Introduction
Funders may be reluctant to support narrative work because progress is difficult to evaluate. Are these objections valid?
The article “Measuring Narrative Change: Moving from Theory to Practice” by Brett Davidson in the Stanford Social Innovation Review SSIR discusses the importance of measuring narrative change in social impact work.
It highlights how narratives shape perceptions and behaviours influencing societal change. It emphasies the need for practical frameworks and tools to assess narrative shifts effectively. Overall, the piece advocates for a systematic approach to understanding and measuring narrative change, enabling organizations to enhance their impact in social movements.
The question about assessing progress in narrative change has to become less theoretical and much more applied. How does a small organization with a limited budget assess progress? What sort of evidence is appropriate and “good enough” for them while being compelling enough to convince funders to invest in their work? What tools might we develop or adapt that would enable such an organization to gather useful evidence to help it learn and become more effective, without imposing a huge extra burden?
It could be helpful to think about measuring progress in terms of concentric circles. Organizations can start off by finding ways to measure and assess what is closest to them and their power to influence in the near term, and then they can expand in ever-increasing circles as time goes on and as resources are available.
Sometimes we have to keep planting the seeds and tending the soil, not knowing how long it will take for the plants to grow and bear fruit, or even whether anything will germinate. Funders and grantees may need to accept that ultimately only so much is knowable, and this is an inherent part of the sort of emergent strategic work that many narrative change actors are engaged in. What we do know for certain though is that if we don’t do the work, we can’t expect anything to change at all.
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Measuring Narrative Change: Moving From Theory to Practice
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