Visual Media Impact Happens on a Continuum
NMAP uses the Continuum of Impact created by Americans for the Arts to help our program partners and Rights Reframed mentees identify a baseline for how familiar their target audience is with the issue they want to tackle in order to help them understand a realistic level of impact for their project or campaign. To facilitate narrative change impact informed by research, we also work to gather baseline audience research and insights, conduct media narrative landscape analyses, identify narrative opportunities, and design narrative frames that could appeal to the specific audiences necessary for achieving the identified impact.
Depending on the desired impact level, we then work to create a measurement and evaluation strategy to assess the success of the project in achieving said impact. The continuum has been fully integrated into our final narrative change methodology.
Examples of Impact
Generate knowledge among target audiences. NMAP’s multimedia program Beneath the Surface has informed more than 10,000 rural villagers about how to defend their rights against mining, and has inspired communities in Guinea, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Haiti to create resistance strategies.
Alter discourse about urgent issues. NMAP’s multimedia event and original video, The Past Is Present, reframed Guatemalan military impunity as essential to modern-day corruption, altering the political debate to include new voices, messages and participants.
Shift attitudes, changing how people think and feel about an issue. NMAP’s multi-video series on child marriage in Nigeria led rural fathers to reconsider child marriage by exposing its inconsistencies with Islamic teaching and religious doctrine.
Increase the capacity of activists, communities and civil society. NMAP’s Rights Reframed mentorship program trained 12 activists and media makers from the former Soviet Union to conduct audience targeting, narrative reframing, media production, impact measurement, and strategic distribution as part of their human rights advocacy.
Move target audiences to action. NMAP’s video Appealing for Mercy on Death Row: The Story of Kanizan Bibi, created in partnership with Justice Project Pakistan, led Pakistan’s Chief Justice to suspend Bibi’s execution and transfer her to a mental health facility.
Create structural change, repealing unjust laws and policies. NMAP’s video Waiting for Fahd, created in partnership with the Center for Constitutional Rights, helped secure the release of Fahd Ghazy from Guantanamo Bay.
To see the global scope of our work and specific impact case studies, please read our 2017 annual report.