The FrameWorks Institute is a nonprofit think tank that advances the mission-driven sector’s capacity to frame the public discourse about social and scientific issues. The organization’s signature approach, Strategic Frame Analysis®, offers empirical guidance on what to say, how to say it, and what to leave unsaid.

FrameWorks designs, conducts, and publishes multi-method, multi-disciplinary framing research to prepare experts and advocates to expand their constituencies, to build public will, and to further public understanding. Over the past two decades, FrameWorks’ social science research has grown to a database of more than 400,000 participants and 400 research studies. The organization has investigated the communications aspects of over 40 social issues, with significant bodies of work on early childhood development, aging, climate and ocean disruption, and numerous public health issues.

To make sure this research drives social change, FrameWorks supports partners in reframing, working alongside leading funders, advocates, and scientists who are engaging the public on our most critical social issues. A team of strategists and trainers builds partners’ framing fluency, designs and delivers high-impact learning experiences for nonprofit professionals, and helps to apply sophisticated research to communications strategy and messaging. FrameWorks keynote presentations and workshops are highly sought after – the organization appears at an average of four events each week – and staff regularly contribute fresh thinking to the mission-driven sector through essays, online columns, and other thought leadership efforts.

FrameWorks was founded in 1999. In 2015, the organization was one of nine nonprofits worldwide to receive the MacArthur Award for Creative and Effective Institutions. In 2019, FrameWorks is marking its 20th anniversary with a year-long exploration of the importance of explanation.