Resources attached:

• Guide to Framing Issues by Julie Pratt. Below is a synopsis of the process that can be used as a template for an issue framing action plan.
• Guide to Framing Issues adapted for framing the issue of Education in Iowa
• Field notes from American Library Association Senior Associate Executive Director Mary Ghikas prepared for librarians after she attended an issue framing workshop at DuPage.
• Memo to Issue Framing Working Group by Ed Arnone.
  

Synopsis of the Framing Process

Getting Ready to Frame

➢ Assemble the framing team and interviewers. The framing team should include 6-8 experienced members of the NIF network from across the state. The team will develop the questions to ask a wide range of stakeholders. In addition, the team will recruit additional researchers to conduct interviews.
Action plan:
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Conducting the Research

➢ Interviews and conversations. The framing team along with the researchers will conduct with community folks including experts, officeholders and everyday people. It may also include results of focus groups that probed for what bothers people most and what appeals most.
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➢ Factual information – This should include local and national statistics. The point of the data is not to overwhelm the participants or to make them experts on the issue, but to give context for the dialogue and to explain why the issue should be discussed.
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➢ Political rhetoric and public talk What conversations have taken place? These can be culled from newspapers, magazines, and other sources. What stories are people telling about their experience with the issue?
Action Plan:
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➢ The latest theories on how to attack the problem. What ideas have been discussed by the experts and policy-makers?
Action Plan
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➢ Polling results
Action Plan
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Develop the Framing

A Day of Framing (7.5 – 10.5 hours):

➢ Identify the concerns (2-3 hours)

➢ Grouping the concerns and perspectives (2 hours)

➢ Honing in on the problem (1 hour)

➢ Recognizing the tensions (.5)

➢ Outlining the benefits, costs and drawbacks of each approach (1-2 hours)

➢ Listing the actions and trade-offs (1-2 hours)


Write the framing



Test the framing
➢ Focus groups

➢ Conduct test forums

Refine the framing

Conduct forums