Understanding how charities tell their stories

David Girling is an Associate Professor in the School of Global Development (DEV) at the University of East Anglia, UK.

David’s research focuses on three main areas: social media for development, humanitarian communication and ethical storytelling. He is particularly interested in how imagery is used in development communications, and led a research study of visual communication in six African countries. His project Who Owns the Story, in collaboration with Jess Crombie, involves live financial testing of charity versus participant led storytelling in fundraising. He has recently co-authored a chapter with Sarah Horton, “WaterAid: Representing Development through Art and Developing Artists through Representation”, in the Routledge Handbook of Arts and Global Development.

David is a Chartered Marketer with over 25 years of marketing and communications experience in the public and non-profit sector. He has been actively involved on a number of committees and judging panels, including the Chartered Institute of Marketing Charity Group, the NGO International Film Festival, the HEIST Awards for Marketing Excellence, and the Rusty and Golden Radiator awards for online videos promoting best practice in development communication. His interests are multidisciplinary, with particular expertise in strategic marketing, communications, PR, branding, digital and social media.

Teaching

David teaches at the University of East Anglia on a variety of modules at both undergraduate and postgraduate level. He has extensive experience mentoring students on the Media and Development in Practice module, facilitating real-world learning through project briefs from leading organisations including ActionAid, Amref, Anti-Slavery International, BBC Radio Norfolk, BBC Voices, British Red Cross, Content Consultants, DFID, Disability and Development Partners, Future Radio, Girl Effect, Public Media Alliance, Save the Children International, and WaterAid.

Project briefs have spanned a wide range of communication challenges, from social media audits and ethical storytelling to audience research, policy influencing, website architecture, fundraising strategies, and the development of ethical imagery guidelines.