Future Narratives Lab

What Future Narratives Lab does

Future Narratives Lab (legal entity: Narratives Lab CIC) is a UK-registered non-profit Company Limited by Guarantee, founded in 2020 and headquartered at 258 Kingsland Road in East London. The organisation operates as a research and strategy consultancy that helps civil society organisations, NGOs, coalitions, and campaign groups analyse, develop, and test counter-narratives on entrenched social issues including climate, food systems, land reform, economic justice, education, AI, mining, and deregulation.

The Lab's core technology is a five-level narrative taxonomy — Stories & Opinion, Collective Agendas, Operating Assumptions, Mental Models, and Identities/Values/Worldviews — operationalised through a three-stage methodology: Narrative Mapping (desk research and stakeholder interviews to chart the narrative landscape), Intervention Design (developing counter-approaches), and Message Testing (survey-based testing with target audiences and AI-simulated avatars representing profiled personas). Outputs are typically published messaging guides, briefing papers, narrative maps, and bespoke training programmes.

The business model is project-based professional services. The primary revenue stream is commissioned project work priced per engagement with civil society organisations and coalitions; a secondary stream is paid training (e.g., the Countering Deregulation Narrative Power Lab), priced on a sliding scale of €350–€950 per organisation. The Lab is explicitly non-profit with no disclosed external grant funding, relies on direct commissioned engagements and content-led inbound (website, newsletter, social, podcasts, public events, published guides), and serves a customer base of European NGOs, coalitions, and academic institutions.

Name

Future Narratives Lab

Legal name

Narratives Lab CIC

Website

https://futurenarrativeslab.org

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Future Narratives Lab is a London-based non-profit narrative research and strategy consultancy that helps European civil society organisations, NGOs, and coalitions analyse, develop, and empirically test counter-narratives on climate, economic justice, land, food, and education issues.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Narrative Strategy Consulting

NAICS

Research and Development in the Social Sciences and Humanities (54172), Research and Development in the Social Sciences and Humanities (541720)

SIC

Services-Management Consulting Services (8742)

akta.pro primary industry

Data Storytelling & Collaborative Analytics (HDAEAMAJ)

Keywords

• Narrative strategy consulting
• Social change research
• Messaging guide development
• Counter-narrative analysis
• Coalition narrative training

Headquarters

HQ city

London

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Commissioned Project Work: The primary revenue stream comes from commissioned projects where civil society organisations, NGOs, and coalitions engage the Lab to conduct narrative research, develop messaging guides, and deliver workshops. Projects are typically scoped and priced per engagement, with the Lab working in partnership with the commissioning organisation throughout.
2. Training Workshops and Courses: The Lab delivers paid training workshops and structured courses (e.g., the Countering Deregulation Narrative Power Lab) to civil society organisations on a fee-for-service basis. Pricing uses a sliding scale based on organisation size, with places allocated on a first-come, first-served basis.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels10 records

Core offering

Future Narratives Lab provides narrative research, mapping, and intervention-design services to civil society organizations, NGOs, and coalitions. It develops empirically tested messaging guides, runs training workshops and cohort programmes (such as the Narrative Power Lab), and convenes stakeholders to address narrative barriers on social issues including climate, land reform, food systems, education, and economic justice. Outputs are delivered as commissioned projects and published reports/toolkits.

Product overview

Future Narratives Lab is a non-profit research and strategy consultancy offering narrative research and analysis, messaging guides, training workshops, and event convening services to help civil society organizations understand and shift dominant societal narratives. The core offering consists of narrative landscape analysis delivered through research reports and visual maps, supported by practical messaging toolkits for practitioners. The organization operates as a consultancy rather than a software product platform, with services structured around collaborative projects with partner organizations.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Narrative Research & Analysis Services In-depth analysis and mapping of existing societal narratives, identifying barriers and opportunities for social change, often delivered as research reports with visual representations of narrative landscapes. Target clients are NGOs, coalitions, and civil society organisations.
• Messaging Guides & Toolkits Practical toolkits providing key messaging principles, effective entry points for different audiences, clear do's and don'ts, narrative maps, and guidance for spokespeople, campaigners, think tanks, charities, and trade unions.
• Training Workshops Capacity-building workshops delivered online or in person for civil society organizations, covering narrative analysis, messaging development, AI communication, short-form video creation, and engaging conservative audiences.
• Narrative Power Lab Structured cohort-based programs for civil society leaders to develop, test, and implement new narrative approaches, including online sessions and practical experiments. Includes the Countering Deregulation Narrative Power Lab programme.
• Event Convening Bringing together stakeholders, campaigners, and experts for workshops and summits focused on shared narrative challenges and collective strategy development.

Quantifiable outcome

• Testing with over 1000 supporters showed 'Threat' and 'Solidarity' messaging approaches significantly shifted audience disagreement with urgency-based arguments against focusing on mining impacts
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers11 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

16 partnerships are on record, tiered core and secondary.

• Positive MoneycoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2026Collaboration on the Building Power against Dollar Dominance project. The Lab worked with Positive Money to map and analyse narratives driving currency politics, deliver an interactive workshop with 32 CSO leaders and experts at the New Economics Foundation office in London, and produce a Messaging Guide and Briefing Paper for Global North civil society organisations to spread awareness of US dollar dominance and support Global South reform efforts. An online launch event was held in July 2026 featuring expert speakers.
• The Good LobbysecondaryStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2026Collaboration on a webinar titled 'Countering the Narratives of Europe's Deregulation Wave' held in March 2026. The webinar explored narrative strategies to counter deregulation across Europe, with Daniel Stanley presenting analysis developed at the Finance for Society Forum in Brussels in December 2025.
• Methane Matters CoalitioncoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 April 2025The Lab ran an intensive hands-on workshop in Berlin in April 2025 for the Methane Matters coalition, exploring how to communicate methane-related issues effectively to conservative audiences across agriculture, energy, and waste sectors. The workshop included context analysis, audience profiling, narrative approach development, and testing with AI-generated avatars.
• London Mining NetworkcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024The Lab was commissioned by London Mining Network to develop and test new approaches to counter industry justifications for excessive transition mineral mining. The project involved narrative mapping, intervention design, and message testing with over 1000 supporters. The work culminated in a published Messaging Guide launched at an online event in March 2025. Partner organisations including War on Want, PLATFORM London, London Mining Network, and others supported the testing phase.
• New Economy Organisers Network (NEON)secondaryStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024Collaboration on an Artificial Intelligence Messaging Guide for progressive campaigners, setting out approaches to follow and approaches to avoid when communicating about AI. The guide was published as a downloadable resource on the Lab's website.
• Art School PlussecondaryStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024Collaboration with artist Toby Tobias Kidd and Art School Plus on the 'Public Art and the Economics of Imagination' project, exploring the role of public art in shaping collective imagination. The project included an in-person event at Pelican House (April 2024) and a companion podcast series.
• JendaGbeni Comms HubcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024New partnership announced in 2024 to assist the development of both organisations through mutual learning and support. The collaboration focuses on: capacity building and organisational development for JendaGbeni; joint research on narrative change in climate justice, economic justice, and new economy movements across geographies; training of communicators and social justice leaders; and developing the field of strategic communications in Africa. Karim Bah, founder of JendaGbeni, has over 20 years of experience in communications, movement strategy, and international development. The Hub plans to relocate to Ghana.
• EIT Climate-KICsecondaryStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024Partnership with EIT Climate-KIC, Europe's leading climate innovation community, for a Reframing Food Futures event in Dublin, Ireland in September 2024. The event was part of EIT Climate-KIC's partnership with Ireland's Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine, bringing together diverse perspectives to map narratives around sustainable food and farming futures.
• PSHE AssociationcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2023A research project for the PSHE Association investigating how to overcome polarised debates around the future of education. The Lab interviewed national and international experts and published the 'How to Disagree Better about Education' report, followed by a launch event and a series of follow-up articles published through Fully Human (the PSHE Association's R&D arm).
• Landworkers' AlliancecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2023Partner in the Reframing Food Futures project — a series of workshops and events working with expert practitioners to analyse narrative barriers to food systems change. Collaboration included an in-person workshop in Bristol (September 2023), an online summit (October 2023), and ongoing work including events in Ireland. Ian Byrne MP was among the speakers at the online summit.
• Stir to ActioncoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2023Partner in the Reframing Food Futures project alongside Landworkers' Alliance and Future Narratives Lab, contributing to a series of workshops and events exploring narrative barriers to food systems change. The collaboration included an in-person workshop in Bristol and an online summit.
• Connected by DatasecondaryStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2023Engagement to run a Data Narratives Design Lab in collaboration with students from London College of Communication MA in Media, Communications and Critical Practice, investigating and challenging narratives which underpin society's relationship with data.
• Make Polluters PaysecondaryStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2023Commissioned to provide specific guidance on messaging around the Loss and Damage Fund campaign. The Lab identified key barriers to effective communication on pollution and responsibility, developed new messaging guidance, and helped the organisation prioritise what to focus on when communicating.
• Art ActivasecondaryStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2021Collaboration on the 'Public Art and the Economics of Imagination' podcast series. The podcast featured expert conversations exploring art, politics, and economics, with episodes available on YouTube, Spotify, Amazon, and Deezer.
• Shared AssetscoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2020Long-standing collaboration beginning with the 'Power in Place' research project (2020) to understand dominant narratives of land in the UK, published as the 'Power in Place' report. The partnership continued with the 'With Land We Can' project, including the 'Emerging Land Voices' initiative funded by the National Lottery Community Fund's Emerging Futures Fund.
• Land in Our NamescoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2020Partner in the 'With Land We Can' project alongside Shared Assets. Land in Our Names is a grassroots black-led collective focused on reimagining land use, and contributed to the 'Emerging Land Voices' initiative by leading creative workshops with leaders from marginalised communities.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Center for Story-Based Strategy: US-based narrative-strategy organisation working with social-justice movements to shift public narratives, providing training, strategic support, and analysis. Comparable on training-workshop offerings (Narrative Power Lab analogue) and the deep narrative-power framing at the center of FNL's methodology.
• re:power: US-based movement support organisation providing training, coaching, and strategy to progressive leaders and organisations. Peer on the training-and-capacity-building revenue stream, particularly the cohort-based narrative/power training that parallels the Narrative Power Lab programme.
• FrameWorks Institute: US-based research organisation conducting empirical, evidence-based research on how people understand social issues and how to reframe them for social change. Most direct methodological peer: shared commitment to multi-level framing analysis and empirical testing (surveys, experiments) of message effectiveness, applied to civil-society challenges.
• The Narrative Initiative: US-based narrative-change organisation that works with movements, researchers, and storytellers to shift dominant narratives on race, class, and justice. Directly comparable: research-and-strategy services for civil-society clients, training and convening offerings, and explicit focus on narrative power analysis across issue domains.
• The Good Lobby: European civic-advocacy organisation running training and strategy programmes for civil-society actors across Europe. Comparable on European civil-society focus and on developing capacity for progressive influence, and a confirmed programmatic partner (counter-deregulation webinar, 2026).
• Potential Energy Coalition: US-based narrative-change coalition focused on climate and clean-energy narrative strategy, bringing together researchers, strategists, and storytellers. Direct peer on the climate-narrative work FNL has done with Methane Matters and London Mining Network, and on coalition-based model for narrative intervention.
• NEON (New Economy Organisers Network): UK-based network of progressive organisers working on economic-justice narrative and campaign strategy. Confirmed FNL partner on the AI Messaging Guide and broadly comparable as a UK civil-society actor commissioning and consuming narrative research.

Others

• Joseph Rowntree Foundation: UK anti-poverty foundation that funds and publishes narrative research on social issues, including the 'AI and the power of narratives' essay series for which FNL's Daniel Stanley wrote. Funder/ecosystem participant rather than competitor, but works in adjacent narrative-research-and-publication territory.

Emerging players

• Climate Central: US-based climate communications and research organisation producing visualisations, surveys, and reporting used by journalists and campaigners. Partial overlap with FNL's climate-narrative work, particularly the empirical-testing dimension, though Climate Central is more science-and-journalism focused than civil-society strategic consulting.

Broad incumbents

• Purpose: Global social-impact agency that designs communications and movement strategies for progressive causes and foundations. Larger, broader incumbent operating in adjacent space: FNL competes with Purpose on narrative-strategy commissions from foundations and large NGOs, though Purpose offers a wider portfolio of campaign production.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/NarrativesLab
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/future-narratives-lab
• Instagraminstagram.com/narrativeslab

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles9 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Future Narratives Lab