Case Study
The Co-Created Story Project
Inspired passion for building authentic relationships and created ethical and trauma informed digital products
Project Details
Client: Options Community Services Society
Location: Surrey
Who we were working with: Options Community Services Immigrant Services Department, UBC Researcher Suzanne Huot from UBC Centre for Migration Studies
What we were addressing
As typical of service providers in the settlement sector, Managers and front-line staff at Options were frequently required to provide “success stories” or “compelling narratives” about their clients – for funder’s reports, proposals, marketing tools, or to raise public awareness about the clients they are serving. Staff felt unequipped to do so effectively, either because they didn’t think they had the writing skills, or, more often, with heavy case loads, they didn’t have the time. They expressed concern that given time constraints and logistic, they weren’t always able to check in with clients around the accuracy of a report. They were also uncertain how an honest reflection of how things were going would be received.
Inaccurate story-writing can lead to misperceptions about workloads, damaging stereotypes about clients, and wasted resources based on misinformation upon which programs are funded and developed.
How we were addressing it
Through conversations and pre-workshop surveys, we gained insights from leadership and front line staff to understand the context, goals and particular challenges they were facing in creating client stories. We then provided workshops, coaching sessions and tools to guide staff in employing ethical and trauma-informed practices, developing writing skills, and creating digital projects to co-create stories with their clients.
Outcomes
Eight Authentic Stories
Front line staff worked with clients to develop compelling stories in a variety of media, including written stories, videos, podcasts and art-based project, shining light on the challenges and resilience of the clients
The Co-Created Story Toolkit: Tools and Guidelines for Co-Creating Stories with your Clients
Click above to view the co-created story toolkit
Webinar
Webinar about the Co-created Story process. Click on the heading watch the webinar
Testimonial
