Narrative Change

Persuasion | Narrative power

Shifting public opinion on social issues.

Narrative change is a social change strategy where public opinion on a social issue is an obstacle to change. The work of narrative change is persuasion, however typical persuasion argument is binary and exclusive (for/against) whereas narrative change is plural and inclusive (multiple options).

Narrative change strategy grew in popularity in the late 2010s, particularly as change organizations working on overlapping issues realized they were competing on messaging if they weren’t collaborating.

Events

Communities

Resource Libraries

Practical Guides

Reports

Training

Organizations + Projects

Messaging Guides

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Center for Public Interest Communications at University of Florida
A conference connecting communicators, scholars, storytellers and activists working to build the world we wish existed.

Public Interest Communications Summer Institute
A network of academics and practitioners who gather each summer at the Public Interest Communications Summer Institute to learn, share and collaborate in building the emerging academic field of public interest communications.

The Radical Communicators Network
A global cohort of more than 5,000 communicators to cross-pollinate conversations across a variety of movements, organizations, levels of experience, geographies, languages, and political associations.

The Narrative Directory
IRIS (International Resource for Impact and Storytelling)
A tool for activists, civic innovators, independent storytellers, journalists, researchers and funders to locate one another, exchange knowledge and see the bigger picture of the global impact storytelling and narrative change ecosystem.

Full Frame Initiative Resource Library
Full Frame Initiative closed operations in 2025; their resources are freely available online.

RadComms Resource Directory
is a rich list of resources sourced from members of the RadComms network.

Narrative Change: Starting Strategically
Frameworks
Designed for philanthropic and backbone organizations who are conceptualizing, planning for, participating in, and/or funding narrative change efforts.

Narrative Strategy: The Basics
Liz Manne Strategy
An overview of Narrative Strategy

Orienting Together: Mapping your Narrative Landscape
Narrative Initiative
Mapping the narratives that affect how people think about, talk about, and make decisions about your cause.

Narrative Changing: What It Takes and Tools to Win
Purpose
Strategies and tools for narrative change.

Story
STORY is a global gathering of creators, leaders and change-makers working in a variety of industries to shift narrative sand shape the future by telling stories that matter.

Story Movements
Center for Media & Social Impact
Story Movements is a biennial CMSI convening that curates and presents research and case studies about the role of narrative in contemporary movements for social justice.

How to Measure Narrative Change
Stanford Social Innovation Review
A four-part framework for organizations to design and evaluate their narrative strategies.

Telling a New Story
The Opportunity Agenda
Guiding principles for social justice leaders participating in narrative change.

HeartWired: A Strategy Guide for Change-Makers
Examining how change-makers have leveraged a heartwired understanding of their target audiences to hasten a tipping point on pressing issues of the day.

What Is Narrative and Solidarity Infrastructure—and Why Are We Building It?
BLIS Collective
Durable social transformation requires solidarity and narrative infrastructure.

Narrative Change in the Climate Justice Movement
FrameWorks
Framing, narrative, mindsets, and systems are connected in a process of intentional culture change.

How Do Other Fields Think About Narrative? Lessons for Narrative Change Practitioners
FrameWorks
Eight lessons that activists, advocates, researchers, and strategists can apply to enrich and enhance their work to change harmful narratives.

Narrative Change: How Changing the the Story Can Transform Society, Business, and Ourselves
Hans Hansen
Published by Columbia Business School in 2020.

Using Narrative Power to Advance Liberation: Six Key Elements
Nonprofit Quarterly
How to build a narrative-power framework.

Building Narrative Power for Economic Justice by Telling Better Stories
Nonprofit Quarterly
Insight into the of production of BROKE, a narrative change project about poverty.

Narrative Change Components: Stories, Narratives, Mindsets, Paradigms, and Culture as Part of Cultural and Systems Change
ORS Impact
This working paper delves into the building blocks or components of narrative change, including stories, narratives, mindsets, paradigms, and culture, and examines their interrelationship as part of cultural and systems change.

Narrative Change: A Review of Concepts, Frameworks, and Approaches
ORS Impact
This report reviews the academic and gray literature on social movements, narrative persuasion, and storytelling for social change.

Essentials in Public Interest Communications
Center for Public Interest Communications

Story-based Strategy
Center for Story-Based Strategy

BLIS Collective
A cross-movement Solidarity & Action Hub braiding narratives and growing movements to win policy and shift culture.

Center for Media & Social Impact
American University
A creative innovation lab and research center that creates, studies, and showcases media and storytelling for human rights, social good, and civic participation.

Center for Public Interest Communications
University of Florida
Helping movements, foundations, agencies and organizations apply behavioral, cognitive and social science to build better communication strategies for the common good.

Center for Story-based Strategy
A participatory approach that links movement building with an analysis of narrative power and places storytelling at the center of social change.

FrameWorks
Collaborating with storytellers, organizations, and coalitions to shift mindsets, change systems, and create a more just world.

Harmony Labs
A media research lab.

International Resource for Impact and Storytelling (IRIS)
IRIS’ story-centered initiatives build networks and gathering spaces internationally to exchange knowledge, share strategy and build skills in storytelling and narrative shift to benefit communities.

Narrative Initiative
Collaborating with social movements to transform deeply held beliefs and values to make equity and justice the foundations of multiracial democracy.

Purpose
Using creative storytelling and campaigns to move people to remake the world.

ReFrame
Building narrative power to win.

The Opportunity Agenda
Narrative change to support expanding opportunity in America.

Spitfire Strategies
Strategic communication and advocacy.

Story Movements
Center for Media & Social Impact
Story Movements is a biennial CMSI convening that curates and presents research and case studies about the role of narrative in contemporary movements for social justice.

Wonder for Good
Messaging, storytelling, psychology and opinion research.

Climate

COVID-19

Education

Environment

Health

  • Changing The Narrative is a network of reporters, researchers, academics, and advocates concerned about the way media represents drug use and addiction.

The Commons Social Change Library: Narrative Change Hub
A co-created international resource to support those using storytelling and narrative strategies to drive progressive change.

Immigration

Labor

Philanthropy

Poverty