and could not address all the current issues faced by the beneficiaries. How did you come to this realization? What did you take notice of? What was happening?

• Tell us about an episode when you noticed that a project wasn’t working as well as you had expected. What was happening? What are your expectations that have not been met?

• Relate a time when you saw that the project, while addressing one problem, brought to light another, more profound issue that you hadn’t previously considered. What was happening? How did you notice it?

• Share a moment when you were looking at the progress of the project and recognized that some of its components were adversely affecting the beneficiaries, leading you to think sadly: “It seems we are solving one thing while harming another.” What was happening?

To explore the demand for change among prospective beneficiaries, the following questions can be used:

• Describe a situation where you observed someone acting in a particular manner, leading you to think: “Life would be so much better if everyone did the same.” What was happening?

• Share a moment when you were observing events in your surroundings and thought: “Things would be different if these people had access to this!” What was happening?

• Recall a moment when you witnessed something remarkable in another field, industry, or company, and pondered: “It would be fantastic if we could have something similar!” What was happening?

Please note that in the examples above, the introductory phrase “Tell us about…” is followed by the question “What was happening?” This may appear redundant, but it helps individuals focus on and recall specific events from their memories rather than providing generalizations.

STORYMAKING: TURNING STORIES INTO MEANINGFUL DATA

To transform the stories into valuable insights for analysis and assessment, you can employ a straightforward method based on the principles developed by facilitator and story activist Mary Alice Arthur. The method is called Collective Story Harvesting.[124]

This model empowers participants to actively engage with the stories, taking on the role of meaning creators rather than passive listeners. Consequently, the “harvest” is the collective outcome of group analysis, wherein participants unearth not only the implicit meanings within individual stories but also the connections between them.[125]

Here is how it works.

Imagine you have a story circle with five participants. One participant acts as the storyteller, and the other four listen attentively. However, they can transition from being passive “story recipients” to active “harvesters” of meaning.

The role of a harvester involves extracting meaning from the content of the story. This role might initially seem intimidating to the participants, but it is actually quite straightforward. Harvesters provide feedback on the story they have just heard. For example:

• What struck me most in this story is…

• Hearing this story made me think about the primary change, which is…

• This story prompted me to contemplate…

• Following this story, I now believe that the project contributes not only to … but also to …

• Having heard this story, I now think we could do more, or it might assist us in…

To conclude your story circle session, consider this approach: In a group of five people, you’ll have five stories. After the circle has been completed and all the stories have been shared, pose a question that guides participants to reflect on what insights or lessons they have extracted from the stories. For instance: “What unexpected outcomes of the program have you discerned?” or “What novel solutions do you now envision?”

Next, ask each participant, including the storyteller, to record one significant idea they had gleaned from each story on individual sticky notes. This will yield five stickers for each participant. Repeat this process for the stories shared by each member of the circle. In the end, the group will have accumulated a total of 25 stickers, each bearing a key idea.

Encourage the participants to arrange their stickers on a flipchart or an online whiteboard. Instruct them to cluster the stickers based on common topics or ideas and then identify the overarching themes that unify the notes in each group.

Conclude the session with open-ended questions to facilitate discussion and reflection, such as: “What are the major themes that have emerged from our analysis?” “What aspects of what you heard surprised you?” “What new insights do these findings provide about the project?” “What action steps or further exploration do you believe these insights point toward?”

WHAT ELSE DO STORIES HELP YOU DO?

Stories can be used to do more than just summarize program performance or gather data on project outcomes. They can be a powerful tool for nonprofit organizations in various ways:

1. Cultivating organizational culture and engagement

For instance, guiding questions such as “Share a moment when you felt proud of a colleague’s actions or your team’s achievements…” unearth hidden gems — the finest examples of your organization’s everyday endeavors that may have otherwise gone unnoticed.

2. Presenting projects to potential partners and investors

The following guiding questions can be helpful in locating the right stories:

• Describe a challenge you encountered, that made you think: “I may not be able to change this for myself or for this person, but I will strive to prevent others from facing this”, and that thought later materialized in your project. What was happening?

• Tell us about a case in which you clearly felt that you just had to make a difference in other people’s lives, and that change became the foundation for your project. What was happening?

3. Exploring your development journey alongside your team

• Recall an experience from your work where you felt that you didn’t just go outside your comfort zone but actually ventured into uncharted waters. What was happening? How did you muster the courage to take that step?

• Think of an incident that made you feel you were moving in the right direction, after believing you were in a stalemate. What brought forth the sense of movement? What was happening?

4. Strengthening team