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About this project
Narrative to advance systems change
Goals
- To build organizational capacity to leverage narrative change to advance programs and systems change in the pathways space
- To contribute knowledge to the field about effective narrative tools and supports
Design
The Pathways Narrative Project is a cohort-based pilot project that explores the opportunity for narrative change in the career pathways space.
More MoreDesign
The Project: The Pathways Narrative Project is a two-year collaborative initiative, led by Wonder: Strategies for Good (Wonder) and supported by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Walton Family Foundation and others. The project convened nine organizations, working at the intersections of high school, postsecondary education, and employment systems, in five locations — Colorado, Indiana, New York, Texas, and Washington, DC. The project aimed to build each organization's capacity to leverage the power of narrative to advance programs and systems change in the pathways space.
What is Narrative Change: Narratives are systems of stories, understood both consciously and subconsciously, and shared by groups of people. They shape our attitudes and behaviors towards people, places, objects, and ideas. Narrative change strategies seek to counter, modify, or replace existing narratives that perpetuate inequities and uphold an unjust status quo, through the creation and deployment of new or different narratives.
Technical Assistance: Wonder strategists developed a set of tools to help each organization develop narrative change goals, map the narrative landscape, understand the mindsets of key audiences, and develop and test persuasive messaging. Over the course of the project, each organization participated in a series of webinars and received tailored coaching from Wonder, who helped them use the tools and supported them on their narrative change journey, in their specific geographic and programmatic context. Participating organizations also connected to other partners, Movement Tech Help Desk, ORS Impact, and Roadtrip Nation, who offered specialized expertise on storytelling, message testing, and measuring narrative change.
Heartwired Framework: The project is oriented around Heartwired, a analytical framework developed by Wonder: Strategies for Good and Goodwin Simon Strategic Research, for conducting audience research and developing values-based messaging. Participants used Heartwired research to understand the mindsets of key stakeholders in the pathways ecosystem — students, employers, policymakers, and education leaders — and develop narrative interventions that connect to their lived experience and beliefs and motivate them to advance a more just and equitable world.
About Wonder
We are experts in messaging, storytelling, psychology and public opinion research. We use audience insights to develop narrative, messaging and storytelling strategies that shape attitudes and influence the behavior of your target audiences.
MoreMeet Our Partners
Change comes in many shapes and sizes
Pathways Narrative is a cohort-based pilot project focused on the education and career pathways space. Each of the nine organizations in the cohort works with dedicated strategists from Wonder: Strategies for Good to develop a narrative change research project that aligns with and advances the organization’s goals. Get to know the cohort below, and explore the many possible approaches to narrative change.
Partners
Ascend Indiana
Ascend Indiana connects people with careers, catalyzes transformative employer and education partnerships, and generates labor market insights that enable a modern workforce ecosystem.
Location: IN
CareerWise Colorado
Build and grow a world-class, sustainable, modern youth apprenticeship system in the state of Colorado that enables every student to have access to a good career, and every business to develop the skilled talent needed to grow and thrive.
Build a nationwide movement that supports practitioners to efficiently develop and expand high-quality, modern youth apprenticeship systems by providing best-in-class tools, technology, consulting, and collaborative learning experiences.
Location: CO
CityWorks DC
CityWorks DC is dedicated to dramatically improving the early career outcomes of DC youth and young adults of color by creating innovative programs and by mobilizing employers, educators, and city leaders to create an employer-driven, local, equitable talent pipeline. Our work is to ensure that young people acquire industry-valued credentials; paid, relevant work experience; and social capital. Our vision is that all DC youth and young adults of color secure meaningful work that allows them to thrive.
Location: DC
Colorado Education Initiative
CEI accelerates educational improvement and innovation across Colorado.
Location: CO
Education Partnership of the Permian Basin
Education Partnership of the Permian Basin
Creating the highest performing educational region in the State of Texas.
Location: TX
EmployIndy
EmployIndy guides the local workforce ecosystem and makes strategic investments to remove barriers to quality employment for underserved and underrepresented residents.
Location: IN
NYU School of Professional Studies
NYU School of Professional Studies
NYU School of Professional Studies (NYU SPS) is a leader in professional education offering graduate, bachelor’s, and associates degrees, as well as a wide range of continuing education courses and certificates, preparing students for in-demand industries ranging from publishing, hospitality, and sports management to real estate, global affairs, marketing and human capital management. Based in New York City, NYU SPS's programs attract a diverse and global student body who seek practical, real-world learning closely tied to the needs of today’s employers and taught by faculty with deep industry expertise.
Location: NY
Urban Alliance
Urban Alliance connects high school students to equitable, inclusive careers through paid work experiences, mentorship, and professional development. We work with schools and employers to address systemic barriers to economic mobility for young adults of color and to bridge the gaps between education and workforce development for all young people.
Location: DC
Young Invincibles
Young Invincibles’ mission is to amplify the voices of young adults in the political process and expand economic opportunity for our generation.
Location: TX
Collaborators
Movement Tech Help Desk
ORS Impact
Roadtrip Nation
Wonder: Strategies for Good
Funders
Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
Walton Family Foundation
Anonymous
What is narrative change?
Different stories. New mindsets.
A narrative is a pattern of stories that shape belief and behavior, consciously or not, within a group of people. Narrative change means countering, modifying or replacing those stories to make space for better outcomes. It means taking time to understand audience mindsets, and building capacity to change their stories: making a difference in how people feel, think and act.
Narrative
LandscapeMapping the Narrative Landscape
Audience
MindsetUnderstanding Audience Mindset
PersuasionTesting Persuasive Messages
ActionPutting Messaging into Action
Creating Change
Creating
Change
Heartwired research
Our approach to narrative change
People's attitudes and behaviors are shaped by their emotions, identities, lived experiences, values, and beliefs. Heartwired research helps uncover the narratives that influence people’s mindsets — how they think and feel about an issue. Heartwired messages and stories connect to people’s experiences and values — shaping new narratives that help people to see the role that they can play in creating a more just and equitable world. Learn more about applying Heartwired to values-based messaging.
The Heartwired Approach
Using Strategic Research to Accelerate Social Change
Project Insights
Learning across the cohort
Building Narrative Power
A case study highlighting insights learned from the Pathways Narrative Project about centering youth voices and experiences as an important component of building narrative power.
MoreExecutive Summary
Building Narrative Power: Insights from the Pathways Narrative Project
This case study highlights what was learned through the Pathways Narrative Project about young people’s role in changing narratives about their education and career options. Most participating organizations learned about the power of centering young people’s perspectives and stories in their work to engage target audiences. One organization, Young Invincibles, went even further, engaging young people to share their own stories and drive narrative change in ways that reflected their priorities and lived experience. As a result, young people built and leveraged their narrative power in ways that directly influenced a policy outcome related to community college financing. The insights from Young Invincibles’ experience in building narrative power, as well as the insights from the experiences of other organizations around helping their target audiences achieve greater proximity to young people’s experiences and voices, have important lessons for funders and the social sector at large about how to fully leverage narrative power to effect systemic change.
Watch the Pathways Narrative Project Webinar "Narrative as Power: Elevating Youth Voice"
Strengthening Organizational Capacity for Narrative Change
Drawing on the experiences of nine organizations participating in the Pathways Narrative Project, this brief explores what it takes to strengthen organizational capacity for narrative change.
MoreExecutive Summary
Strengthening Organizational Capacity for Narrative
Change: Insights from the Pathways Narrative Project
In this brief, ORS Impact draws on reflections from participants in the Pathways Narrative Project to highlight the conditions and approaches that support capacity building for narrative change, and integration and uptake by organizations—from securing buy-in and alignment with organizational priorities, to ensuring narrative insights and learning can be absorbed across teams in useful ways. It also suggests some implications and future directions, including thinking about building capacity at the ecosystem level to advance aligned narratives.
Watch the Pathways Narrative Project Webinar "Measuring Narrative Change"
Narrative as Inquiry
A case study highlighting how narrative inquiry enabled organizations participating in the Pathways Narrative Project to learn about their audiences; their own strategic goals; and the ecosystems in which they operate.
MoreExecutive Summary
Narrative as Inquiry: Insights from the Pathways Narrative Project
A case study highlighting how narrative inquiry enabled organizations participating in the Pathways Narrative Project to learn about their audiences; their own strategic goals; and the ecosystems in which they operate. Organizations applied what they learned through the narrative inquiry process in multiple ways:
- Informing messaging and strategic communications with key audiences in the pathways ecosystem
- Providing organizations with new and valuable proximity to their target audience and key stakeholders
- Inspiring reflection on and better alignment of organizational strategies and goals
Journey Stories
Find out what each organization learned
Over the two-year project period, each organization in our cohort developed a deep understanding of how narrative change can advance their mission. They analyzed the narrative landscape, researched their audiences, activated insights through message testing, and more, ultimately supporting their goal of improving equitable education and career pathways for young people. Follow their journeys, below.
Toolkit
Learn how to shift narratives and measure change
Explore tools and resources created by experts in narrative strategy, storytelling and measurement. Learn more about the research phases each partner organization completed in their narrative change project.
Phase
1
Change
Determine what your change goals are and identify what role narrative is playing.
Determine what your change goals are and identify what role narrative is playing.
Phase
2
Landscape
Discover the existing dominant narratives and find evidence of them in the world.
Discover the existing dominant narratives and find evidence of them in the world.
Phase
3
Mindset
Conduct research to learn about the mindset of your target audience.
Conduct research to learn about the mindset of your target audience.
Phase
4
Persuasion
Use what you have learned about your audience to create and test sample persuasive messages and stories.
Use what you have learned about your audience to create and test sample persuasive messages and stories.
Phase
5
Action
Activate your persuasive messaging and measure impact.
Activate your persuasive messaging and measure impact.