There’s no denying the increasing salience of political violence and the acceptance of it in some spaces, but most people don’t want to live in fear of engaging in democracy — nor should they. That’s the reason Spitfire developed the Best-Case Scenario: to help people influence the decisions that impact their lives with a sense of confidence, not fear.
Rather than leaning into the worst-case scenarios that some media outlets and political and community leaders paint, this work helps leaders embrace the best-case scenario. We firmly believe that given the right tools to communicate and engage in civic spaces — from Capitol Hill to Parent-Teacher Association meetings — people will bring their best selves forward. But first, we need to make peaceful civic participation the norm.
Spitfire’s Best-Case Scenario Project engaged more than 350 leaders across the nonprofit, business and civic ecosystems in using our work and messaging in 2024 and provided messaging support and counsel to hundreds more. We have been the go-to support to leading experts in critical moments and have translated necessary guidance into actionable insights. Our guidance, written with the Poynter Institute, has helped newsrooms prepare for the worst case in ways that avoid glamorizing violence, and our ongoing work supports communities like those in Springfield, Ohio, in boldly reclaiming civic space, which helped Springfield build a sense of agency that informs.
Through our ongoing dedication to lowering the barrier to action, we have created exciting and compelling resources to support leaders in these critical moments. Best-Case Scenario’s Moment of Courage tool sets up leaders to stay grounded, establish their support networks and lead with confidence in moments of tension. Building on the demand for easy-to-access resources, we built what we believe is the first of its kind artificial intelligence-powered conflict resolution guide. This tool offers leaders a chance to easily find relevant resources, learn strategies and ask questions. This project, which required extensive planning to manage the limitations of artificial intelligence, shows how emerging technologies can help people break the spell of uncertainty and take action when it matters most.
In this moment, we need a groundswell of people engaging with civic spaces, empowered by the skills we help them build, to stick to their convictions and find opportunities across differences. This is how we turn anxiety and apathy into confidence and the kind of positive engagement that is vital to a healthy democracy.
