When Bad Requirements Happen to Good Programs

Harmful cultural models — or inaccurate “deeply held understandings that motivate thought and behavior in largely unconscious and automatic ways” — can influence policymakers’ application of harsh requirements that limit access to programs such as hunger prevention. The start of state legislative sessions offers an opportunity to provide reframed messages that background those unproductive models, […]

We love seeing reframing used in different contexts and venues. So we were delighted to read a September 26, 2019 Brookings Institution/Brown Center Chalkboard article by Dr. Dana Suskind, “What cutting-edge neuroscience tells us about early childhood development,” that uses framing techniques to broaden the conversation about research on language and brain development. Suskind is […]

Happy Halloween! To celebrate the holiday, we’re reviewing some common ways the human service sector can undercut its communications’ goals — specifically tactics that “spook” our audiences by activating a sense of fatalism, or a misperception that challenges are too big, complex and entrenched to address or solve. This limited outlook means the public thinks […]

The National Council of Nonprofits, a National Human Services Assembly member, in September released the report “Nonprofit Impact Matters: How America’s Charitable Nonprofits Strengthen Communities and Improve Lives,” demonstrating nonprofits’ commonalities and aligned interests to enable them to “advance their missions even further to shape a better future for everyone.” “Nonprofit Impact Matters” artfully incorporates […]

Our friends at the FrameWorks Institute recently released a new playbook, “Framing Two-Generation Approaches To Supporting Families,” that offers guidance on how to effectively communicate the value of “two-generation” or “whole family” approaches. The two-generation, or 2Gen, concept is designed to ensure that work with families pays equal, intentional efforts to build the well-being of […]