When communicating with the public or policymakers, nonprofits have long relied on a certain way of telling their stories and showing why the work of human service providers and advocates is so critical. But a new narrative is taking shape and many practitioners and advocates are leveraging the idea of “reframing” in order to be more effective in painting a picture of the scope and breadth of human services and how it impacts all members of society.
Earlier this year, I had the pleasure of joining representatives from organizations in the U.S. and Alberta, Canada, for an eye-opening and engaging two-day learning event on the art of messaging and framing for human services. Most, if not all, attendees were participants in the Alliance for Strong Families and Communities Change in Mind Initiative. Because the initiative was established to infuse, align, and accelerate neuroscience discoveries about the effects of life-altering toxic stress into community-based work as a means to determine if the science can transform policies, there was a particular focus on the connection between brain science and new research around toxic stress as it relates to reframing for advocacy and public policy change.
The training was led and facilitated by FrameWorks Institute. This organization is helping nonprofits and human service organizations better understand how communications fits into a larger vision for social change, and developing a systemic understanding of the narratives and patterns of thinking that shape public understanding of issues. FrameWorks describes “frames” as cues for how an individual or group thinks about a topic of communication. For instance, whether a social problem is a matter of individual or collective responsibility. Their research has yielded empirical evidence about the most reliable frames to advance and which to avoid when trying to communicate about particular issues. And through their research they have learned a great deal about the role dominant cultural beliefs play in how messages are received by members of the public.
Using videos and other real life examples, the facilitators showed how messages can get lost in a frame that focuses on the problem without talking about solutions. There were some clear differences in how specific communications were viewed by groups they studied in Alberta versus those in the U.S., but there were tips that could be shared across cultural norms. They showed examples of how you can open up communication by offering a frame that looks at solutions while highlighting certain values such as interdependence (Alberta) and prosperity (U.S.) to help the public better understand how issues impacting children affect everyone. They also talked about the benefits of using a term like “well-being” rather than talking about “lifting people out of poverty,” which sometimes evokes a negative response from those we are often trying to reach with communications.
The training helped me better understand how leading with negative descriptions about the enormous challenges people face can be discouraging to potential supporters and doesn’t necessarily help them to see how everyone benefits from systems change. This is why it is important to use a frame that tells a more hopeful story about how the community as a whole is impacted, rather than just an individual or particular group. The training also offered practical tools and resources for employing reframing strategies in day-to-day communications with donors, policymakers, media, and members of the general public.
For those in human services and those who are particularly focused on brain science, now is a pivotal moment to spark a new conversation that moves us toward collaborative solutions by employing language that appeals to a much wider audience. What’s exciting about the FrameWorks knowledge is that it offers a new look at how we can better tell our stories and be effective at getting others to not only listen, but hear and understand the importance of science-informed policy making. This work better equips the sector to help create that new narrative to ultimately improve the policy climate for human services and ensure that everyone has the opportunity to succeed and live meaningful lives.
To learn more about FrameWorks Institute and their work on reframing for human services, visit www.frameworksinstitute.org.
Find out more about the Alliance's Change in Mind initiative - a partnership between the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the Palix Foundation’s Alberta Family Wellness Initiative - at http://alliance1.org/change-in-mind.
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