This study aims to build on the current body of knowledge on UK public attitudes towards international development and the role of aid, generated predominantly by the tracking studies undertaken by DFID and consumer opinion research undertaken for UK-based NGOs. As the first step in a longer-term programme of research, the focus here is on gathering in-depth and nuanced perspectives on public attitudes towards international development and the role of aid. In particular, it focuses on five key questions that are considered critical to understanding public attitudes in this area:
- How well informed do people consider they are about poverty in developing countries and where do they get information on this?
- What are considered the predominant causes of poverty in developing countries?
- To what extent is the alleviation of poverty in developing countries seen as a responsibility for the UK government and personally?
- What support is there for development assistance and what drives this?
- What actions are taken personally towards poverty alleviation in developing countries, notably through donations to charities working in developing countries?
Thus, the mode of enquiry is qualitative in nature, although reference is made to data from previous quantitative studies in places, notably from DFID’s on-going public attitude tracking survey.
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