The Work Department guided WDET through a participatory process that used “Framed by WDET” as a test case for helping nonprofit media organizations create sustainable engagement projects. “Framed by WDET” was a series of exhibits that integrated photojournalism and audio storytelling to tell meaningful stories about metro Detroit’s ethnic and cultural communities. The project allowed listeners to experience public radio in new ways.

In a discovery phase, we conducted precedent research to understand how other media organizations define and fund engagement journalism projects, along with ways to measure the impact of such projects on audience growth. Our intention was to identify and realize the sustainability of “engagement” as a practice and share our learnings for the wider industry to review.

The staff considered our findings in a series of facilitated workshops, during which we looked at best practices from other organizations and identified and prioritized three revenue generating tactics that WDET staff could incorporate into the “Framed by WDET” project. Working closely with staff, we developed easy to use project management templates and tools that they then used to implement the tactics. 

One of the tactics identified in our workshops was a crowdfunding campaign that would support the production of “Framed,” a book documenting “Framed by WDET.” Using the templates and tools we developed, along with the lessons learned from other organizations, the WDET staff was able to exceed their fundraising goal and produce the book.