Civic Tech Field Guide
Sharing knowledge and productively growing the fieldThe Tech > Media > Narrative tech - (76)
Technology has always had a role in shaping how narratives are created, distributed, tracked and absorbed into society. Today, technology moves the words, pictures and meaning of narrative around the world in seconds. Technology helps us track the movement of narrative and research how narrative shifts behavior.
"Narrative Technology encompasses the tools, platforms, and infrastructure that can be used to assist and accelerate the shifting and/or maintenance of dominant narratives. This includes technologies that can baseline, listen to, test, and respond to media and online discourse at scale." - The Narrative Initiative
Suggested resources:
- Narrative Technology Case Studies, by Narrative Initiative
- Learn how 3 years of Big Listening (and testing) may change your campaigning, by Ted Fickes, MobLab
- Invest in Listening Infastructure, Sabrina Hersi Issa, The Engaged Journalism Lab
- Using “Big Listening” and “Distributed Campaigning,” Upwell Seeks a Sea-Change in Ocean Organizing, by Micah L. Sifry, TechPresident
- Tech Across Your Org: Sharing a Cause and Data Across Multiple Orgs, by Rachel Weidinger, NTEN Change
- Can Democrats Win Back the Internet in the Age of Trump?, by Peter Hamby, Vanity Fair
- Narrative Tech: Categories, needs and what’s next by Ted Fickes
- Why Your Nonprofit Should Be A Big Listener by Rachel Weidinger, featured by Beth Kanter
- Digital Listening: Insights from social media, a critical take on political campaigns’ use of these technologies, from a personal data perspective, by Tactical Tech’s Our Data, Ourselves project
- Shifting the conversation: How the sector is using narrative change to advance social change Books and chapters
- This Is Not Propaganda: Adventures in the War Against Reality, by Peter Pomerantsev
- pp 212-217 in The Big Disconnect, by Micah L. Sifry
- “Your campaign budget is the Internet —Rachel Weidinger” in Analytic Activism: Digital Listening and the New Political Strategy, by David Karpf
Training
- Storytelling and reach for civil society organizations by Fundación Multitudes
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A tool designed to help you collect and compile video messages from a group of people
Transforming Narratives of Gun Violence
Emerson College, Boylston Street, Boston, MA, USATransforming Narratives of Gun Violence (TNGV) is a collaborative initiative which seeks to understand the impact of dominant narratives of gun violence on individuals, families, and communities most impacted, and aims to co-create interventions to change these narratives.
Transforming Narratives for Environmental Justice
Emerson College, Boylston Street, Boston, MA, USATransforming Narratives for Environmental Justice (TNEJ) seeks to advance environmental and climate justice through collaborative storytelling, design, and research.
Mediante el proyecto audiovisual Voces de una nueva generación, hemos recopilado testimonios de jóvenes nacidos a partir de los años 90, que han forjado sus opiniones a través de la memoria colectiva, historias familiares y documentos de la época.
Future Perfect is a live, choose-your-own-adventure game where players join an imagined society called Tomorrowland.
Free Machine awakens civic participation where emerging technology, public policy, and culture meet.
In 2020, CIL launched the Digital Innovation Fund (DIF) to support experimental and innovative digital organizing tactics for state-based organizing groups and sharpen organizer skills in digital strategy and data analysis.
Word Force, a project of Narrative Initiative, provides ghostwriting services and robust communication strategy with a narrative lens to grassroots social justice organizations.
Impactive Video Story Collection
Cambridge, MAGather user-generated content for powerful testimonial campaigns. Volunteers can share a personal video (or photo) about why they support your cause, laying the foundation for engaging digital content pushes or lobbying efforts.
Humans of Public Service (HOPS)
United States of America (the)Our mission is to create content that tells the story of humans in public service, share stories that reflect the diversity in America in an effort to humanize public servants, and create a more positive perception of government.
Video For Change
ThailandWe help changemakers use video to create more impact by enhancing their knowledge, strategies, technology, networks, and storytelling skills.
Hope-based communications is a pragmatic approach to winning support for policies and advocacy positions by showing how they will work. Hope-based communications acts on the principle that we should be focused on building the world we want, setting the agenda with our values, our goals, our mission.
In this course, you will learn how stories and narratives make disinformation popular and credible and how to counter dangerous beliefs and attitudes.
Decriminalize Poverty
TennesseeThis narrative experience explores how poverty has been criminalized across Tennessee, what this means for people who live in communities in the state, and practical steps to build a better future.
The Public Good Projects
New York, NYWe use science and technology to tackle today’s most pressing public health issues.
A report: How can stories help us change systems?
The Narrative Observatory
New York, NYWith data infrastructure purpose-built to deliver audience-based insights, narrative and network analysis, and empirical validation of cultural strategy and content, we help strategists and creative practitioners identify story opportunities and challenges across a range of social issues.
Consumer Reports Share My Story
New York, USAA platform for CR members to share their stories on a given topic, like medical bills
“Seeing” Neighborhoods through “Big” Data
Boston, MAModern administrative data—from 311 and 911 calls to building permit applications to Tweets—offer a detailed view of events and conditions across the city.
Opening in early 2012, The Social Media Listening Center at Clemson University is an interdisciplinary, cutting-edge laboratory that seeks to monitor, measure, and engage in social media conversations from across the web.
Our artificial intelligence platform covers many of today's most relevant topics: from sustainable cities to citizen security, from migration to climate change & biodiversity, and more.
Narrative Change Lab
TorontoInspirit Foundation program "to shift the Canadian narrative landscape for equity-seeking groups through pop culture."
Votus is a communications platform that helps organizations build relationships with persuadable audiences through 1:1 interaction across multiple digital channels.
Africa No Filter (ANF) is a donor collaborative that supports the development of nuanced and contemporary stories that shift stereotypical and harmful Africa No Filter (ANF) is a donor collaborative that supports the development of nuanced and contemporary stories that shift stereotypical and harmful narratives within and about Africa.
Short case studies and guides to using free tools to create campaign videos
Election Official Stories
United States of America (the)We share stories from election officials doing fantastic work.
Africa No Filter
AfricaAfrica No Filter (ANF) is a donor collaborative that supports the development of nuanced and contemporary stories that shift stereotypical and harmful Africa No Filter (ANF) is a donor collaborative that supports the development of nuanced and contemporary stories that shift stereotypical and harmful narratives within and about Africa.
Mann Mela
India“Mann Mela” is a museum of young people’s mental health stories from India Through sharing people’s real experiences, we tackle common misconceptions about mental health and mental illness, break down stigma and discrimination and encourage help-seeking.
A toolkit for communities to listen, tell stories, and imagine better futures together.
ActionSprout
ActionSprout, Commercial Street, Bellingham, WA, USAActionSprout makes it easy to find curated content, schedule posts, manage Facebook ads, and create donations and petitions to grow your following!
Bringing underheard voices to the center of a stronger public dialogue
Homevida
House 2, Plot 622, Mercy Samuelson Estate, Karmo, AbujaThe Nigeria Integrity Film Awards (HomeVida) is a unique platform that provides incentives for young scriptwriters and filmmakers to promote integrity values using film while influencing the wider public.
Abre Alcaldías
Latin AmericaTrainings and storytelling for open government in Latin America
Mapping Makoko
NigeriaA combined tech and journalistic effort to map the Makoko informal settlement
Factmata
114 Whitechapel High St. London E1 7PTEmpowering everyone with a better understanding of content.
SoundCloud
BerlinDiscover, stream, and share a constantly expanding mix of music from emerging and major artists around the world.
LittleSis is a free database of who-knows-who at the heights of business and government.
Local Voices Network (LVN)
25 Kingston St, BostonDeveloped by the non-profit Cortico, the Local Voices Network (LVN) is a unique physical-digital network designed to bring under-heard community voices, perspectives and stories to the center of a healthier public dialogue.
Google Analytics
Mountain View, CA, USAIt gives you the free tools you need to analyse data for your business in one place, so you can make smarter decisions.
Coworker.org is a platform for worker voice. Find out why employees of some of the world's largest companies are using Coworker.org to win change.
RNW Media
RNW Media, Witte Kruislaan, Hilversum, NetherlandsRNW Media supports local media and impact organizations to master persuasive storytelling techniques and creative formats to create strong narratives on the world’s most pressing issues.
HatchLab Innovation Studio
United States of America (the)A HatchLab is a new kind of global storytelling workshop.
Terrastories
Pusugrunu, SurinameTerrastories is a geostorytelling application built to enable local communities to locate and map their own oral storytelling traditions about places of significant meaning or value to them.
Protect Our Care
Austin, TXA campaign leveraging personal stories about Pre-Existing Conditions, Medicaid, and the Affordable Care Act to defend it from legislative attacks
PeakMetrics
Los Angeles, CAPeakMetrics tracks news and government action around the clock, so you save time and react faster.
Memria
Civic Hall, West 22nd Street, New York, NY, USAMEMRIA uses the power of voice to help our partners further their missions.
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Civic Tech Field Guide