What if the biggest barrier to progressive communications about international development was never the public, but our assumptions about them?
A prevailing narrative in our sector has been that whilst we all want to talk differently, it wouldn’t raise any money. Comic Relief wanted to challenge this conventional wisdom head-on. Instead of protecting outdated instincts, we put them to the test: investigating how people in the UK actually respond to narratives rooted in dignity, agency, and locally led change.
This report brings together audience insights research with the outcomes of the Comms Lab. Specifically, it includes both the findings from the original audience study in 2023 and updated insights based on recent polls conducted in December 2025, as well as case studies from the international non-governmental organisations (INGOs) that participated in the Comms Lab. Each case study tells the story of an organisation that used the research insights to test new approaches to shifting the narrative on development and what it discovered along the way.
Together, they represent the first cross-sector attempt to test locally-led communications at scale and to measure what truly resonates with the UK public. Here are just a few of the insights you’ll find inside:
Locally-led storytelling can outperform celebrity-fronted content, even in fundraising.
Audiences want stories of capability and collaboration, not crisis and pity.
Younger audiences respond more to authentic, community-led voices, while established donors still value familiarity and trust.
Internal culture change matters: shifting public narratives starts with how teams work and make decisions internally.
Read the full Comms Lab Report
Audience Insights 2023(opens in new window)
Full interactive testing data 2023(opens in new window)
Audience Insights 2025(opens in new window)
Full interactive testing data 2025(opens in new window)
Watch the Comic Relief Test Films(opens in new window)
Background
Shifting the Power is a 10 year programme (2020-2030) that aims to strengthen and sustain locally-led civil society organisations (CSOs) in Ghana, Zambia, and Malawi, while also driving change among funders and shifting the narratives around aid among the British public.
The programme is driven by Anchor Partners STAR Ghana Foundation, the West African Civil Society Initiative (WACSI), the Zambian Governance Foundation (ZGF), and Tilitonse Foundation, and co-funded by Comic Relief and the Foreign, Commonwealth, and Development Office (FCDO). Read more about the Shifting the Power programme here.'