_____Click on the pictures
below to see examples of how we've used story for change.
_____(The
silver right arrow reveals more stories).
Newspaper: Arctic Ecosystem Research
Stick-man Animation: Child Care
Video: Rwanda & Post Traumatic Stress
Video: Early GMO Research
Workshops: Strategic Planning
Research: Measuring Satisfaction & Usability
Newsletter: Coast Guard
Video: Endangered Species Conservation
Stick-man Slideshows: eCampus Alberta
Video: Space Medicine Stories
Video: Healing with Animals
Outreach: Crime Reduction
Client: Department of Fisheries and
Oceans / Canwest
Media.
Project assignment: Enhance public understanding of the delicate nature of the Arctic ecosystem and need for continued research to manage it effectively in the face of a coming gas development boom.
Approach: Spent a week on board a research ship in the Beaufort Sea, following the work of leading Canadian scientists. Wrote Fragile Arctic, a full page newspaper science feature that was published across Canada. The piece told of the struggles of the crew to complete their work in perilous conditions - and of the potential for disaster if the fragile arctic ecosystem is upset by development.
Excerpt:
As the Canadian Coast Guard ship Nahidik grates against a ragged sheet of ice in the Beaufort Sea, Capt. Adriaan Kooiman spins the wheel and mutters: 'I'm not supposed to be in here. This is big ice.'
The others on the bridge say nothing. They know he's right, but no one wants to turn back. All are veteran Arctic researchers, who have come north for three weeks as part of a government research team to study the potential effects of the coming oil and gas boom on the local marine environment. So far, unseasonably thick ice cover, fog and gales have scuppered much of their work. With just a day or two of valuable ship time left, they're anxious to reach their destination -- an abandoned underwater drill island called Issungnak, 85 kilometres northwest of Tuktoyaktuk.
For three hours, they hover on the bridge, watching Kooiman ease the Nahidik through the ice as if she were swimming through broken glass. The old ship is not an icebreaker -- if she hits a floe at speed, it'll slice her thin hull wide open.
Read the full article as printed in the Calgary Herald's Business section.
Project assignment: Enhance public understanding of the delicate nature of the Arctic ecosystem and need for continued research to manage it effectively in the face of a coming gas development boom.
Approach: Spent a week on board a research ship in the Beaufort Sea, following the work of leading Canadian scientists. Wrote Fragile Arctic, a full page newspaper science feature that was published across Canada. The piece told of the struggles of the crew to complete their work in perilous conditions - and of the potential for disaster if the fragile arctic ecosystem is upset by development.
Excerpt:
As the Canadian Coast Guard ship Nahidik grates against a ragged sheet of ice in the Beaufort Sea, Capt. Adriaan Kooiman spins the wheel and mutters: 'I'm not supposed to be in here. This is big ice.'
The others on the bridge say nothing. They know he's right, but no one wants to turn back. All are veteran Arctic researchers, who have come north for three weeks as part of a government research team to study the potential effects of the coming oil and gas boom on the local marine environment. So far, unseasonably thick ice cover, fog and gales have scuppered much of their work. With just a day or two of valuable ship time left, they're anxious to reach their destination -- an abandoned underwater drill island called Issungnak, 85 kilometres northwest of Tuktoyaktuk.
For three hours, they hover on the bridge, watching Kooiman ease the Nahidik through the ice as if she were swimming through broken glass. The old ship is not an icebreaker -- if she hits a floe at speed, it'll slice her thin hull wide open.
Read the full article as printed in the Calgary Herald's Business section.
Client: Western Canada Family Child Care
Association of BC
Project assignment: Create a pilot for a series of learning videos to help would-be child care providers learn about running a family child care. The course offers qualifying training for providers seeking a license.
Approach: Created an original dramatic concept based on two family child care operators - Thelma and Louise - and a four-year-old boy in their shared care. Dillon, the boy, is the expert on child care. Through his adventures and insight, Dillon stimulates discussion and learning among participants in the 36 hour Good Beginnings course. The rest of the series is slated to go into production in 2009.
You can watch the video here.
Project assignment: Create a pilot for a series of learning videos to help would-be child care providers learn about running a family child care. The course offers qualifying training for providers seeking a license.
Approach: Created an original dramatic concept based on two family child care operators - Thelma and Louise - and a four-year-old boy in their shared care. Dillon, the boy, is the expert on child care. Through his adventures and insight, Dillon stimulates discussion and learning among participants in the 36 hour Good Beginnings course. The rest of the series is slated to go into production in 2009.
You can watch the video here.
Client: Department of National
Defence (LGen Roméo Dallaire -
retired).
Project assignment: Raise awareness of the need to acknowledge and treat Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder in the Canadian Armed Forces. Dallaire looked me in the eye at our first meeting and said, "If you don't make the audience cry, you've failed."
Approach: Collected the very personal and moving stories of Forces personnel who served during the genocide in Rwanda, (including Dallaire), on camera in a safe and respectful atmosphere. Blended them with actual video footage shot during and after the event, in a documentary format. Several interviewees broke down during the process but insisted on continuing the interview. The final film was mandatory viewing for all CAF personnel. It aired on the CBC and eventually triggered several significant program changes at DND to both prevent and treat PTSD. And, in the end, many viewers wept, including me.
Here are two clips. Contact us if you'd like to see the entire story.
Project assignment: Raise awareness of the need to acknowledge and treat Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder in the Canadian Armed Forces. Dallaire looked me in the eye at our first meeting and said, "If you don't make the audience cry, you've failed."
Approach: Collected the very personal and moving stories of Forces personnel who served during the genocide in Rwanda, (including Dallaire), on camera in a safe and respectful atmosphere. Blended them with actual video footage shot during and after the event, in a documentary format. Several interviewees broke down during the process but insisted on continuing the interview. The final film was mandatory viewing for all CAF personnel. It aired on the CBC and eventually triggered several significant program changes at DND to both prevent and treat PTSD. And, in the end, many viewers wept, including me.
Here are two clips. Contact us if you'd like to see the entire story.
Client: Discovery Channel
/
University of
Saskatchewan.
Project assignment: Increase awareness of incredible research in early genetic modification work in the agbiotech research hotbed of Saskatoon.
Approach: Wrote and directed an hour-long documentary as part of the Forbidden Places series. The stories helped many viewers build a basic understanding of what GMO's are, what it means to move genes around and change them, and what some of the potential benefits and risks might be. The program's Director of Photography, Karl Roeder, was nominated for a Gemini Award for cinematography.
Here's a clip. Contact us if you'd like to see the entire story.
Project assignment: Increase awareness of incredible research in early genetic modification work in the agbiotech research hotbed of Saskatoon.
Approach: Wrote and directed an hour-long documentary as part of the Forbidden Places series. The stories helped many viewers build a basic understanding of what GMO's are, what it means to move genes around and change them, and what some of the potential benefits and risks might be. The program's Director of Photography, Karl Roeder, was nominated for a Gemini Award for cinematography.
Here's a clip. Contact us if you'd like to see the entire story.
Client: SAIT (Southern Alberta Institute
of Technology)
Project assignment: Work with faculty to develop and implement an institution-specific, shared vision of teaching excellence.
Approach: Blended story-based research and Appreciative Inquiry. Over 200 instructors worked together to share stories of Teaching Excellence, then analyzed them to identify elements of excellence. Based on these findings, they went on to create visions and stories for a future of Teaching Excellence. These findings went to Executive Management Council to inform the polytechnic's strategic plan.
Read the Final Report.
Sample story of teaching excellence (shared by an electrical instructor):
"I had this amazing shop teacher in high school who wanted us to understand what would happen if some parts on an engine were connected wrong. So, to make the topic relevant, he set up a demo where he did things incorrectly. He ended up setting off a small, controlled explosion with a series loud bangs. His intent was to grab the attention of a room of 16 year old boys - us, his students. And it worked! Rather than just saying "Don't do things this way - it's wrong" he put some weight to the topic, made us see the consequences. Twenty years later I still remember his safety lessons - and I still have all my fingers!"
Project assignment: Work with faculty to develop and implement an institution-specific, shared vision of teaching excellence.
Approach: Blended story-based research and Appreciative Inquiry. Over 200 instructors worked together to share stories of Teaching Excellence, then analyzed them to identify elements of excellence. Based on these findings, they went on to create visions and stories for a future of Teaching Excellence. These findings went to Executive Management Council to inform the polytechnic's strategic plan.
Read the Final Report.
Sample story of teaching excellence (shared by an electrical instructor):
"I had this amazing shop teacher in high school who wanted us to understand what would happen if some parts on an engine were connected wrong. So, to make the topic relevant, he set up a demo where he did things incorrectly. He ended up setting off a small, controlled explosion with a series loud bangs. His intent was to grab the attention of a room of 16 year old boys - us, his students. And it worked! Rather than just saying "Don't do things this way - it's wrong" he put some weight to the topic, made us see the consequences. Twenty years later I still remember his safety lessons - and I still have all my fingers!"
Client: BCCampus
Project assignment: Develop a new method of measuring satisfaction and usability for this post-secondary agency's online portal that could be used by non-geeks for on-going evaluation.
Approach: Blended story-based research and online data recording. Users of the portal came together and shared stories of excellence in customer service and online transactions. They then developed their own definition of satisfaction, based on their stories. They went on to use the portal and their transactions were recorded by easy-to-use software. Afterwards, they came together again to share stories of their experiences using the portal. They used their definition of satisfaction to evaluate their experiences. The researchers were able to verify their findings by analyzing the data the software collected. The participants then went on to use story as the framework to describe their visions of what they'd like their future experiences using the portal to be like.
Quote from one participant after sharing the story of her online experience:
“I find that if the site is difficult to navigate and I’m running around like a rat in a maze to get that crumb of information that I’m looking for and I have to dance around to do it – what the hell is the course going to be like?”
Read the full report here.
Project assignment: Develop a new method of measuring satisfaction and usability for this post-secondary agency's online portal that could be used by non-geeks for on-going evaluation.
Approach: Blended story-based research and online data recording. Users of the portal came together and shared stories of excellence in customer service and online transactions. They then developed their own definition of satisfaction, based on their stories. They went on to use the portal and their transactions were recorded by easy-to-use software. Afterwards, they came together again to share stories of their experiences using the portal. They used their definition of satisfaction to evaluate their experiences. The researchers were able to verify their findings by analyzing the data the software collected. The participants then went on to use story as the framework to describe their visions of what they'd like their future experiences using the portal to be like.
Quote from one participant after sharing the story of her online experience:
“I find that if the site is difficult to navigate and I’m running around like a rat in a maze to get that crumb of information that I’m looking for and I have to dance around to do it – what the hell is the course going to be like?”
Read the full report here.
Client: Canadian Coast
Guard
Project assignment: Improve residents' understanding of the science and process behind a complicated risk assessment of the Pacific coast lightstations at which they live and grow food.
Approach: Wrote several newsletters and communications products that used a story-based approach to put the work into context and make it easily understandable.
You can read the project backgrounder here.
Project assignment: Improve residents' understanding of the science and process behind a complicated risk assessment of the Pacific coast lightstations at which they live and grow food.
Approach: Wrote several newsletters and communications products that used a story-based approach to put the work into context and make it easily understandable.
You can read the project backgrounder here.
Photo
credit: Jim Wispinsky
(Title photo: "Amy Lemur")
Client: Discovery Channel
/
East Kootenay Conservation
Program
Project assignment: Raise awareness of the need for conservation to protect endangered badgers in the East Kootenay valley.
Approach: Wrote and directed a half-hour documentary featuring the tireless efforts of biologist Nancy Newhouse to collect basic data about the badger population. Without data, nothing could be done to protect them. Badgers are pretty tricky to study (and film). They're scarce, nocturnal and spend most of their lives underground - all of which makes for some great storytelling! This is one episode in the popular Champions of the Wild series, produced by Omni Films.
You can see two clips here. Contact us if you'd like to see the entire story.
Project assignment: Raise awareness of the need for conservation to protect endangered badgers in the East Kootenay valley.
Approach: Wrote and directed a half-hour documentary featuring the tireless efforts of biologist Nancy Newhouse to collect basic data about the badger population. Without data, nothing could be done to protect them. Badgers are pretty tricky to study (and film). They're scarce, nocturnal and spend most of their lives underground - all of which makes for some great storytelling! This is one episode in the popular Champions of the Wild series, produced by Omni Films.
You can see two clips here. Contact us if you'd like to see the entire story.
Client: eCampus Alberta
/
SAIT (Southern Alberta Institute
of Technology)
Project assignment: Develop a series of original, accessible, sharable, engaging learning objects to improve post-secondary faculty's use of technology in their own teaching practices.
Approach: Developed an original dramatic storyline for six stickman learning parables. The series follows the development of “Your Home - Your Way”, a fictional, new school that teaches would-be home builders everything they need to know about planning, contracting and building their own homes. At least, that’s the school’s mission. But as expert builder and best-selling author Norm Gustavson and his techno-savvy daughter Marcie discover in the series, building castles in quicksand is easier than starting an online/offline school based on Norm’s best-selling book. The slideshows will be published in Flash on the SAIT site.
Here is one of the slideshows. You can see all six unpublished versions here.
Project assignment: Develop a series of original, accessible, sharable, engaging learning objects to improve post-secondary faculty's use of technology in their own teaching practices.
Approach: Developed an original dramatic storyline for six stickman learning parables. The series follows the development of “Your Home - Your Way”, a fictional, new school that teaches would-be home builders everything they need to know about planning, contracting and building their own homes. At least, that’s the school’s mission. But as expert builder and best-selling author Norm Gustavson and his techno-savvy daughter Marcie discover in the series, building castles in quicksand is easier than starting an online/offline school based on Norm’s best-selling book. The slideshows will be published in Flash on the SAIT site.
Here is one of the slideshows. You can see all six unpublished versions here.
This page requires Adobe Flash Player to
display some elements.
Client: Discovery Health Channel
US
Project assignment: Share the stories of how technological advancements in the space program change life on earth.
Approach: Wrote, directed and produced two hour-long specials in co-operation with NASA and the Canadian Space Agency. Told ten stories in all, including this one about a man whose prosthetic arm uses the same robotic technologies as Robonaut, a sophisticated humanoid robot being developed for use on dangerous space missions.
You can see a clip here. Contact us if you'd like to see the entire story.
Project assignment: Share the stories of how technological advancements in the space program change life on earth.
Approach: Wrote, directed and produced two hour-long specials in co-operation with NASA and the Canadian Space Agency. Told ten stories in all, including this one about a man whose prosthetic arm uses the same robotic technologies as Robonaut, a sophisticated humanoid robot being developed for use on dangerous space missions.
You can see a clip here. Contact us if you'd like to see the entire story.
Client: Discovery Health
Channel
Project assignment: Gain support for the proven, unexpected health benefits of animal companionship for seniors.
Approach: Wrote and directed a half hour documentary as part of the Healing with Animals series. Archie, featured in the clip here, is known as the Bird Man at the assisted-care facility where he lives. He knows a secret or two about birds and credits them with keeping him alive.
You can see the entire story here. (Please be patient - it's a big file).
Project assignment: Gain support for the proven, unexpected health benefits of animal companionship for seniors.
Approach: Wrote and directed a half hour documentary as part of the Healing with Animals series. Archie, featured in the clip here, is known as the Bird Man at the assisted-care facility where he lives. He knows a secret or two about birds and credits them with keeping him alive.
You can see the entire story here. (Please be patient - it's a big file).
Client: Simon Fraser
University / City of Surrey
/
Canadian Council on
Learning
Project assignment: Engage multi-sectoral partners in a knowledge exchange process to generate solutions in support of the City's Crime Reduction Strategy.
Approach: Facilitated an on-going community outreach project with youth-at-risk, academics, RCMP, community support workers and municipal representatives. Used story to surface underlying issues that challenge youth-at-risk and identify strategies that have helped such youth become successful in life. Built on these findings to create the foundation for an innovative youth outreach program for youth, by youth.
See the Final Call for Community Partners.
Project assignment: Engage multi-sectoral partners in a knowledge exchange process to generate solutions in support of the City's Crime Reduction Strategy.
Approach: Facilitated an on-going community outreach project with youth-at-risk, academics, RCMP, community support workers and municipal representatives. Used story to surface underlying issues that challenge youth-at-risk and identify strategies that have helped such youth become successful in life. Built on these findings to create the foundation for an innovative youth outreach program for youth, by youth.
See the Final Call for Community Partners.
c.o.l.b.y.
community outreach led by youth 
