Our Impact
A Cultural Strategy Initiative
The Democracy Story Unit is a cultural strategy initiative. We champion transformative storytelling to support public interest media that helps us reimagine what we want democracy to look like and negotiate a new social contract between people and governments centering equity, plurality, and justice.
A field of practice that centers artists, storytellers, media makers and cultural influencers as agents of social change… Over the long term, cultural strategy cracks open, reimagines and rewrites fiercely-held narratives, transforming the shared spaces and norms that make up culture — helping to shape opinions, beliefs and behaviors that lead to electoral, legislative and policy wins.
Riki Conrey, Liz Manne.
"Conversation about Cultural Strategy"
Our Approach
To Understanding Impact
In addition to grant making for non-fiction storytellers, we help them develop impact strategies and connect with allies beyond the media industry and across civil society.
Our preoccupation goes beyond the right of artists to self-expression to the right of citizens to access public interest media - and to strengthening the global media ecosystem that we need to make all of that possible.
As we face the duality of the climate and democratic crises globally, we believe the world needs more equity, more plurality, and more just democracies. We need a negotiation of a new social contract between people and the state, one that can lead to a more abundant future for all.
Over 20 years of helping articulate and develop field practice, Doc Society has evolved methodologies to both make impact and deliver impact evaluations. We've undertaken a transformative journey to refine our approach to impact, blending lessons from our legacy at Doc Society with the needs of the communities we serve.
Dive into these impact video case studies and witness the evidence of the impact independent media can achieve:
An Insignificant Man
Directed by Khushboo Ranka & Vinay Shukla
Pushing the bounds of free expression and strengthening democracy in India
Arica
Directed by Lars Edman and William Johansson
Chileans fighting back against a mining giant after dumping of toxic waste
Councilwoman
Directed by Margo Guernsey
Dominican housekeeper in a Providence hotel who wins a seat in City Council
Give Up Tomorrow
Directed by Michael Collins,
produced by Marty Syjuco
Miscarriage of justice in the Philippines
9.70
Directed by Victoria Solano
The story of a group of farmers from which the Colombian Government seized and destroyed 70 tons of rice
No Fire Zone
Directed by Callum Macrae
Holding the Sri Lankan government accountable for war crimes during a hidden war
Last Men in Aleppo
Directed by Feras Fayyad
Follows the lives of three White Helmets during the Syrian civil war
For more case studies
go to the Impact Feild Guide
Our Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning Framework (MEL)
To see examples of some of the MEL frameworks we have developed at Doc Society go to the Climate Story Unit Impact page
Dive into the details with our comprehensive chart, exploring specific activities and KPIs for each program and activity.
On making impact with storytelling as a practitioner
The Impact Field Guide & Toolkit is a free online resource designed to help anyone working with storytelling make an even greater impact.
It represents the accumulated insights of hundreds of practitioners and campaigners over the past two decades. Launched originally back in 2014 in English, the Guide is available in 8 different languages with Russian coming online shortly. Including one of the most comprehensive libraries of impact case studies. Today there are over 91k users based in 100 countries using the Impact Field Guide.
They are individual storytellers and impact producers, campaigners and community organisers working on specific projects but also using the tool or training and professional development. Version 3 is currently in the works and being co-edited by a consortium of international storytellers and impact producers and will be ready to go live in early 2025. Help yourself and pass it on!
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