Explore selected resources covering diverse aspects of narrative work and find practical tools speaking to your specific narrative interests and needs.
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36 results
How to Fund Like a Narrative Strategist
by Chiara K. Cattaneo, Jody Myrum, Mandy Van Deven and Erin Lynn Williams
2025
This article reflects on a session from the 2025 Narrative Power Summit in New Orleans, convened by Elemental, Our Collective Practice, and the Constellations Culture Change Fund and Initiative. It explores how funding criteria and practices must shift for narrative strategies to thrive, outlining four funding practices that strengthen narrative infrastructure by prioritising long‑term investment, experimentation, and sustained ecosystem support.
How to Measure Narrative Change
by Stanford Social Innovation Review
2025
Available in English
The article outlines a flexible four-part framework to help organisations measure the impact of narrative change on beliefs, behaviours, culture, and institutions. It acknowledges the challenges in tracing the direct effects of storytelling on social change but offers a structured method to connect storytelling efforts with measurable outcomes. The framework is adaptable, allowing organisations to tailor it to their specific goals and contexts, thereby facilitating continuous learning and improvement in narrative-driven initiatives.
How to Message on The Rights of People From Marginalized Groups: A Communications Guide for Organisations Promoting Human Rights
by Civil Liberties Union for Europe
2023
Available in English
This guide is a tool for organisations in the human rights sector that want to communicate more effectively with the public to build
support for human rights-related causes. This includes civil society organisations, foundations, international organisations and national bodies promoting human rights.
The advice in the present guide relates primarily to how to speak to a moveable middle audience among the majority population. That is, an audience who does not, at first glance, consider themselves to be directly affected by the harms inflicted on the marginalised group in question. Put otherwise, the guide is more about how communicators can persuade the ‘majority’ population to support equality for marginalised groups than about mobilising people from the marginalised group.
How to talk about Civic Space: A guide for progressive civil society facing smear campaigns
by Israel Butler
2021
Available in English
This guide supports campaigners in responding to smear campaigns that undermine public trust in civil society organisations working on progressive causes. Drawing on research into public attitudes, it explores how such attacks are used by authoritarian actors to justify restrictions on civic space. Grounded in the EU context, the resource provides practical guidance on framing, including examples of effective narratives, messages, and approaches, as well as common pitfalls to avoid.
How to talk about Democracy: What we know (and don’t know)
by Ryan Gem, Rushikesh Jadhav, Maria Milosh, Aby Dwi Prasetya, Mareike Schomerus and Gideon Too Democracy Narratives Alliance (DNA)
2026
Available in English
This research brief brings together extensive evidence and practice‑based insights on the role of narratives in shaping public understanding of democracy. Drawing on a review of nearly 400 publications and over 150 studies, as well as contributions from more than 30 organisations and experts, it maps dominant narratives about democracy, explores how messaging interacts with deeper mental models, and identifies strategies to rebuild trust and participation. It makes a clear case for coordinated, strategic narrative work as a critical condition for strengthening democratic resilience and countering disengagement.
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