Narrative Policy Framework

The Narrative Policy Framework (NPF) is a theory of the policy process, introduced by Michael D. Jones and Mark K. McBeth in 2010, that treats policy narratives as a measurable, central force in policymaking. Against the long-held view that narratives are purely subjective and beyond empirical study, the NPF holds that policy stories have an identifiable structure — setting, characters, plot and a moral or policy solution — and content shaped by belief systems, and that this structure can be coded and tested systematically. It studies how such narratives shape opinion and policy outcomes across the individual, group and cultural-institutional levels.