Adjusting Our Focus: Current Communication Practices and Patterns in the Criminal Justice Sector

HOUSTON INSTITUTE AND FRAMEWORKS INC. RELEASE FIELD FRAME ANALYSIS MAPPING COMMUNICATION PATTERNS AMONG INFLUENTIAL CRIMINAL JUSTICE REFORM ORGANIZATIONS
February 21, 2014

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The Charles Hamilton Houston Institute for Race and Justice, with support from FrameWorks, Inc. released a Field Frame Analysis today entitled Adjusting Our Focus. This report examines current communication practices and patterns among influential organizations working to promote criminal justice reforms. It is part of a larger multi-year project being conducted by the two organizations. The long-term goal of this project is to develop evidence-based strategies to communicate about the challenges facing America’s criminal justice system and the reforms necessary to make it more just and equitable.

A Field Frame Analysis captures patterns of communications and maps networks of influential organizations within a field. Since influential organizations act as “gatekeepers” for the field and shape the direction of programs and policies, the ways in which they communicate—language, frames, topic priorities and word choices—have direct implications on whether and how an issue will be more widely adopted and on the solutions that are proposed.

Click here for the full report.