Co-authored by Lucia Watson-Bartlam.
Last week, we convened a diverse group of leaders from across the sector and beyond to discuss one pressing question: how do we rebuild and sustain public support for international cooperation in an increasingly uncertain world?
The roundtable brought together experts from organisations including Comic Relief, ONE, Project Everyone, More in Common, the Development Engagement Lab, the Gates Foundation and Bond, alongside Save the Children colleagues and trusted partners with expertise across media, communications and storytelling.
Setting the scene
The discussion was grounded in research conducted by Save the Children and partners, which explored public attitudes towards aid, development and international cooperation in the UK and several African countries and found that:
While public trust in institutions is low and economic pressures have contributed to scepticism about overseas spending, the moral case for international action remains intact albeit conditional.
People feel disappointed and underwhelmed about the outcomes of aid to date, and want confidence that public money is spent effectively, transparently and in ways that deliver real results.
There’s growing recognition that many of the challenges we face today are interconnected. From health emergencies and economic instability to conflict and climate shocks, people increasingly understand that events in one part of the world can have consequences elsewhere.
This creates new opportunities to talk about international cooperation not simply as aid spending, which is one part of the puzzle, but as a system of partnership and collective action to tackle shared challenges and relieve suffering everywhere.
Shared challenges, shared benefits? Debating the "mutual interest" framing
Our insight showed that across the political spectrum, audiences are more receptive to international cooperation when they can see how it benefits communities overseas and in the UK. People respond particularly well to ‘short chain’ arguments linking overseas investment in health and security to reduced risks at home.
We discussed the need to provide the public with tangible, intuitive evidence of improved outcomes to reduce scepticism and make the mutual benefit case convincing.
Takeaway 1: Taxpayers want to ‘see the receipts’ and to feel convinced that aid makes things better – including for the UK. ‘Mutual interest’ arguments can work well, especially where the ‘causal chain’ is short and intuitive, but more evidence is essential.
A bigger ‘us’: from competition to common interest
The provocation that most animated discussion was our contention that mutual benefit is a useful route in, but not an easy win.
Our diverse roundtable rejected the mutual interest argument as a silver bullet, or a substitute for values-based narratives. We recognised quickly that whilst rational, ‘double bottom line’ justifications might win in the Treasury, for the public this remains an emotional and moral issue – we need to win in people’s hearts, not just their heads.
The best narratives will do this not by setting up a choice between moral duty and rational self-interest, but by allowing them to feel the two are fully in line: not 'us or them', but a bigger us acting in our shared interest.
Takeaway 2: The most effective mutual-interest narratives focus on shared challenges and interconnectedness rather than narrowly explaining what people in the UK get in return. Tackle zero-sum thinking and us vs them narratives with a shift towards “a bigger us”.
Reality check: out of our bubble, into the public’s
Communications experts in the room reminded us: people do not wake up thinking about overseas aid. They care about their families, communities, security and future opportunities. Building support therefore requires connecting international issues to the concerns that already matter in people's everyday lives.
Takeaway 3: We should always start by asking, "Why would someone care about this?" and challenge ourselves to meet the public where they are, before taking them with us.
How we present the case to government might be very different to what the public, and sub-groups within it, need to hear. When it comes to deeper attitude shift, cultural influence can matter more than political and powerful storytelling beats policy papers every time.
Takeaway 4: We cannot meaningfully shift the system while telling the same old story in the same old ways – we must show the public a vision of a brighter future with greater security for all children, including their own.
From talking at the public to conversing with them
We reflected on how the sector engages with the public and whether traditional approaches remain fit for purpose. Too often the approach has been to talk at people rather than involving them in genuine dialogue. There is real value in more participatory approaches that allow the public to help shape conversations around international cooperation, including deliberative engagement methods such as citizens' juries or assemblies.
Research discussed during the session showed that audiences respond more positively to stories of partnership than charity, and place greater trust in local leaders and people with lived experience than celebrity advocates.
Takeaway 5: Let’s shift away from broadcasting to the public towards genuine dialogue – listening to and involving the audience not just talking at them
Looking ahead
We are grateful to everyone who contributed their expertise, insights and challenge to the discussion. The conversation made clear that there are no simple answers, but also that there is significant opportunity to build a stronger and more durable public mandate for international cooperation if we are willing to listen, learn and evolve how we engage with the public.
Save the Children have dedicated policy, campaigns, narrative and insights capacity dedicated to moving this conversation forwards in our Future of International Cooperation work. We will continue to:
Explore how we continue to embed this in our communications and approach
Play an active role in supporting and connecting the sector to explore the role for a mutual interest approach - each getting into our lanes, and being clear the role we play as NGOs as opposed to government.
Keep learning from approaches others are taking and sharing powerful ideas on international cooperation – not just inside the echo-chamber but as a cultural influencer, driving forwards a meaningful dialogue with the values-aligned public who share our hopes and fears for children everywhere.
