Building Storytelling Capacity for Global Organizations *
THE CHALLENGE
Many organizations working in international development face the shared challenge of communicating complex, technical work to a wider audience. While detailed reports and documentation are essential for transparency and accountability, they’re often not crafted to engage donors, partners, policymakers, or civil society.
Competing priorities and limited resources can make it difficult for teams to create content regularly across multiple platforms. As a result, meaningful achievements sometimes remain buried in reports, limiting their potential to inspire support or action.
THE SOLUTION
Over the past several years, I’ve partnered with international organizations to co-create storytelling strategies that bring technical work to life through accessible, audience-friendly narratives.
Together, we’ve designed clear and adaptable templates for impact stories, built around a consistent structure: outlining the challenge, describing the collaborative solution, and highlighting tangible outcomes. This format makes complex work understandable without oversimplifying it.
A key part of this approach has been delivering storytelling workshops for both staff and regional partners. These hands-on sessions give project managers practical tools to identify, shape, and share their stories — regardless of their communications background.
By equipping technical teams with user-friendly resources like workbooks, case studies, and step-by-step guides, we’ve collaboratively helped embed storytelling into day-to-day operations in a sustainable way.
THE RESULTS
With a structured approach in place, organizations are able to elevate their communications and amplify their impact:
- Stories clearly illustrate progress and outcomes across regions
- A steady flow of content strengthens website visibility and SEO
- Visual and partner-driven stories gain traction on social media
- At conferences and events, stories help to showcase meaningful impact
This kind of capacity-building empowers teams to communicate more confidently, share their successes more widely, and sustain storytelling efforts over time.
If your organization is looking to strengthen its storytelling capacity in a practical, cost-effective way, feel free to get in touch! I’d be glad to explore how we can bring your work to life.
* Disclaimer: This post shares general reflections based on my experience working across the development sector. It is intended to promote dialogue and improved practice, and does not refer to any specific organization.
PROJECT DETAILS
CLIENT
Multiple clients
CATEGORY
Storytelling, Training
