When you’re taking on big challenges, making any change can feel overwhelming. Where do you start? There are so many approaches you could take– which one is most likely to work? The Six Spheres of Influence can help you figure it out.
Successful public interest campaigns work across a combination of six spheres to achieve their goals. Identifying which spheres to work in is a critical strategic decision. It requires you to identify what you might be able to do in each sphere and whether you have the resources to do it well. It requires you to think about how an action or change in one sphere might drive change in one of the others.
“Mapping the spheres allows changemakers to understand the larger context of the issue they are working on and see how systems shape the outcomes they are trying to change.”
Ann Searight Christiano
The Six Spheres of Influence
Policy: The formal laws, regulations or official governing systems of a government, corporation, or organization. This sphere is often activated, but as we know, it’s hard to govern hearts and minds. While policy is an enticing and common focus for social change efforts, a policy change that isn’t implemented, enforced or supported by cultural norms is unlikely to be effective. Many states have laws banning texting and driving, but it’s common to see people holding their phones while they’re driving.
Media: This sphere includes traditional news outlets, social media platforms, and the films, TV shows and books that shape our perspectives and values. News coverage is associated with agenda-setting theory and perpetuates perceptions of norms. For changemakers, exploring the issues they care about through a media lens can help them understand how others see an issue and identify ways to connect to what their actors are already thinking about.
Communities of influence: Communities of influence are the people or organizations that shape others’ perceptions of issues. They include associations, trade groups, scholars, think tanks, faith groups, social influencers and aspirational figures specific to the issue. A vast and complex community of influence exists around every social issue. However, organizations and leaders rarely align around a shared position on a social issue. For example, the National Rifle Association and Moms Demand Action are both active on gun issues, but visit their websites, and you’ll find they’re advocating for very different approaches.
The Market and Industry: Businesses and sectors can advance or hinder positive change, as do consumers’ interactions with them. Economic factors can heavily influence decisions, particularly if perceptions of threat or scarcity exist. Companies and market forces can also shape perceptions of the importance of an issue through their business decisions or concerted efforts. When CVS refused to sell tobacco cigarettes, they made an important statement on the incongruity of a health store selling known cancer-causing products.
Activism: This is collective action by an organized group of people supporting or fighting a specific policy or behavior. In most instances, activism focuses on systems of power like governments or corporations to pressure them to serve the greater good.
Social Norms: Social norms are our perceptions of what people we see as being like us do. This phenomenon aligns with our human desire to fit in and avoid alienation. Social norming efforts are most successful when changemakers try to reinforce norms or behaviors like saving water or vaccination.
These spheres give public interest communicators a way of thinking about the different levers they can pull to drive change and how they interact and intersect.
Which spheres should changemakers focus on?
This question is best answered when changemakers map each sphere of influence. Mapping the spheres allows changemakers to understand the larger context of the issue they are working on and see how systems shape the outcomes they are trying to change. It also helps changemakers think about where they might create a change in one or more spheres that leads to bigger change in another.
Here are some questions that can help:
- Which sphere are you working in? You may not be working in any of them yet. But if you’re working for a non-profit or foundation, you’re in the communities of influence sphere. If you’re a journalist or blogger, you’re working in the media sphere. If you are a government employee or elected official, you’re working in the policy sphere. The sphere you’re working in now can help to define how you might work toward change in another sphere. Whether you’re working from inside a given sphere or outside a given sphere will shape your strategy and the resources you have to address a specific challenge or condition.
- What is happening in each sphere that might create favorable or unfavorable conditions for your campaign or issue? It’s always easier to join a conversation than to start one. Look for events or conditions you can join to engage your actors in your issue.
- Are paths to change closed off within a specific sphere? For example, existing laws may make it challenging to take a specific approach, or you may not have the skills or resources to work in a sphere.
- Do you have relationships, influence or resources within a sphere that might make it easier to drive change there? People who work on a cause that’s deeply important to them can lean into goals that may be far beyond what their resources can achieve. For changemakers and movement builders, it is critically important that they align their resources and goals. This can be done by taking a hard look at what they’ve got to work with.
- What is the role of opposition within a particular sphere? Opposition isn’t always a bad thing.
- What resources do you have available?
Tip for Changemakers
As you begin to develop your strategy, it’s helpful to be realistic about the resources you can bring to your cause. Identifying exactly what you have to work with can help you think more carefully about where those resources can make the most significant difference–and help you advocate for a specific path where you can truly make a difference or for additional resources to support a specific strategy.
Free Worksheet
Download and use the worksheet to learn more about each of the six spheres–you may discover additional resources or strengths you didn’t know you had.
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In a world overflowing with information (both helpful and harmful) even the most important data can get lost in the noise. That’s what we call “data’s demand problem.” The facts are out there, but who’s paying attention? We are here to help make sure the real, actionable information rises above the static. You’ll get straightforward guidance on crafting reports that actually get noticed—and used. Because let’s face it, data alone doesn’t drive change—people do. Let’s keep your insights from the data graveyard and make sure they’re alive and kicking where it matters.
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