NUMBERS TO NARRATIVES—Reading Data and Building Stories
4-Day Residential Workshop
Dates: 2nd to 5th November 2026
Background
What happens on the ground often leaves a trail in the paperwork. Money that does not reach a village, a river polluted by a corporation, or a welfare scheme that fails its beneficiaries can all be traced through official records. The evidence of power’s failures is hiding in plain sight, in public databases, government portals and corporate filings that are technically open to everyone but practically accessible to very few.
This is not accidental. Complexity is a barrier. Jargon is a barrier. The sheer volume of data, combined with the lack of anyone to teach you how to read it, is a barrier. As a result, the people with the most at stake, the activist on the ground, the community worker in the field, the organiser building a case against a corporation or a government, are often the least equipped to use the evidence that already exists.
About the Workshop
Numbers to Narratives is a four-day residential workshop that introduces journalists, researchers and CSO/NGO professionals to practical tools for finding, reading and investigating stories through data and documents. The workshop focuses on developing the skills needed to work with government records, budgets, public data and corporate filings, and on turning this material into meaningful questions and stories.
The workshop pays particular attention to investigations involving government, corporations and climate, tracing how policies, projects and corporate activities affect communities and the environment. Through sessions with field experts, hands-on exercises and open conversations, participants will build a systematic approach to asking questions, finding evidence, verifying information and building stories that connect data to lived experience.
Objectives:
- Introduce participants to the changing media landscape in India and the structures of ownership and control that shapes it.
- Build practical skills in reading and investigating government budgets, documents and public data
- Strengthen the ability to investigate corporations through documents, filings and data
- Develop an understanding of development finance, multilateral development banks and how big money shapes policy and reporting
- Explore how to build human-angle stories that bring data and documents to life
- Provide hands-on training in data visualisation for storytelling
Who Should Apply
- Journalists and independent reporters covering finance, economy, environment or governance
- Researchers working on corporate accountability, climate and development finance
- Professionals from civil society organisations and NGOs
Methodology
A four-day, in-person, residential workshop combining expert-led sessions, practical exercises and informal conversation. Participants are expected to attend for the full duration.
Language : English
Resource persons:
We will share the resource persons’ details with you soon. We will keep you updated.
Workshop Details:
Dates: 2nd November to 5th November 2026
● Duration: 4 days, residential
● Venue: Sambhaavanaa Institute, Palampur, Himachal Pradesh
● Eligibility: Journalists, researchers, and CSO/NGO media & communications professionals
● Seats Limited: selection based on application
Participant Contribution
We hope that participants will contribute an amount of Rs. 5,000/- towards workshop expenses, inclusive of all on-site workshop costs: boarding, lodging, and all the materials used in the workshop. Travel of participants will have to be borne by the participants.
Do not let money be an impediment to your application. Need based fee waivers are available. We have a limited number of scholarships so please apply for a fee waiver if you really need it. Do remember that there may be others who need it more than you.
How to reach: Please visit Getting here
For any other info: WhatsApp or call : 889 422 7954 (between 10 am to 5 pm), or e-mail: [email protected]
How to Apply
Interested candidates should submit a short application. Shortlisted applicants will be notified and asked to complete registration, including payment of the registration fee, ahead of the workshop dates.