorder Treatment Utilization.” Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment, 118: 108-125.
Mosley, Jennifer E. 2020. “Social Service Nonprofits: Navigating Conflicting Demands.” Pp 251-270 in The Nonprofit Sector: A Research Handbook (3^rd ed). W.W. Powell and P. Bromley, Editors. Palo Alto, CA: Stanford University Press.
Mosley, Jennifer E., Tadeo Weiner-Davis, and Theresa Anasti. 2020. “Advocacy and Lobbying.” Pp 335-348 in Routledge Companion to Nonprofit Management. Stefan Toepler & Helmut K. Anheier, Editors. Abingdon, UK: Routledge.
Park, S.E., Grogan, C.M., Mosley, J.E., Humphreys, K., Pollack, H.A., and Friedman, P.D. 2020. “Correlates of Patient-Centered Care Practices at Substance Use Disorder Clinics in the United States.” Psychiatric Services 71(1): 35-42.
Mosley, Jennifer E. and Jarpe, Meghan. 2019. “How Structural Variations in Collaborative Governance Networks Influence Advocacy Involvement and Outcomes.” Public Administration Review, 79(5): 629-640.
Mosley, Jennifer E., Marwell, Nicole P., and Ybarra, Marci. 2019. “How the “What Works” Movement is Failing Human Service Organizations, and What Social Work Can Do To Fix It.” Human Service Organizations: Management, Leadership, Governance 43(4): 326-335.
Mosley, Jennifer E. and Smith, Steven Rathgeb 2019. Human Service Organizations and the Question of Impact. Abingdon UK: Routledge.
McBeath, Bowen, Jennifer E. Mosley, Karen Hopkins, Erick Guerrero, Michael J. Austin, and John E. Tropman. 2019. “Building Knowledge to Support Human Service Organizational and Management Practice: An Agenda for Addressing the Research-to-Practice Gap.” Social Work Research, 43(2): 115-128.
Jarpe, Meghan, Jennifer E. Mosley, and Bikki Tran Smith. 2019. “Understanding the Collaborative Planning Process in Homeless Services: Networking, Advocacy, and Local Government Support May Reduce Service Gaps.” Journal of Public Health Management & Practice, 25(3): 262-269.
Mosley, Jennifer E., Park, S. Ethan, Suo, Deng, and Sahkrani, Monica. 2019. “Changing Roles and Relationships between NGOs and the State in Shaping and Responding to Social Exclusion.” In R.J. Chaskin, B.J. Lee, & S. Jaswal (Eds.), Social Exclusion in Cross-National Perspective. New York: Oxford University Press.
Vyas, M., Mosley, J.E., Grogan, C.M., Chaskin, R.J., Long, H., Kim, H.Y. 2019. “Democratic Engagement and Mobilization: The Rise of Grassroots Movements.” In R.J. Chaskin, B.J. Lee, & S. Jaswal (Eds.), Social Exclusion in Cross-National Perspective. New York: Oxford University Press.
Davis, Bridgette and Mosley, Jennifer E. 2018. Inclusivity and Innovation in Homeless Services: Findings from a National Study of Homeless Continuums of Care.
Bushouse, Brenda and Mosley, Jennifer E. 2018. “Building Coalitions of Interest: The Intermediary Roles of Foundations in the Policy Process.” Interest Groups & Advocacy 7(3): 289-311.
Mosley, Jennifer E. and Steven Rathgeb Smith. 2018. “Human Service Agencies and the Question of Impact: Lessons for Theory, Policy, and Practice.” Human Service Organizations: Management, Leadership, Governance, 42(2): 113-122.
Mosley, Jennifer E. and Katherine Gibson. 2017. “Strategic Use of Evidence in State Level Policymaking: Matching Evidence Type to Legislative Goals.” Policy Sciences 50(4): 697-719.
Park, S. Ethan and Jennifer E. Mosley. 2017. “Nonprofit Growth and Decline During Economic Uncertainty." Human Service Organizations: Management, Leadership, & Governance 41(5): 515-531.
Park, S. Ethan, Jennifer Mosley, and Colleen M. Grogan. 2017. “Do Residents of Low Income Communities Trust Organizations to Speak on Their Behalf? Differences by Organizational Type.” Urban Affairs Review 51(4): 137-164.
Mosley, Jennifer E. 2017. "Yes, Macro Practice Matters: Embracing the Complexity of Real World Social Work." Human Service Organizations: Management, Leadership, Governance, 41(1): 10-12.
Mosley, Jennifer E. and Jade Wong. 2017. "Contexts and Settings: Nonprofit Agencies and Organizations." In C. Franklin (Ed.), The Encyclopedia of Social Work Online. New York: Oxford University Press.
Mosley, Jennifer E. 2016. "Policy Advocacy." In The Encyclopedia of American Governance, Stephen Schechter, Thomas S. Vontz, Thomas A. Birkland, Mark A. Graber, and John J. Patrick, eds., 48-50. Farmington Hills, MI: Macmillan Reference USA.
Mosley, Jennifer E. 2015. "Nonprofit Organizations' Involvement in Participatory Processes: The Need for Democratic Accountability." Nonprofit Policy Forum 7(1): 77-83.
Mosley, Jennifer E., and Joseph Galaskiewicz. 2015. "The Relationship Between Philanthropic Foundation Funding and State-Level Policy in the Era of Welfare Reform." Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly 44(6): 1225-1254.
Lux, Kimberly, and Jennifer E. Mosley. 2014. "Cross-sector collaboration in the pursuit of social change: Organizations addressing sex trafficking in West Bengal." International Social Work 57(1): 19-26.
Mosley, Jennifer E. 2014. "Collaboration, public-private intermediary organizations, and the transformation of advocacy in the field of homeless services." American Review of Public Administration 44(3): 291-308.
Mosley, Jennifer E. 2014. "From Skid Row to the Statehouse: How nonprofit homeless service providers overcome barriers to advocacy involvement." In Nonprofits and Advocacy: Engaging Community and Government in an Era of Retrenchment, Steven R. Smith and Robert Pekkanen, eds. Baltimore, MD: Johns Hopkins University Press.
Mosley, Jennifer E. 2013. "The beliefs of homeless service managers about policy advocacy: Definitions, legal understanding, and motivations to participate." Administration in Social Work 37(1): 1-17.
Mosley, Jennifer E. 2013. "Recognizing new opportunities: Reconceptualizing policy advocacy in everyday organizational practice." Social Work 58(3): 231-9.
Mosley, Jennifer E., and Colleen M. Grogan. 2013. "Representation in nonelected participatory processes: How residents understand the role of nonprofit community-based organizations." Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory, 23(4): 839-863.
Chung, Philip, Colleen M. Grogan, and Jennifer E. Mosley. 2012. "Residents’ perceptions of effective community representation in local health decision-making." Social Science and Medicine 74(10): 1652-9.
Mosley, Jennifer E. 2012. "Keeping the lights on: How government funding concerns drive the advocacy agendas of nonprofit homeless service providers." Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory 22(4): 841-66.
Mosley, Jennifer E., and Mark E. Courtney. 2012. Partnership and the Politics of Care: Advocates’ Role in Passing and Implementing California’s Law to Extend Foster Care. Chicago: Chapin Hall at the University of Chicago.
Mosley, Jennifer E., Matthew P. Maronick, and Hagai Katz. 2012. "How organizational characteristics affect the adaptive tactics used by human service nonprofit managers confronting financial uncertainty." Nonprofit Management and Leadership 22(3): 281-303.
Mosley, Jennifer E. 2011. "Institutionalization, privatization, and political opportunity: What tactical choices reveal about the policy advocacy of human service nonprofits." Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly 40(3): 435-57.
Mosley, Jennifer E., and Alejandra Ros. 2011. "Nonprofits agencies in public child welfare: Their role and involvement in policy advocacy." Journal of Public Child Welfare 5(2-3): 297-317.
Mosley, Jennifer E. 2010. "Organizational resources and environmental incentives: Understanding the policy advocacy involvement of human service nonprofits." Social Service Review 84(1): 57-76.
Mosley, Jennifer E., and Joseph Galaskiewicz. 2010. "The role of foundations in shaping and responding to social welfare policy change: The case of welfare reform." In American Foundations: Roles and Contributions, Hemlut K. Anheier, and David C. Hammack, eds. 182-204. Washington DC: Brookings Institution Press.
Mosley, Jennifer E. 2010. "Organizational theory." In The International Encyclopedia of Political Science, George Thomas Kurian, ed. Washington DC: Congressional Quarterly Press.
Mosley, Jennifer E. 2009. "The policy advocacy role of human service nonprofits: Incentives, involvement, and impact." In Human Services as Complex Organizations, 2nd ed., Yeheskel Hasenfeld, ed. 505-31.Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.
Anasti, Theresa, and Jennifer E. Mosley. 2009. “We are not just a Band-Aid”: How homeless service providers in Chicago carry out policy advocacy. Chicago: University of Chicago School of Social Service Administration.
Mosley, Jennifer E. 2008. "Policy advocacy and lobbying in human service organizations." In Handbook of Human Service Management, R. Patti, ed. 457-72. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.
Mosley, Jennifer E. 2008. "Contexts and settings: Nonprofit agencies and organizations." In Encyclopedia of Social Work, 20th ed., Terry Mizrahi and Larry E. Davis, eds. New York: Oxford University Press and NASW.
Mosley, Jennifer E. 2005. "The tsunami relief effort." In Global civil society yearbook 2005/06, ed. Helmut Anheier, Mary Kaldor, and Marlies Glasius. London: Sage Publications, Ltd.
Mosley, Jennifer E. 2004. 1.“Lobbying.” 2.“Political action committee.” 3.“Social justice.” 4. “Free rider problem.” 5. “Poor law.” 6. “Outdoor relief.” 7. “Workhouse.” 8. “Vouchers.” 9. “Means-testing.” 10. “Social welfare organization.” 11. “Community based organization.”In A dictionary of civil society, philanthropy, and the third sector, ed. Helmut Anheier. London: Europa Publications.

Biography

Jennifer Mosley is a Professor at the School of Crown Family School of Social Work, Policy, and Practice and is the Editor of Social Service Review. She researches the role of nonprofit organizations as political actors, specifically the role human service organizations, community-based nonprofits, and philanthropic foundations play in advocating for or implementing policy change that affects underrepresented populations.

Professor Mosley received her B.A. in psychology from Reed College and her M.S.W. and Ph.D. in social welfare from the University of California, Los Angeles. While at UCLA, she was also a fieldwork supervisor and a senior research associate at the Center for Civil Society. Her practice experience is in the areas of child welfare, homeless services, community-based advocacy, and social justice philanthropy.