Collage of people of different communities thriving

BEYOND CONSULTING: A 1:1 IMMERSIVE PROGRAM

Building Narrative Power

Our communities have important stories to tell. When we shift power to community, we can more effectively combat the messages meant to disparage them and uplift the truth and complexity of their experiences.

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Design narratives that mobilize people

Our 12-week narrative change program is a hybrid of traditional consulting and a bootcamp. We prepare organizations by laying the groundwork for their narrative infrastructure. We’ll lead you and your team through a series of facilitated meetings, guided activities, and hosted community activations. From research and analysis to insights—together, we’ll examine how you’re talking about the important work you do and identify opportunities to shift and test the narrative to effectively change behaviors and actions amongst your stakeholders.

Diagram of TPN's 12-week process: Discovery & Kickoff, Research & Analysis, Synthesis & Insights, Ideation, Testing + Critique, Sharpen Strategy

Narratives support 3 crucial functions for organizations:

Provide structure, prioritize, and ascribe meaning to experiences and beliefs
Create a vision in the midst of uncertainty
Give people clarity and the ability to make decisions*

A good narrative challenges current beliefs and inspires new behaviors. A good narrative strategy will fuel your organizational, communications, and brand strategies. It will shape storytelling in all facets of your organization.

*_{Chabay I, Koch L, Martinez G, Scholz G.}_{Influence of Narratives of Vision and Identity on Collective Behavior Change}_{. Sustainability. 2019; 11(20):5680.}

Who you are

A storyteller + strategic leader in a social change organization that believes in the power of your community. You are ready to dismantle ineffective narratives and uncover narratives that awaken and mobilize people. You have the capacity to commit to 12 hours within 12 weeks (averaging about an hour a week) to drive this work within your organization. We also suggest recruiting 2-3 other team members in your organization to go through this experience with you—the program cost includes all team members.

Diverse group of individuals ready to lead

What you'll get

By the end of the program, you’ll have:

A complete narrative strategy that will establish core values, objectives, and pivot points across channels and stakeholders within your landscape.
A digital portal including 12+ tools, enabling you to practice and re-apply this framework throughout your career and the organization's work.
Deep insights about the experiences of your community and engagement processes to encourage community ownership and leadership over emergent narratives.
Team members with increased skills and knowledge who can continue to lead and guide others in your narrative strategy and implementation work.

Examples of some of the tools you'll have access to:

Landscape Power Map
Inclusive Interview Building Guide
Conversation Prompts
Raw data to insights guide
Narrative Pivot Tool
Formula for Writing Effective Narrative Copy

How different would your work be if you could:

Confidently communicate a narrative that accurately represents the complexity of your work in a non-complex way.

Save time by having a tried and true strategy of how to reach change makers rather than trying many tactics that don’t lead to results you hoped for.

Activate insights that showed you how to mobilize people from ideas, or even lack of knowledge to action.

Free up your capacity by sharing ownership with your community members to champion the narrative and take it on themselves.

Know what to measure when it comes to behavior change and have it mirror what your organization values.

Investment

Beyond standard consulting, we work with your team to build narrative strategy capacity and deploy the processes and tools across your projects or organization. We are committed to facilitating meetings, 1-on-1 coaching, co-hosting community roundtables, and leading strategy sessions with your team to build your new narrative strategy. Reach out to us and we can scope the project according to your needs.
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How it works

Submit an application

A member of your team, submits an application. Only one application per org needed. We recommend that you ask 2-3 of your team members to do the program with you.

Kick-off session with your team and thorough research

Once accepted, be prepared to get hands-on as we lead your team through a series of activities. We’ll get our creative muscles warmed up, introduce core design methods, and dig into the background of the project. Afterwards, our designers will research involved stakeholders and data more deeply.

Understand design fundamentals & creative thinking methods

Throughout the program, you’ll learn how to use design fundamentals & creative thinking to confidently turn research into insights and insights into strategy. For example, in week 3 you’ll learn all about inclusive interview tactics and be able to apply them in weeks 4 and 6.

Test & refine narratives in real time

Our team will organize 2-3 opportunities to get live feedback from your community members and engage in a facilitated conversation on important topics related to your project.

Translate your community’s needs into effective narratives

Towards the end of the program, our team will prepare a customized strategy for your team with narrative copy, ways to deploy the narrative, how to build it into workflows, and how to keep it community driven.

Your digital toolkit

Filled with tools, prompts, and templates—you’ll have this library of resources to use and refer back to anytime you need it.

Your Co-Designers

As your co-designers, we’ll lead, guide, and work with and for your team members to uncover narratives grounded in dignity and humanity.

Our process draws from our education and experiences in neuroscience, human-centered design, communications and branding. We understand that breaking old habits and learning new skills can be exciting yet challenging to uphold. Expect immersive and dynamic approaches in our sessions that will support you and your organization to embolden your process to discover insights about your community & network while also deepening your narrative change practice.

Learn more.

Jessica Brown is an organizer, designer, and educator dedicated to creating social systems where Black and brown folks can thrive. She is the founder of No Peace Studios, an abolitionist design consultancy focused on building robust community structures that meet folks' needs. Previously as a Designer and Lecturer at Stanford’s d.school, her work focused on the intersections of learning, neuroscience, culture, and design. In every aspect of her work, she creates research-based tools, processes, and content that invite unlearning, rethinking, and co-building.

Vicky Chung is a communications strategist and designer with experience in communications and branding strategy, digital design, and immersive program development. As a group facilitator and conflict resolution mediator, she’s seen firsthand the power of story & reframe—its ability to dismantle barriers and unite people toward change. Most recently, Vicky was leading communications at Stanford d.school. Acting as the cultural translator, she intersected with all corners to activate and elevate bold ideas & discourse.

Building Narrative Power

Ongoing applications welcomed. Our next programs begin in Fall 2024

SUBMIT AN APPLICATION