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why it matters
why it matters
Even the best-designed data projects can fall short if others outside of the project team are unaware of the project, unclear about its goals, or are disinterested entirely. Crafting a compelling narrative that conveys what your team is trying to achieve and why it is important will help build awareness and buy-in from key decision makers, stakeholders, and members of the broader organization. This narrative, in turn, will empower others to advocate on your behalf and bring others on board.
Checklist
Checklist
Identify key stakeholder groups you will need to communicate with by revisiting previous stakeholder mapping work your team has conducted.
Identify the role, motivation, and influence of each stakeholder to determine what will resonate most with them and what support they can provide.
Tailor the narrative to describe what the project is, why it is being implemented, who the project is for, and how it will positively benefit them.
Meet with stakeholders and update the project narrative accordingly.
Key Questions
Key Questions
What are your communication goals for different audience groups? Are you trying to inspire, empower, inform, mobilize, influence, or convince them? In what ways might they need tailored narratives to achieve these goals?
Why this project and why now? What is the impact the team hopes to achieve? What is the return on investment for addressing this challenge? What is the risk of not pursuing your project?
What does the project team need from stakeholders? What’s in it for them?
Who supports your project and where might you face resistance?
Who is the primary audience for the end product or solution? Ask yourself, “whose life changes if this goes well?”
Are there stakeholders who are highly interested in the project and have a stake in its success, but lack influence and are not being informed?
Tools + Resources
Tools + Resources
Foundation of a Successful Data Project: Telling Your Project Story (Beeck Center for Social Impact + Innovation)
Mastering the Art of the Narrative: Using Stories to Shape Public Policy (The London School of Economics and Public Policy)
Digital Storytelling for Social Impact (The Rockefeller Foundation)
About the Beeck Center for Social Impact + Innovation
About the Beeck Center for Social Impact + Innovation
The Beeck Center for Social Impact + Innovation at Georgetown University seeks to improve people’s daily lives by helping governments utilize data, design, technology, and policy to better meet the needs of their residents. An anchor of Georgetown University’s Tech and Society Initiative, the Beeck Center works alongside public, private, and non-profit organizations to identify and establish human-centered solutions that help government services work better for everyone, especially the most vulnerable and underserved populations.
About the national governors association
About the national governors association
The National Governors Association is the voice of the leaders of 55 states, territories, and commonwealths and supports governors in their work to develop innovative solutions to today’s problems. Through the NGA Center for Best Practices, Governors work with policy teams to identify priority issues and deal with matters of public policy and governance at the state, national and global levels.
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