Our Approach
How we build meaningful systems change, together
At Good Work Group, we don’t think of our most pressing issues as simply a “problem that needs to be fixed.” We think about them as an opportunity to build systems that weren’t working for people in the first place.
Transformative change doesn’t happen in a bubble or a vacuum or only at the legislature or Capitol.
It happens when all three core values are connected—in our hearts, minds, and actions, and in our perspectives, practices, and policies.
The need for a whole-systems approach
Good Work Group is a systems change and communications consultancy led by Molly Priesmeyer, a former and award-winning investigative journalist who began to increasingly recognize the media’s inability to spotlight critical issues and hold systems accountable.
She saw this as an opportunity to work with organizations to build systems change from the ground up: to use the core tenets of qualitative research and investigative journalism to ask the important questions, gather valuable insights, center the voices and goals of marginalized communities, and design targeted strategies and advocacy communications for more just, equitable systems.
We know we can’t build better systems without being informed, intentional, and strategic.
This is why we take a unique, holistic approach to help organizations maximize their mission impact—designing qualitative research and the impact strategies, frameworks, and tools they need to shift policies, practices, and perceptions and build evidence-informed solutions that honor more people and the planet.
Why Narrative Change Matters
Narrative change and narraative power allow us to change our neural pathways, hearts, and mindsets around key issues and create meaningful and powerful change together.
Powerful social change campaigns inspire new audiences. They help you build a coalition for your cause or campaign. They help you influence the community to take action alongside you. And they help us build more just, equitable systems—in our schools, workplaces, government, and communities.
When we deepen knowledge, understanding, and capacity, we can turn missions into critical movements for transformative change.
Why Now?
Without shifting mental models and mindsets, progressive policy changes are in danger of failing.
“The Affordable Care Act (ACA) is one of the largest shifts in policy and flow of resources this country has seen in decades….…but ACA’s supporters did not successfully instill a new public narrative about why America’s uninsured deserve access to health care or the ways in which broader health care coverage strengthen the global competitiveness of the U.S. to benefit all citizens…This is why the ACA’s achievements remain at risk.” —From the Water of Systems Change