Altering the Account of Events: User Guides, Worksheets, and Templates

Altering the Account of Events: User Guides, Worksheets, and Templates

In the pursuit of social and ecological justice, effective communication is key. A multitude of resources have been developed to help social justice leaders harness the power of narrative strategies for change. Here are some top recommendations:

1. Center for Story-Based Strategy – This key resource offers collaborative checklists for social justice leaders, focusing on land acknowledgements and Indigenous sovereignty narratives. Their offerings include the book "Re:Imagining Change: How to use story-based strategy to win campaigns, build movements, and change the world," published in 2010.
2. The Opportunity Agenda – This organisation provides practical guides on telling new stories for social change, aiming to reshape public dialogue around justice issues. Their communications toolkit, "Vision, Values, and Voice: A Communications Toolkit," was published in 2013.
3. ReFrame – By building shared narrative infrastructure across movements, ReFrame emphasises the importance of aligned, strategic narratives in addressing interconnected crises.
4. “Worldbuilding through Strategic Communication and Values-Based Narratives” training – Designed for nonprofit communication, advocacy, and fundraising leaders, this training focuses on developing values-driven storytelling and strategic narratives.
5. Maggie Potapchuk’s curated resource collection at MP Associates Consulting – This extensive compilation includes frameworks, tools, tipsheets, and lessons on operationalizing racial justice, embedding equity, and crafting narrative-driven action plans.

For those seeking to build and control narratives for reputation and organisational trust, resources such as the in-depth explanation of narrative strategy by Staffbase can provide valuable context.

The Narrative Initiative offers resources like the "Who What How: Narrative Strategy for Issue Campaigns" worksheet and the "Rapid Response Worksheet" for advancing narrative strategy in the face of a crisis or breaking news development.

Mobilisation Lab provides the "Call to Action Worksheet template" and the "System Map" to determine how to talk about a campaign to inspire and motivate people to take action.

The Housing Narrative Lab offers narrative and messaging guides on shifting mindsets and supporting solutions for housing unaffordability and homelessness.

The Shifting the Narrative Podcast, from The Opportunity Agenda, explores real-world narrative shifts that led to real-world victories.

For visual strategy, webinars from PowerLabs under the title "Projecting Power: Visual Strategy for Movements" are available, offering guidance on creating images needed to win.

Additionally, resources such as the "Story Canvas Template" from Digital Storytellers, "Messaging this Moment: A Handbook for Progressive Communicators," by Anat Shenker Osorio, and "The Common Cause Handbook: A Guide to Values and Frames" provide further insights into narrative, storytelling, and messaging.

A live list of resources for narrative and storytelling training and planning, as well as directories, libraries, or hubs, is available from the Commons librarians.

Lastly, exercise templates and guides from organisations like Greenpeace, Campaign Bootcamp UK, Working Narratives, The Public Interest Research Centre PIRC, and The Butterfly Lab can help refine storytelling skills and develop strategic narratives.

These resources offer comprehensive frameworks, practical tools, and strategic insights specifically tailored to social and ecological justice movements leveraging story-based strategies and framing to shift power and build collective action.

1. The Center for Story-Based Strategy provides collaborative checklists for social justice leaders, focusing on land acknowledgements and Indigenous sovereignty narratives, as well as the book "Re:Imagining Change" for understanding story-based strategy.
2. The Opportunity Agenda offers a practical guide on telling new stories for social change, titled "Vision, Values, and Voice," and hosts the Shifting the Narrative Podcast, which explores real-world narrative shifts leading to victories.
3. ReFrame emphasises the importance of aligned, strategic narratives in addressing interconnected crises by building shared narrative infrastructure across movements.
4. For those seeking to build and control narratives for reputation and organizational trust, resources like the in-depth explanation of narrative strategy by Staffbase can provide valuable context.
5. The Narrative Initiative offers worksheets for advancing narrative strategy during a crisis or breaking news development, such as the "Who What How: Narrative Strategy for Issue Campaigns" worksheet.
6. Mobilisation Lab provides templates, including the "Call to Action Worksheet template" and the "System Map," to determine how to talk about a campaign to inspire and motivate people.
7. The Housing Narrative Lab offers narrative and messaging guides on shifting mindsets and supporting solutions for housing affordability and homelessness.
8. Digital Storytellers offer the "Story Canvas Template," while Anat Shenker Osorio's "Messaging this Moment: A Handbook for Progressive Communicators" and "The Common Cause Handbook" provide further insights into narrative, storytelling, and messaging.
9. Live lists of resources for narrative and storytelling training and planning are available from the Commons librarians.
10. Exercise templates and guides from organisations like Greenpeace, Campaign Bootcamp UK, Working Narratives, The Public Interest Research Centre PIRC, and The Butterfly Lab can help refine storytelling skills and develop strategic narratives.

These combined resources offer comprehensive frameworks, practical tools, and strategic insights specifically tailored to social and ecological justice movements leveraging story-based strategies and framing to shift power and build collective action.

Read also: