In 2009, the chief executives and a few staff from a handful of UK non-governmental organisations came together to discuss the inadequacy of current responses to challenges like climate change, global poverty and biodiversity loss. We invited a few academics (including Professors George Lakoff and Tim Kasser) to join us in this conversation, via telepresence. How, we asked themselves, might greater public demand for proportional responses to such global challenges be brought to bear on political and business leaders?
In reflecting on this question, we drew on recent research in cognitive science and social psychology. Much of the current debate, especially as this relates to environmental issues, focuses on approaches to motivating specific behaviours (driving less, or voting more, for example). But pressing social and environmental challenges seem unlikely to be met by picking off behaviours one-by-one. From outset, we were convinced that these challenges would require a more concerted approach.
Many of the organisations represented at our initial meeting came together to support the publication, a year later, of Common Cause: The Case for Working with our Cultural Values. Early on in drafting this report, we recognised that the types of challenge we were examining – and the responses that we were highlighting – were applicable to a very wide range of third sector concerns. We saw that this raised the possibility of working with a diversity of organisations to develop this agenda further.
The debate that Common Cause catalysed has grown rapidly. We have held workshops for several hundred people and other related reports have been published (for example, Finding Frames: New Ways to Engage the UK Public in Global Poverty). A great number of individuals and organisations have since stepped forward to take ownership of some part of this discussion and help drive it forward. You’ll find outlines and contact details for a number of these related initiatives on this website.
Most recently, this work has culminated in the publication of The Common Cause Handbook. This represents the outcome of many weeks’ work by PIRC, who not only ensured that they became experts on the social psychology and cognitive science, but who also conducted a great number of workshops: road-testing the ideas that they had for presenting this material in a compelling and accessible way.
Enjoy exploring our site, and please do get in touch if there is anything you want to add, or contest, or if you can see ways in which you would like to help further extend the conversation that we have started!