Our Approach

Applying Framing Science to Deepen Understanding

We’re on a mission to change the conversation about social issues. We conduct research that uncovers how people think and talk about important social issues—from democracy to child development to climate change. We collaborate with those working on these issues to leverage the power of reframing to create a more just world.

OUR Methodology / How We Work

RESEARCH

We apply rigorous social science methods to study how people think about social issues and how we can communicate about them more effectively.

ENGAGEMENT

We work side-by-side with social-change storytellers, organizations, and coalitions to leverage the power of evidence-based framing to advance progressive change.

OUR METHODOLOGY

Strategic Frame Analysis®

Strategic Frame Analysis® is FrameWorks’ proprietary process for effective social-change communications research and practice—an evidence-based methodology that answers four essential questions that are integral to influencing public discourse. As a result of its effectiveness with practitioners and organizations across the social sector, FrameWorks was one of nine organizations to receive the prestigious MacArthur Award for Creative and Effective Institutions in 2015.

We work with advocates, activists, policy shapers, researchers, and people with lived experience to identify a set of core ideas that the public needs to understand in order to fully grasp the issue. These are the big insights and perspectives that we want represented in public conversations in order to create informed decision-making, decrease susceptibility to misinformation, and boost support for actions that lead to a more just and inclusive society.

We map cultural mindsets, document dominant narratives, and explore recurring framing strategies used in the media, popular culture, and advocacy communications in order to understand the current stories being told and identify what needs to change.

We integrate methods and theory from across the social and cognitive sciences into a rigorous, iterative methodology designed to uncover effective framing and narrative strategies that deepen knowledge, shift attitudes, and build policy support.

How can you get a new, more effective story out into the world in a way that shifts cultural mindsets over time? We build strategies for implementing effective frames and narratives at the scale required to change thinking and increase understanding of the core ideas over time—and support our partners to use these strategies.

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