Learn more about how nonprofits, movement builders, and other social sector actors can more effectively communicate information to create meaningful change.
Download a seminal literature review about the principles of effective communication for social change. GlobalGiving partnered with the Omidyar Network and Feedback Labs to review 168 research papers from 10 different fields to better understand the conditions under which information can be empowering. We sought to understand how nonprofits, movement builders, and other social sector actors can more effectively communicate information to create meaningful change.
When people are armed with information, they can achieve striking outcomes. Yet, information alone rarely empowers people to make their lives better. Information empowers when social and emotional factors induce people to reinterpret that information, and act on it. In this report, we draw on 44 real-life examples and 168 research papers from 10 fields to develop seven information-sharing principles that seem to underlie initiatives that successfully empower people. Principles 1, 2, and 3 speak to how information empowers through reinterpretation. Principles 4-7 speak to how we can support that reinterpretation to inspire action.
Length: 36 pages, plus annexes which include links to the research
Level: Advanced
Recommendations: This is a literature review targeted for people in the social sector who fund, design, or implement programs and services that involve information and communication for behavior change. If you only have an hour, review the introduction, the main principles, and the checklist. If you have time to dive into the foundational research, you’ll surely be inspired!
Get your free copy of this seminal research on communication principles in the social sector.
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