This initiative is a project of the National Human Services Assembly and is generously funded by The Kresge Foundation and Annie E. Casey Foundation.
Taking the Long View
As we enter the final weeks of the 2016 election season, we draw your attention to Nonprofit Quarterly’s recent webinar, Reframing Social Issues Before, During, and After an Election: An Essential Guide for 501c(3) Communicators. In this timely presentation, Julie Sweetland, Vice President for Strategy and Innovation at FrameWorks Institute, identifies the dominant narratives in American political discourse and provides good guidance to help our sector successfully navigate the unique communications challenges of an election year.
A key takeaway relevant to the Reframing Network is that political campaigns are driven by short-term goals and often benefit from the kind of divisive, intense discourse that can undercut our ability to build public support for our issues. Voters may be won over by a candidate’s personal triumphs over adversity, or by a candidate who positions themselves as an outsider who will reform a corrupt government. But those same messages cue up what FrameWorks refers to as the “traps in public thinking” that can diminish support for human services. By contrast, the National Reframing Initiative seeks to increase support for human services by building the public’s understanding of what our sector does and how society benefits from our work. This strategy hinges on our ability to productively engage people from all walks of life and across the political spectrum in a long-term, solutions-focused movement.
We encourage you to take the time to watch the webinar; it will be an hour very well spent.
This week, we direct you towards You Say…They Think. This quick reference guide provides reminders about how the public responds to common human service messages, and offers recommendations for navigating towards a more productive story. This is a great piece to print out and hang by your computer.
Last week, Ilsa Flanagan, Director of the National Reframing Initiative, worked with members of the Peoria Council of the Illinois Partners for Human Services. The Council hosted an introductory training earlier this year where participants learned about FrameWorks Institute’s evidence-based strategy for reframing the work of human services using the Building Well-Being Narrative. This time around, the group (with many newcomers) spent five hours learning about and practicing applying the full frame to their organizations’ communications. We also talked through commonly asked questions, including how to tell thematic stories instead of individual success storiesand using data in the frame.
If you’re interested in bringing a reframing presentation, workshop, or webinar to your network, contact Ilsa Flanagan for details. While demand is high, we will do our best to accommodate requests.
We have a robust set of free tools to better equip you integrating this new narrative into your communications strategies.
Contact Us
For more information on how your organization can join the reframing mobilization, please contact Ilsa Flanagan at iflanagan@nassembly.org.
For any questions about this newsletter or the online tools or website information, please contact Bridget Gavaghan at bgavaghan@nassembly.org.
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