NI Blog
Here you will find case studies, interviews, insights, and reflections from staff.
Rinku Sen succeeds founding Executive Director Jee Kim to help the social sector harness the power of narrative to make progress towards a more equitable and socially just world. Rinku Sen named Narrative Initiative Executive Director. Sen will join the organization on December 1, 2020. Today, Narrative Initiative is excited...
Narrative Initiative connects futures and narrative to create power. Futures work gives people space and tools to imagine a world free from the boundaries of historical narratives and the limits of today’s policies and politics. This work identifies the new narratives that make potential futures possible. Here we discuss why...
The Four Baskets hold capacities and processes needed to create, implement and continually strengthen narrative change projects. As they are filled, the Four Baskets (Create, Translate, Deploy and Observe Together) provide campaigners, communicators and leaders with a framework for doing narrative change. These capacities and processes will help you identify...
Waves is a simple illustration that begins to unpack the complex relationship between values, narratives and stories. The model borrows from the work of Grassroots Policy Project, Perception Institute and others working at the intersection of advocacy, strategic communications, and the operation of ideology. Narrative Initiative was established in early...
The Constructing Gravity series will share skills, strategies and frameworks to guide narrative change work. These articles present Narrative Initiative’s present understanding of narrative projects. It is an approach that has evolved as we’ve learned, listened and practiced narrative change. It is the nature of stories, narratives and values to...
Reclaiming Native Truth is an extensive community-led narrative research project. It provides IllumiNative and others in the Native American community with data and insights showing the extent of Native American erasure from the national conversation. We spoke to Leah Salgado, Deputy Director of IllumiNative, to learn how Reclaiming Native Truth...
The Coronavirus pandemic is shaping (and being shaped by) narratives. These articles, essays, research and resources offer insights into narrative change strategy in the context of COVID-19. In BC times (before Coronavirus) we talked about how populism and the untenable state of neoliberalism created an opening to shift deep narratives....
Today, tens of millions of Americans are losing their jobs, worried about the health of their families and friends, and feeling fear and uncertainty about what the future holds for themselves and society. Deep narratives are breaking down and being rebuilt. Here are four ideas for approaching narrative strategy now...
Narrative change practice cuts across issues and coalitions. In January, we joined a roundtable of communicators and organizers to learn about the practices, skills and training that make narrative change in coalition not just possible but powerful. Narrative change work happens in coalitions that use shared principles, time and trust...
Cayden Mak, executive director of 18 Million Rising, joined us last September at Start Making Sense: A working convening on Technologies for Narrative Change. We caught up with Cayden later in the fall to dig into ideas around defining how technology shapes audience interaction with narrative and what 18 Million...
Deep narratives are built upon deep connections between people. Narrative is a thing (and narrative change is a practice). Deep narrative change needs deep values. Narrative Initiative exists to catalyze durable narrative change so we may make equity and justice common sense. We do that by connecting people and organizations,...
Technology has always had a role in shaping how narratives are created, distributed, tracked and absorbed into society. Today, technology moves the words, pictures and meaning of narrative around the world in seconds. Technology helps us track the movement of narrative and research how narrative shifts behavior. The work of...
We recently spoke with Julie Sweetland, Senior Advisor at FrameWorks Institute, about Unleashing the Power of How: An Explanation Declaration. Released in March as part of FrameWorks Institute’s 20th anniversary, the Explanation Declaration asks communicators to help people understand the “how” behind issues and see that how as a critical...
Is there a conflict between how (and how fast) modern communications platforms are used and the long-term work of shifting deep narratives about the economy, race and social justice? The internet, global media platforms, and big data offer countless new tools to authoritarian populist leaders. Disinformation and misinformation spreads rapidly....
Successful narrative change projects require practitioners to know what strategies work. When to use them. Who their audience is. That takes research and data analysis, message testing and training. It means sharing what we learn with partners both old and new. It also means breaking down silos and pushing the...
We are excited to share recent findings of investigation into narrative research by partners at Spitfire Strategies. We sought to explore traditional and emergent research methods used to determine openings and trends in narrative change. Our goal was to develop an accessible and useful resource for the field. We will...
Narrative Change Happens Fast
Narrative change happens fast in times of crisis and national trauma. Let’s look at how the “terrorist” stories of this past week (and the weeks and months after 9/11) shift American life. It’s also helpful to see how Arnold Schwarzenegger is using the moment to help us focus on and...