David Girling is an Associate Professor in the School of Global Development (DEV) at the University of East Anglia, UK.
His research spans three key areas: social media for development, humanitarian communication and ethical storytelling. He has a particular interest in the use of imagery in development communication and led a major study on visual communication across six African countries.
His recent project, Who Owns the Story, developed in collaboration with Jess Crombie, explores the financial impact of charity-led versus participant-led storytelling in fundraising campaigns. In a co-authored chapter with Sarah Horton, “WaterAid: Representing Development through Art and Developing Artists through Representation,” he argues that “art for development communication” may represent an emerging fourth paradigm in humanitarian communication.
David is also a Chartered Marketer with more than 25 years of marketing and communications experience in the public and nonprofit sectors. He has served on numerous 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/Golden Radiator Awards for best practice in development communication.
His work is multidisciplinary, with expertise in strategic marketing, communications, PR, branding, and digital and social media.
Posts
Charity representations of distant ‘others’ in direct mailouts: time for a rethink?
Are the images we use truly fostering an informed and engaged donor public with a nuanced understanding of global inequalities? Analysis of hundreds of images from nine British INGOs’ direct mailouts suggests visual priorities in this area still need addressing.