All posts by Elena:

Org Work

Why? In our experience, the work of social change is often misaligned with its own values and vision. We definitely felt as though this was the case for our own organisation. We’re committed—personally and organisationally—to helping to build a more equitable, liberatory, sustainable and connected world. Our work is all about the ways our cultureRead more

Pandemic Response: Part 5 Virus as beast or crime 3 Why episodic and thematic framing matters

There’s a 2011 study in which researchers tested the effects of framing crime using the metaphors of either crime-as-virus or crime-as-beast. Participants in the study read one version of the story below: “Crime is a {wild beast preying on/virus infecting} the city of Addison. The crime rate in the once peaceful city has steadily increasedRead more

Movement Narrative Review The Narratives We Need 1 Strengthening the stories that unite us

Social movements across Europe face some common framing challenges. We asked over 200 campaigners—environmentalists, feminists, anti-racists, new economists, and many more—what we’re up against, analysed the trends and pulled together the key lessons. If you’re part of a group organising for social change, we’re sure you’ll be familiar with times of fear, grief and despairRead more

New Publication A new framing toolkit for equality activists across Europe

Download our new toolkit for Framing Equality here!  Interested in attending or hosting a workshop in the UK in the new year? Get in touch! We’re in Poland in the unpredictable summer of 2013. Progressive movements are collectively rolling their eyes at an attack on gender equality from the fringes of the religious right. ItRead more

Organisational Restructuring PIRC goes flat 3 Twelve steps to organisational structural change

“It has been a bit of rollercoaster, albeit it one with no height restrictions and an office-based theme. During the process I have fluctuated between hopeful, frustrated, excited, bored, interested, determined, happy, grumpy, thankful and something that could only really be captured in a facial expression.”—Ralph Two years ago, PIRC transitioned from a slightly dysfunctional,Read more

Pride & Prejudice Six framing lessons from London Pride

This month, people marched across London in the culmination of Pride. But in the lead up to the festivities, the organisers faced some pretty fierce criticism for this year’s Love Happens Here campaign. The PR company behind the campaign apologised after receiving complaints about the centring of straight people’s voices, the use of homophobic slursRead more

New Publication General Election Framing Guide 3

For anyone working towards a more equitable, democratic and sustainable society It’s just seven days until the polling stations close. Depending on your constitution (and/or the most recent poll you have seen), you might feel we are living in exciting (or terrifying) political times, or you might agree with Brenda in Bristol that there is justRead more

Developing Discourse or Stunted Growth? Taking the Sustainable out of the Sustainable Development Goals

Where does poverty come from? Whatever your answer, it’ll shape what you think we should do about it. If you think it’s natural, for example, then perhaps all we can do about it is alleviate suffering rather than get rid of it. Perhaps we shouldn’t do anything about it at all. Your answer will subsequentlyRead more

Strivers and skivers? 2 We're all in this together...

The binary rhetoric that currently surrounds the welfare state reflects a deep moral narrative with a crippling social impact. ‘Strivers’ and ‘skivers’ are two sides of the same coin. That coin is shame. One side represents the deserving, and the other side the undeserving. Rachel Reeves, the UK Shadow Work & Pensions Secretary, recently saidRead more

Common Cause Training Values, Leadership & Social Change

23rd – 26th June 2015 A residential training course in the applied psychology of human motivation for communicators, organisers and leaders of social change This summer, we’re offering three days of practical and inspiring participatory learning in the beautiful mid-Wales hills. Together, we’ll be using the Common Cause approach to explore the psychology of valuesRead more

Hate racism, love Finland 10 ways values link to prejudices across Europe

What do you value in life? If you ask anybody this question, there’s surprising similarity in what people say. You can generally put people’s values into four broad groups: Change & autonomy values, such as creativity and freedom,are linked to tolerance and comfort with difference. (Openness-to-change values) Care & empathy values are all about concern for others andRead more

New report: Common Cause for Nature

Creating and maintaining a sustainable, wildlife-rich world requires active, concerned citizens and a political system capable of rising to the challenge. Governments, businesses and the public will need the space and motivation to make the right choices. The UK conservation sector is large and well-resourced yet, as the recent State of Nature report attests, biodiversityRead more

Values in education

The limits of my language mean the limits of my world. – Ludwig Wittgenstein What we learn and how we are taught are key to shaping the people we become. The heated debates around the UK’s National Curriculum in recent months attest to a general recognition of this: with the fight-back against the proposal toRead more