Worldview
Worldview is a nationally representative public engagement research project developed as a resource for Dóchas members and stakeholders to deepen their understanding of and engagement with the Irish public on issues of overseas development aid, global poverty, equality and justice. Worldview’s annual research identifies:
- Current beliefs and attitudes of the Irish public in relation to overseas development aid
- The communication content, style and channels that are likely to enhance support for overseas development aid
- The drivers of support for international development co-operation
- The levers to change public attitudes and behaviours
- Clearly distinguishable audience segments, with distilled insights for targeting and engaging
Here you will find the background to the Worldview research project, its components and methodology. Explore the research in our interactive dashboard or through the tabs above. The Waves tab showcases the research ‘waves’, while the Worldview audience segments that have been clearly identified within the Irish public are also available for navigation. For greater understanding of the insights, the ‘Further Resources’ page contains distilled insights in various formats, such as presentations, blogs, webinars, and more.
Worldview Dashboard
Explore how attitudes and perceptions of the Irish public have evolved since 2020. You can compare and track growth and change across the research waves to see what is shaping public opinion and driving support for overseas development aid.
Select the results you want to see along the left-hand column, then click through each Wave of results along the top margin. Where coloured boxes are showing first, second or third most influential, or showing all the waves on one graph, you can click on them to show/hide that feature.
Q.1 Which of the following do you feel are the 3 most important issues facing Ireland today?
Q.2 Which of the following issues are you personally most concerned about?
Q.8 Active in relation to the following issues or causes over the last 12 months
Q.10 Which of the following do you feel has the greatest influence on your views and opinions of the key issues of the day? -
Q.26 Which of the following do you feel is most influential in bringing about social change ? -
Q.31 Which of the following do you think are the main causes of poverty in developing countries?
Background
Worldview originated from a lack of data and evidence that accurately and in a timely manner reflected Irish attitudes to and awareness of overseas development aid (ODA). Without the ability to track these attitudes, we have no way of knowing whether levels of support for ODA are increasing or declining over time and where that support currently sits. In the five years since the project began, global crises such as the COVID-19 pandemic, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the Gaza-Israel conflict, and climate insecurity have contributed to a sense of global instability.
Domestically, these crises have been exacerbated by the cost of living crisis, widening inequality, intensified national housing crisis, and strained essential services, which in turn have fueled anti-immigration sentiment and far-right agitation. This sense of ‘permacrisis’ is causing disengagement from social justice, civil society and international development issues, making it harder to connect audiences to ODA.
The risk of not proactively engaging new audiences to increase knowledge and awareness of ODA will result in a lack of engagement with these issues overall, further fuelling the anti-NGO sentiment, encroachment on the civil society space, and a general lack of understanding that quickly creates a breeding ground for myths and misinformation about ODA to fester.
Countering a negative narrative on aid spending, demonstrating impact and mobilising public support demands a more nuanced approach to public engagement. Against this backdrop, the Worldview public engagement research project has been developed by Dóchas members. It aims to reveal more about the views of the Irish audience and its varying constituents, not just on what they believe when it comes to international development cooperation, but why they believe it.
From this research, a shared collective narrative about international development can emerge, which allows us to connect with more people in Ireland about its relevance and importance. Worldview lets us envisage who we are talking to when we talk about the ‘the public’ and where they currently sit as it relates to the issues we advocate for. Without this, we are speaking into a void.
Methodology
The Worldview Annual Tracker is statistically valid and reliable quantitative research carried out amongst a nationally representative sample of the general Irish public covering a broad range of topics related to experiences of, and attitudes towards overseas development aid.
The Worldview project’s research partner, Ipsos Behaviour & Attitudes, conducts the nationally representative research study each year via their online panel.
The sample is quota-controlled based on CSO Census 2016 figures for gender, age, region, and area, as well as AIMRO agreed figures for social class.
Corrective weighting is applied by gender, age, and socio-economic status to ensure a fully representative sample. Fieldwork typically occurs for 4-5 weeks during the summer months. The survey is implementd via Ipsos B&A’s online Acumen Panel, which is regualrly refreshed, while strict quality controls are in place on all surveys submitted
Contact Claudia Lynch, Worldview Project Manager at projectmanager@dochas.ie to learn more about Worldview.
Dóchas is grateful to the cohort of members and Irish Aid who fund Worldview, making this research possible.