New AKO Storytelling Institute report calls for more collaborative action between storytellers and activists for greater real-world impact

In today’s crisis filled news landscape, from the climate emergency to coverage of global elections and ongoing wars, the need for innovative solutions to some of the world’s most pressing problems has never been more prescient. As our news, media, and information ecosystems fragment, countering an increasingly polarised world seems more challenging than ever. Impact Storytelling: the Ecosystem, the Evidence and Possible Futures, a new milestone research report commissioned by the University of the Arts London’s (UAL) AKO Storytelling Institute, has been designed to be an essential resource for storytellers, creatives, researchers, and funders aiming to collaborate and harness the impact of storytelling for social change.

Impact Storytelling: the Ecosystem, the Evidence and Possible Futures maps the structure of the impact storytelling ecosystem both in the UK and internationally, identifying its key players, engaging with current live debates, and examining how to foster collaboration in a still fragmented field. The report acts as a call to arms for:

• Strengthening the UK impact storytelling ecosystem through integrated funding, leadership from marginalised communities, and investment in large-scale action over research, guided by principles of co-creation, anti-oppression, and decoloniality;
• Greater collaboration and integration across arts, media, tech, and social movements, supported by academic and interdisciplinary efforts, to significantly enhance the impact and credibility of the impact storytelling ecosystem;
• Further training and accredited courses across the impact storytelling ecosystem, including specialised training for roles like 'impact producers,' grassroots training, leadership coaching, and university-led programmes to formalise and standardise the field;
• And creating an essential online, user-friendly catalogue of research to consolidate existing knowledge, prevent duplication, and enhance accessibility.

UAL’s Storytelling Institute, part of the university’s Social Purpose Group, was established in October 2020 with the support of the AKO Foundation and has the mandate to ‘help artists and campaigners collaborate and lead change’. The institute’s successful pilot season has demonstrated the transformative effect of uniting campaigners and storytellers. Notably, a public event with actor Toby Jones delved into the impact of the ITV drama Mr Bates vs The Post Office on public awareness of a major miscarriage of justice.