What’s in a Story? 

Exploring Narrative to Capture and Explain Impact

Capacity:

50

Objectives:

• Learn about narrative development as an approach to capture and explain impact
• Hear example impact narratives from the Great Lakes region
• Explore developing your own impact narrative 
• Reflect on the potential uses of narratives for understanding and communicating about impact

Description

What would you say if someone asked you, “What’s the impact of your work?” Would you have a quick and satisfying answer? Or would you struggle with where to begin or how to frame the impact of your work, especially when you know there were other contributing factors? Now think about what you would say if someone asked you, “Can you think of a moment when you realized the impacts of your work? Describe it. What made that moment possible and what came after?” Both sets of questions have a similar focus, but the latter invites a different approach to reflecting and sharing about impact. It supports sharing with both context and explanation which provides a much richer understanding. It also reduces pressure to name only what you feel you alone can claim, an instinct many of us have when, in fact, change and impact come about in complex ways.

The NERRS Science Collaborative has been exploring narrative and story development to support the NERRS and their partners in capturing and explaining the expansive impacts of their work. In this session, we will share about this exploration and what we have been learning. This will include sharing example impact narratives from the Great Lakes region and how we worked with reserve staff to develop them. Participants will have the opportunity to work in small groups to begin developing their own narratives and then we will discuss their potential uses for communicating about impact.

To find out more about the “What’s in a Story?” event or to register click here