Analyse & Understand

Starting with yourself

Every narrative process begins with us: our values, our assumptions, and our readiness to engage with narrative work.

A good first step is asking: Which narratives are we reinforcing through our words and actions? This reflection can be uncomfortable, because it often reveals biases and internalised narratives we didn’t realise we carried. But it’s also deeply useful to shift our own mindset. For civil society actors, this honesty helps us understand why negative narratives may exist about us, reconnect with shared values, and see where we may need to shift or reinvent how we work.

It also means looking at our organisational readiness. Narrative work isn’t a project; it’s a different way of working. Readiness means having enough operational flexibility, enough resources (time, money, people), and the learning structures that allow us to reflect, adapt, fail and iterate. It takes time to build this, and that’s okay.

Strengthening this foundation in ourselves and our organisations prepares us to reach out to others and co‑shape new, more inclusive narratives.

Understanding the landscape 

To influence narratives, we first need to understand the ones that already shape our context. This means looking at the wider landscape: which narratives are circulating, who is shaping them, and who benefits or loses when they dominate.

Part of this work is identifying harmful and helpful narratives around your issue/work and analysing the most dominant ones in more depth. It also means understanding the people you hope to reach: Why do they relate to certain negative narratives? What values, needs, or concerns make those narratives feel true or familiar to them? And what might genuinely mobilise or engage them in the narrative you aim to promote?

Finally, ask yourself: Who is missing and/or excluded from the dominant narratives but should be at the centre? This matters because narrative work is ultimately about shifting power imbalances. A key first step is understanding whose power has been overlooked or taken away, and why. For example, dominant narratives about economic growth often overlook informal workers and people doing unpaid care work because their labour is less visible, traditionally less valued, and often not included in formal economic measures. By amplifying perspectives like theirs, we can help disseminate narratives that are more inclusive and foster positive change.

Finding your place in the ecosystem

It is crucial to recognize that many groups, from indigenous communities to feminist collectives, already employ alternative narratives, without necessarily naming them as such. Even in the most repressive environments, people are telling their stories. Our narrative processes should amplify the voices and nurture the leadership of those most directly impacted by the issues at hand.

If we are not part of social movements and community groups ourselves, we must be careful not to undermine, duplicate, appropriate or overshadow their work. Instead, we should ask how we can support from behind or stand in solidarity.

There are different roles to play within the narrative ecosystem, and each is needed to bring truly embedded, powerful narratives to the fore:

• Communities (broadly understood as geographical or thematic or functional etc) in which many narratives already reside or from which narratives will grow;
• Narrators/story-tellers who think of the variety of forms of media and creative arts through which to express and disseminate a narrative;
• Convenors, who bring together different types of actors, at different stages in the process;
• Funders, who enable alliance building and experimentation

For any actor becoming involved in narrative change work, the key question is: What role can I play most effectively in this ecosystem, and how do I contribute to its sustainability? For all actors, the focus on listening is critical. 

Want to go further?

• Beautiful Trouble suggests anti-oppression practices to challenge our own behaviours and transform harmful dynamics within our organizational practices. 
• The WeRise-Toolkit developed an activity called the Master’s House, where participants unpack power dynamics and key actors in the patriarchal system. The method can easily be adapted to explore power divides in any community and to strategise on how to bridge them.
• To identify harmful and helpful narratives linked to your issue/work, The Narrative Initiative’s Narrative Landscape Mapping provides a step‑by‑step approach, along with an example created with rural organisers.
• To analyze dominant narratives more in depth, the Narrative Power Analysis Worksheet, as described in Re:Imagining Change, is a handy tool. It walks you through key story elements and helps you reflect on the status quo and the change you want to help shape.
• Cinemata Rising Water, Raising Rights hybrid short films curation and screenings is a good illustration on how to reflect individually and collectively on the critical importance of our stories and voices, and engage in dialogues with others trying to find their own narratives.
• Conditions to Flourish by the Global Narrative Hive identifies different types of narrative actors, together with their needs and ideas for action.