Narrative Change Lab

Key Results from the Lab (2017-19)

The Narrative Change Lab was the core capacity development element of New Migration Narratives project. In this component, our aim was to empower progressive campaigners to more effectively engage and rebalance the public debate around migration in Germany, putting diversity and inclusion more firmly back on the agenda. Key outcomes were:

Built the capacity of 221 campaigners from 28 German Organisatons.
Ran 21 events (trainings, feedback clinics and broader convenings) as part of the Lab
Developed and tested 2 narrative change campaigns
Received very positive feedback about the capacity development support provided
Built a community of practice on narrative change thinking and provided a safe and supportive environment to allow for growth.
Experience, lessons and learnings from the lab fed into the advocacy and public engagement strategies of many organisations who participated

Read about the experiences and learning of 8 participants from the Narrative Change Lab in What We Share - Experiences of Narrative Change Practice in Germany.

Overview of the Lab and Original Plans

The Narrative Change Lab is the core, in-depth element of the New Migration Narratives project. In this component, we aim to:

To empower progressive campaigners to more effectively engage and rebalance the public debate around migration in Germany, putting diversity and inclusion more firmly back on the agenda.

Specifically, we will

support the step-by-step development of up to five reframing campaigns targeting the "movable middle" in the migration debate in Germany
build the capacity of 15-17 organisations to employ reframing and more strategic communication approaches

In the Lab, there are two levels of commitment, so-called "streams", that vary in intensity and engagement of participants.

1. Campaign Development Stream

This stream is designed for participants/organisations/platforms, who are willing and able to commit to developing a campaign through the programme. The tried and tested skills development approach combines a supported and scaffolded learning by doing environment based on the principles of adult learning and builds on over 15 years of experience in this area. The following table details the approach:

Stage	Elements
Stage 1 - Developing a strategy to engage the movable middle (December 2017 - March 2018)	Workshop 1 - Campaigning to engage the middle in the migration debate (December 7-9, 2017) Organisations/Platforms work to generate a campaign idea Feedback clinic on the initial campaign strategy (Feb 2018) Best campaign proposals are selected for the programme (up to 5)
Stage 2 – Fleshing out your campaign plans (April – September 2018)	Workshop 2 - The nuts and bolts of a narrative change campaign (March 21-22, 2018) Campaigners work to build out their initial campaign ideas and strategies) Message Testing Process (Focus groups to test 2 campaign concepts - June 2018) Skill session: Storytelling or digital campaigning Feedback clinics on campaign elements
Stage 3 - Preparing for campaign implementation (November 2018)	Workshop 3 - Effectively engaging the middle in constructive dialogue in the migration debates (November 8 & 9, 2018). Feedback clinics on final draft materials Skill session: Preparing talking points for your team ICPA/Peer/Practitioner support through campaign as requested

Mentoring and rollout of pilot campaign (2019)

Following the initial capacity development period in 2018, ICPA worked closely with JUMA e.V. and many other supporting activists/Lab participants to develop, rollout and test a pilot campaign to middle audiences in Germany, called Together Human or Gemeinsam Menschlich.

Example poster from the campaign - "10 Feet, 1 Goal"

This involved supporting the campaign team through periods of fundraising, building the campaign team, development of creative materials and partnership building, preparation for rollout, testing and adaptation of content, monitoring and evaluation of the campaign.

2. Skills Development Stream

This stream is designed to allow participants to attend an introductory training to enhance their campaigning skills and also, optionally attend and benefit from further sessions. Shorter one-day workshops can be set up with partners starting end of 2018.