A new story for local government post Covid-19.
Top tips:
- Review the One Story narrative, check how it fits with your organisation’s values, adapt it and then find local stories that amplify the key themes
- When writing your own council narrative, include content that acknowledges the past, illustrates how you’ve handled the current Covid-19 crisis and builds a bridge to the future
- To make your own council narrative more compelling get up close and personal. Don’t be afraid to include emotion; it’s the basis for connection and engagement
- Use visual storytelling – images have the power to subconsciously trigger or lock in a narrative in a fraction of a second
The One Story narrative project began in May 2020 with a small group of enthusiasts determined to change the often negative perception of local councils.
They wanted to highlight the reality of what local government does for – and with – their communities, using the outstanding work done during the pandemic as just the latest example.
The One Story group’s pitch was that making a difference depended on a clear, compelling and shared narrative about why local councils and local democracy are fundamental to the health and wellbeing of local areas.
Through an engaging process involving 12 online workshops and over 100 people from 60 councils, the project gathered 60 stories.
Once the bulk of the stories had been collected, six small drafting groups worked online to develop more strategically focused stories that picked up on some of the key themes.
Using the Container approach to storytelling (as outlined in Chapter 8 - Some models to help you develop your narrative), creatively written and fictionalised stories were also added into the mix.
Finally, a small group pulled together one narrative, which was emblematic of all the stories and sought to capture the essence of local government.
Participants telling their stories were asked to share something personal – an everyday object important to them and explain why. Some participants also used visual metaphors that helped either as illustrations of the stories or in some cases the object became the story itself.
Any new narrative should link the past, the present and the future. We know where we’ve come from, we illustrate how life is now and show how better futures are already becoming realities, including in small ways.
The hope is that councils will review the key themes of the narrative – or as it’s called, “the beating pulse”, – check for relevance, and adapt it at a local level.