The term “safety net” is out for the largest groups that represent the nation’s human services sector, the result of an extensive reframing initiative conducted by the National Human Services Assembly. What’s in? The “Building Well-Being Narrative,” an “overarching story” and extensive toolbox intended to “build public understanding of human services to encourage more vibrant civic participation and deepen support for effective programs.” The newly developed narrative leads with a value (“human potential”), relies on a “construction” metaphor to convey that well-being is built through social supports, and uses “Life Cycle” examples to underscore that all people need support in different ways at different points in their lives.
Framing, the belief that how we make decisions is shaped by the tone, messenger, metaphors, order, and solutions used when communicating about issues, is now a critical tool in an advocate’s arsenal and an arena where progressive thought leaders and funders believe the social sector needs to grow in sophistication and strategy. NPQ recently announced its partnership with FrameWorks, a pioneer of using social science research to reframe social justice issues, to generate a series of columns about these potent communication strategies. Other key players in this field include the Opportunity Agenda, Anat Shenker-Osario, and Topos Partnership, all of whom bring an interdisciplinary approach, prioritize partnering with key nonprofit organizations, and produce dissemination tools.