Narrative change: how do we know if it’s working?

At FrameWorks UK there’s a question we’re – quite rightly – asked a lot: how will we know if the reframing of our issue is working?

Our research shows how to communicate about issues in ways which will help people to hear us, help to shift thinking and, vitally, increase support for change. But when we put this new way of communicating into practice, how will we know if it’s making a difference. In short, how do we know if it’s working?

When it comes to evaluating how well we’re changing the narrative around an issue, there are three areas we can look at to see if our new story is taking root and helping us to create change.

1. Take-up of a new story

Powerful stories get repeated. And repeated stories start to shift the narrative. We can track and monitor how well our story has been taken up by:

• The sector

For example, a ‘before and after’ FrameWorks Field Discourse Analysis will show how the housing sector has changed the ways it makes the case for decent and affordable homes for all.

• The media.

For example, a ‘before and after’ FrameWorks Media Discourse Analysis will show how stories about homes are being told across traditional and social media and how this has changed over time.  We often see these changes occur following shifts in the way the field communicates, and in how it engages with journalists and content creators.

• Our politicians.

For example, political discourse analysis will show how politicians have changed their patterns of talk about homes. This can be shaped through direct communications with politicians using a new story about homes, and through shifts in how the media and sector talk about homes.

• Wider culture.

For example, where is the new story about homes showing up in TV, film, influencer content, or music?

2. Changes in thinking

Once a new narrative has good take-up, we can look at how well it’s working to win hearts and minds.

We know our new narrative is working when people start to think and feel differently about the issue. We can measure changes in:

• Attitudes. Tracking public support for different policies over time enables us to see if take up of our new story is translating into support for the kinds of policy we want to see.
• Mindsets. At FrameWorks UK we can track whether the mindsets people use to reason about an issue are changing. Mindsets are deep, enduring patterns of thinking that underlie surface attitudes and opinions. When mindsets move, they open up new possibilities for long-term changes in behaviour, policy, and institutions. Tracking changes in thinking at a mindset level enables us to see if our work to shift culture is working.

3. Changes in policy and practice

Narrative change work is about changing the story, to change the world. When mindsets shift this can open up space for the policy and practice changes we want.

Narrative change work shapes, and sits alongside, our traditional campaigning and advocacy work – and to see how well this is working we can measure:

• Campaign execution. Analysing if individual campaigns are shifting thinking in the right direction.
• The wins, big and small. We can track the impact of our influencing work by monitoring shifts in policy and practice at a local and national level.

If you’re interested in finding out more about how we can help you measure and evaluate progress in shifting narratives and creating change, get in touch at [email protected].