How would you assess your collaborative’s alignment with its solutions journalism-focused mission? 

(Use the guide below to select a number rating.)

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Phase 2: I have published/produced one or two solutions stories.

Phase 3: I publish/produce three to seven solutions stories a year.

Phase 4: I regularly pitch and publish more than seven solutions stories a year.

Phase 5: I consistently pitch and publish solutions stories.

Phase 1: When pitching a solutions story, I do not highlight its solutions angle to potential editor. 

Phase 2: When pitching a story, I rarely get the support of an editor to help me pursue them. 

Phase 3: When pitching a story, I occasionally get the support of an editor to help me pursue them.

Phase 4: When pitching a story,  I often get the support of an editor to help me pursue solutions-focused angles and get the story published or produced.

Phase 5: When pitching a story, I always get the support of an editor to help me pursue solutions-focused angles and get the story published or produced.

How would you assess your solutions journalism coverage planning? (Use the guide below to select a number rating)

Phase 1: The journalism department staff have heard of solutions journalism.

Phase 2: The staff discuss SoJo in department meetings and consider incorporating it in the curriculum.

Phase 3: At least one staff member teaches SoJo as a module in a course.

Phase 4: At least one staff member teaches a SoJo course.

Phase 5: Several staff members incorporate SoJo in their teaching.

Phase 1: Students hear about SoJo in a course.

Phase 2: Students learn about SoJo in readings and classes.

Phase 3: Students are invited to produce solutions journalism for their coursework.

Phase 4: Students produce solutions journalism for university news outlets.

Phase 5: Students produce solutions journalism work for news outlets outside the university.

Phase 1: I have given no solutions journalism trainings/talks/panel discussions.

Phase 2: I have given one or two solutions journalism trainings/talks, but only with an SJN staffer’s support.

Phase 3: I have given one or two solutions journalism trainings/talks independently, without an SJN staffer’s organizational help or other support.

Phase 4: In the last 12 months, I have given two to five solutions journalism trainings/talks independently, without an SJN staffer’s organizational help or other support.

Phase 5: In the last 12 months, I have given more than five solutions journalism trainings/talks independently, without an SJN staffer’s support or presence, and have prospects for more in the coming year.

Phase 1: Those who know something about solutions journalism view it as an interesting idea, but no one champions it.

Phase 2: Solutions journalism has a handful of champions among the training participants, but most are agnostic and/or skeptical, and other types of reporting are more highly valued.

Phase 3: Up to half the training participants see value in solutions journalism.

Phase 4: More than half the training participants, including key news outlet leaders in the group, see the value in solutions journalism.

Phase 5: Nearly all training participants, including top leaders, see the value of solutions journalism.

Phase 1: Solutions journalism is a core component of at least one of the organization’s journalistic programs.

Phase 2: Solutions journalism is disseminated across at least one-quarter of the organization’s programs.

Phase 3: Solutions journalism is disseminated across at least half of the organization’s programs.

Phase 4: Solutions journalism is disseminated in at least three-quarters of the organization’s programs.

Phase 5: Solutions journalism is core to everything the organization does.

How would you assess your collaborative’s workflow? 

(Use the guide below to select a number rating.)

Phase 1: The bulk of coverage is reactive when the collaborative’s participants are reporting on government and other institutions. The collaborative produces little, if any, in-depth enterprise reporting, including solutions reporting.

Phase 2: The collaborative has the foundations for planning and dedicating time for enterprise stories, including solutions stories.

Phase 3: The collaborative regularly plans and makes time for enterprise stories, including solutions stories, and is sometimes able to deliver.

Phase 4: The collaborative plans and makes time for enterprise stories, and is able to deliver according to its goals.

Phase 5: The collaborative has developed a robust process for producing and sharing solutions stories, and consistently delivers.

How would you assess your collaborative’s coverage planning? 

(Use the guide below to select a number rating.)

Phase 1: Story planning meetings rarely include discussions of possible solutions stories.

Phase 2: Solutions stories are occasionally discussed in story planning sessions, but rarely pursued.

Phase 3: Leaders regularly ask colleagues for solutions story ideas.

Phase 4: Reporters and editors regularly pitch solutions angles on important issues, in addition to leaders asking colleagues for them.

Phase 5: Every coverage meeting includes discussion of possible solutions stories, and many solutions story ideas bubble up from reporters.

Phase 1: I don’t understand how to begin incorporating solutions journalism into my reporting. 

Phase 2: I understand how to make my reporting more solutions-focused, but don’t understand how to incorporate all four pillars of solutions journalism into my reporting.

Phase 3: I understand how to incorporate all four pillars of solutions journalism into my reporting.

Phase 4: I understand how to incorporate all four pillars of solutions journalism into my reporting and can deliver a basic 101 training helping others incorporate all four pillars  into their reporting.

Phase 5: I understand how to incorporate all four pillars of solutions journalism into my reporting and can deliver a customized training helping others incorporate all four pillars  into their reporting on a specific beat/coverage area.

Phase 1: The educational institution has contacts with local news outlets and community groups.

Phase 2: The educational institution actively discusses solutions journalism with institutional and community partners.

Phase 3: The educational institution works to facilitate the publication of solutions journalism in local news outlets.

Phase 4: The educational institution occasionally places students for internships with solutions journalism as a learning priority.

Phase 5: The educational institution has ongoing partnerships that prioritize solutions journalism to help students develop their careers.

Phase 1: I do not consider how to improve inclusion and representation in my solutions journalism training.

Phase 2: I am aware of the importance of equity and inclusion in a training program, but have yet to apply concrete steps to improve them in trainings.

Phase 3: I am aware of the importance of equity and inclusion in a training program, and am taking initial steps to improve them, including by asking for accessibility needs prior to the training sessions.

Phase 4: I am aware of the importance of equity and inclusion in a training program, and regularly consider accessibility and cultural and regional specificities in my preparation.

Phase 5: In addition to the above, I ensure that everyone is given a chance to fully represent themselves during the training and respond to the individual needs of all participants.

Phase 1: The organization doesn’t seek funding for its solutions journalism work.

Phase 2: The organization doesn’t have current funding for its solutions journalism programs but has in the past.

Phase 3: The organization is looking for funding opportunities to expand its solutions journalism work.

Phase 4: The organization currently has secured funding for a program that includes a focus on solutions journalism.

Phase 5: Solutions journalism is one of the organization’s strategic priorities for fundraising.

How would you assess your organization’s capacity to track and vet stories? 

Phase 1: The organization asks its grantees to share solutions stories for tracking purposes.

Phase 2: The organization tracks solutions stories produced in its programs but asks the Solutions Journalism Network to vet them or submits them to the Solutions Story Tracker.

Phase 3: The organization tracks solutions stories and works with an individual or institutional partner who vets the solutions stories.

Phase 4: The organization has in-house competencies to collect and vet solutions stories.

Phase 5: The organization has in-house competencies to collect and vet solutions stories and uses this analysis to provide feedback to program participants.

How would you assess your collaborative’s solutions journalism story frequency? 

(Use the guide below to select a number rating.)

Phase 1: Solutions stories are infrequent, and usually accidental.

Phase 2: Solutions stories are produced occasionally on the chosen topic of coverage, but fall short of publishing goals.

Phase 3: Solutions stories are produced on a regular basis in line with goals set by collaborative participants and on the topic chosen.

Phase 4: Solutions stories are produced regularly as part of several key beats.

Phase 5: Solutions stories are produced frequently,  across beats and above initial goals set.

How would you assess your collaborative’s community service? 

(Use the guide below to select a number rating.)

Phase 1: The collaborative has little, if any, discussion about how to improve equity and inclusion in its coverage. The collaborative and participating news outlets have a mostly one-way relationship with their audiences — and publish/air stories with little if any input from their audiences and/or communities, and little if any explanation of how coverage decisions are made.

Phase 2: The collaborative recognizes the importance of equity and inclusion in its coverage and is taking steps to improve them. Participants have solicited coverage ideas from audiences and/or communities and occasionally explain how their coverage decisions are made, including for their solutions coverage. 

Phase 3: The collaborative has standards in place for equitable and inclusive coverage and ensures solutions stories include perspectives from the people who are supposed to benefit from a response. Collaborative participants occasionally solicit coverage ideas from audiences and/or communities and explain, in a variety of ways, the collaborative’s decisions on what to cover and how, especially regarding its solutions coverage.  

Phase 4: The collaborative enforces its publicly shared standards of equitable and inclusive coverage and regularly explains its decisions on which stories to cover and how, especially solutions stories. The collaborative’s news outlets solicit coverage ideas or feedback from its audiences and/or communities at least every few months, with a focus on communities that have been under-covered and misrepresented in the past.  

Phase 5: The collaborative embraces communities, especially traditionally marginalized communities, as partners, providing them with significant opportunities to help shape and critique coverage. Much of the collaborative’s enterprise coverage is guided by what audiences and communities say they want and need, with frequent explanations of the decisions the participating news outlets make about what to cover and how. 

Phase 1: I do not, or do not know how to, center input from the communities that my journalism covers and the audiences it serves. I do not, or do not know how to, adequately include community voices in my coverage.

Phase 2: I occasionally center input from the communities that my journalism covers and the audiences it serves. I try to adequately include community voices in my coverage.

Phase 3: I regularly center input from the communities that my journalism covers and the audiences it serves. I adequately include community voices in my coverage.

Phase 4: I mostly center input from the communities that my journalism covers and the audiences it serves. I mostly produce journalism that represents the full lived experience of the people in communities I cover.

Phase 5: I mostly pursue stories that allow me to center input from the communities that my journalism covers and the audiences it serves. I consistently produce journalism that represents the full lived experience of the people in communities I cover.

Phase 1: The educational institution expresses interest in reaching diverse communities through SoJo.

Phase 2: DEI issues and best practices are discussed in one of the classes that include SoJo.

Phase 3: Faculty, staff & students reflect some DEI, and regular effort is made to cover diverse communities.

Phase 4: DEI topics, readings and sourcing are regularly included in a dedicated SoJo course and/or student media coverage.

Phase 5: The educational institution has ongoing partnerships and/or events with community organizations that prioritize DEI.

Phase 1: I do not keep track of any data points related to solutions journalism training work.

Phase 2: I keep a log of data related to solutions journalism training sessions, such as registration numbers, attendance and details on participants.

Phase 3: In addition to the above, I seek general feedback from participants after their solutions journalism training.

Phase 4: In addition to the above, I seek more data and specific feedback from participants after the solutions journalism training.

Phase 5: In addition to the above, I seek to follow up with participants to learn about any specific outcomes/impact from their training and/or use the feedback information as a way to build out my resume and create new opportunities as a trainer.

Phase 1: The organization does not consider how to improve inclusion and representation in its programs that focus on solutions journalism.

Phase 2: The organization is aware of the importance of equity in its programs that focus on solutions journalism and is trying to improve inclusion and representation.

Phase 3: The organization values the pursuit of equity and has basic standards to ensure inclusion and diverse representation as part of its programs that focus on solutions journalism.

Phase 4: The organization recognizes the importance of equity in its programs that focus on solutions journalism, publicly shares what it is doing to improve inclusion and representation, and implements those standards.

Phase 5: In addition to the above, the organization regularly achieves inclusive and representative participation in its programs that focus on solutions journalism.

How would you assess your organization’s impact measurement capacity? 

Phase 1: The organization does not have an established framework to assess the impact of your programs with a focus on solutions journalism.

Phase 2: The organization asks participants in programs that focus on solutions journalism to include information about the impact of their work in reports, but there is no clear guidance for framing what impact means.

Phase 3: The organization has a framework for understanding and tracking impact and is proactive about communicating expectations for impact tracking to participants in programs that focus on solutions journalism.

Phase 4: In addition to the above, the organization works with program participants to build their impact tracking capabilities.

Phase 5: In addition to the above, the organization collects impact information produced and uses it to showcase the outcomes of the program, including when communicating those to funders.

 (Use the guide below to select a number rating)

Phase 1: The collaborative’s stories include a tagline stating they were created by the solutions journalism collaborative, but little other signposting.

Phase 2: Solutions stories from the collaborative consistently have a tagline and sometimes include more details about the projects they are connected to or what solutions journalism is.

Phase 3: The collaborative’s news outlets ensure that all solutions content has a label, an editor’s note and specific language about solutions journalism used for distribution channels.

Phase 4: In addition to the editorial staffs, audience engagement and/or marketing teams also keep track and/or are aware of the collaborative’s news outlets’ solutions coverage. Solutions journalism labels are on stories on all news platforms and also are used in fundraising materials.

Phase 5: Besides consistently labeling solutions content on all platforms, the collaborative’s news outlets regularly mention their solutions-oriented work in fundraising materials, communications strategy and requests for revenue.