CharityComms Best Practice Guide - bfunded · experience and examples from charities ... Clients...

By Joe Saxton

The challenge is to create a persuasive case for feeling empathy, not sympathy; admiration, not pity; and balance the need to generate donations with the requirement to preserve dignity.

“

Show and tell: a Best Practice Guide to portraying beneficiaries and service users

2Best Practice Guide to Portraying Beneficiaries and Service Users

Welcome

How to talk about beneficiaries divides fundraisers and communicators. It undermines many brand strategies: fundraisers want to motivate donors to give and any portrayal of clients justifies that, while the comms and service teams often want to portray clients as barely in need of help. We stereotype. But sadly, the middle ground many organisations reach leave all dissatisfied.

This Best Practice Guide focuses on three main areas in portraying beneficiaries: photos, language and case studies. By collating and combining ideas, experience and examples from charities across the sector tackling the challenges of portraying beneficiaries with fairness, dignity and sensitivity, we hope this guide will help you do your work better, quicker and more easily.

Through our Best Practice Guides, we hope that by sharing knowledge and ideas CharityComms can improve the

quality of charity communications and reduce the burden and workload of comms professionals in the sector.

In other words, our guides should do the majority of the hard work for you. We can’t do it all, but we can research and share what other organisations are doing and tell you about the resources that already exist and other sources of knowledge and ideas. We can make your job easier by setting out the key decisions that need making, and a logical and clear process to follow.

However, our approach with this guide is not to provide an oven-ready set of beneficiary guidelines so that your organisation can simply do a “find and replace” and the guidelines are complete. Every organisation is different. This guide is designed to help you understand the process and decisions so that you can more easily create your own guidelines.

Of all the areas that charities communicate about, portraying beneficiaries creates more problems and schisms than any other.

A note about terminology

When we talk about “clients”, “service users” and “beneficiaries” we mean those people the organisation exists to help. None of these terms is ideal. However, we use them here in lieu of any better ones. Clients and beneficiaries are the people who do and should use an organisation’s services and who those services, campaigns and mission are designed to help. When we talk about “case studies”, the term can mean either a document or the person featured in the document.

Joe Saxton, driver of ideas, nfpSynergy

Vicky Browning, director, CharityComms


Contents4 Executive Summary

5 Step 1 – Agree your problems and sensitivities– Use of photos– Words to avoid– Describing client groups– The challenge of language– The power and pitfalls of case

studies– What are your sensitivities?– The heart of the issue about

how charities portray people– Action points

9 Case study:ERIC (Education and Resources for Improving Childhood Continence)

10 Step 2 – Agree principles for how you will portray people– Photos and images– Words and language– Case studies– Action points

12 Step 3 – Make your decisions– What photos are appropriate?– Who can take photos?– How long can a photo

be used?– Photo subject’s agreement– How will photos be stored?– The use of models– Paying subjects– Words and phrases to describe

clients

15 Case study: Use of language at Oxfam

16 Key decisions on case studies

– What kind of case studies do you want?

– Who looks after case studies?

17 Building and maintaining great relationships with case studies

Top tips Interviewing case studies

18 Case study: Placing safety first: CAADA’s approach to supporting vulnerable media case studies

20 Top tips: Working successfully with case studies in video

21 Ethics around the use of case studies

23 Case study: Case studies at Mencap plus top tips for photo shoots

24 Step 4 – People and paperwork: the mechanics

26 Case study:Oxfam: how to get informed consent

27 Top tips Creating a digital library at Macmillan Cancer Research

28 Further Information

29 Resources


The way charities portray the people they aim to benefit is an issue that reaches deep into the heart of what each charity is about.

Conflicting pressures from comms, fundraising and services teams mean that charities need to articulate explicitly the way they are talking about and showing their beneficiaries. The challenge is to create a persuasive case for feeling empathy, not sympathy; admiration rather than pity. We must balance the need to generate donations with the requirement to preserve dignity, and face up to charities’ responsibility for how society sees our beneficiaries.

Portrayal broadly falls into three categories: words, images and case studies. The first step for a charity is to identify its own issues and sensitivities around how it portrays beneficiaries. These could be words it will or will not use, types of images it wants to encourage and discourage, or less easily identifiable factors such as how it describes its client group (for example as “sufferers” or “people living with”). In particular, the way you portray case studies should reflect your charity’s broader ethos.

Agreeing a set of principles across the three categories is key. This will lead to a more operational set of instructions, including a series of mechanics to encourage consistency across the operation. Our guide recommends five mechanics:

1. A person with overall responsibility for your portrayal of clients and beneficiaries 2. A user group to advise and be critical friends 3. A staff group to steer and review your guidelines 4. The necessary paperwork 5. A database to store images and case studies and record their use.

Difficulties will always arise when a charity is under pressure to grab a headline or create a sound bite. With an agreed set of principles and practices in place, you have a better chance of depicting people in a way that most accurately captures them or their situation – the issue that lies at the heart of decisions about how we portray beneficiaries.

Executive summary


Each charity is different. Each charity has different aims and therefore different groups of people needing or using it: different beneficiaries, different services, a different culture and a different set of worries about how it communicates to the outside world. Because each organisation is individual, each needs to start the process of creating guidelines by clearly setting out its own perceptions of problems, issues and sensitivities for how it portrays beneficiaries.

Our action point at the end of this section is that each organisation needs to brainstorm and discuss its own issues. But here are some examples of the issues people have identified within their own organisations.

Use of photos that people aren’t comfortable withThere are lots of ways that photos can present problems. Here are some of the examples that people told us about:

• The photos portray beneficiaries as passive, both literally and metaphorically. Too often when somebody produces a camera everybody “stands to attention” so the

photo looks staged or everybody in it looks inert or inactive. But any photo where lots of people are standing around doing very little conveys no direct message and may even give the wrong impression.

• The photo hides faces, expressions or personalities. This is a problem when a photographer films people with darker skins, or where shadows and shade de-personalise subjects.

• Photos where everybody is named but the beneficiary, or where beneficiaries even on their own aren’t named (but should be).

• Photos that are too old. We have all seen photos that a charity loves so much it uses them again and again. But if the child in a photo is now an adult, is it really acceptable to go on using that photo? Has the individual now an adult, not a child, been asked?

• An organisation using the same people in photos again and again. So while the photo may be up to date, it appears that the organisation has only one beneficiary (or perhaps only

Step 1Agree your problems and sensitivities


one black, disabled, male or female beneficiary).

• Photos that look staged or where the subjects are exceptional. Many people hate those corporate brochures where all the photos are of beautiful people, perfect families, radiant older people and so on. Photos should try and avoid either looking staged or showing people representing either the very worst or very best of the human population. Photos should show the “norm” or make it clear that they show an exceptional situation.

Words that are over-used, clichéd or patronising Alongside the photos that create problems for organisations are the words. Words are often less difficult when looked at as a whole than photos, because it’s easier to create rules about words: rules such as “don’t use these phrases” or “try to use these phrases”. However language is more difficult from a portrayal point of view when it is looked at to see what impression it creates. What does the use of words leave the reader imagining about a beneficiary? Words are most problematic when they are used to describe case studies,

which is the topic of the next section.

How to describe a client group? The other area every organisation should think through carefully is the words it uses to describe its beneficiary groups. The blindness charity sector has tied itself in knots over how to describe its client group. It used to be “blind people”, but that wasn’t accurate as not everybody was blind. So then “blind and partially sighted people” was favoured, but that’s a bit of a mouthful so then the sector talked about VIPs – “visually impaired people”. Now the sector has moved on to people with “serious sight problems”.

The challenge of language Do people have a disability, do they suffer from it, are they victims? In the disability sector clients are often talked about as “people with multiple sclerosis”, shortened to “people with MS” then shortened to PwMS. It’s not clear that replacing a wordy term for a client group with a four-letter acronym is an improvement. Ask people using an organisation how they like to be named in your communications.

At the heart of this dilemma is whether the client group “suffers” from whatever the illness or disability is and whether they are victims of that condition, or whether they “live with it”.

However every organisation should be clear about what words it encourages and discourages, particularly in relation to its term for a client group. Solving this problem by using acronyms may satisfy internal audiences but will probably leave external audiences mystified and distant.

Every organisation needs to document the language it wishes to use more of, and the language it wishes to use less of.

Action

Look at language to see what impression it creates


The power and the pitfalls of case studiesCase studies are one of the most powerful tools that any charity has. The ability to encapsulate what a charity is all about, and the difference it makes to a single person or persons, should never be under-rated. Not least because people’s heads are moved by numbers and statistics, but their hearts, wallets and use of time are moved by real people.

A powerful database of case studies is a wonderful asset for any charity. Better still, case studies can be created by ordinary people. It doesn’t require copywriters (though a good writer will often improve the end result). But with case studies come a number of problems.

Here are some examples for your charity to consider:

• When is a case study past its sell-by date? Is 10 years too old for a case study? When does a case study become out of date?

• Is a case study a single person/family? Are case studies that are really composites of a number of case studies acceptable? How much can be changed without a case study losing its validity? The name is usually fine to change to protect anonymity, but what about other details, such as life history?

• Who needs to be happy with case studies? Clearly the subject of the

case study needs to be happy with it. But what about a wider “user group” of clients – should all case studies be approved by a user group?

• What happens when different parts of the organisation use a different approach to case studies? Is it acceptable if fundraising, communications and services are all using a different approach? What if they all use a different database for storing case studies or have different standards and different procedures?

What are your sensitivities?Charities often have issues they don’t like to talk about. These are not only about the direct portrayal of individuals but about wider policy issues. For example, if you are a development charity you may not want people to think that people in developing countries always have too many children, in which case your photos and case studies shouldn’t show people with lots of children! In the same vein, many organisations are keen to think carefully about the balance of gender, ethnicity, age and disability of people portrayed in their work.

The greater difficulty about sensitivities is that while a case study can be accurate and even reflective of a client group, it still may not convey the charity’s core messages. While a white, bearded, older man may be a client of a homelessness charity, using one in a case study may not reflect the wider client group or – in a more complex scenario – may not reflect the client group a charity would like to have, or would like to persuade potential clients it has.

Charities aren’t always very open or clear about these issues. However it is much easier if they are identified up front – so your portrayal of case studies reflects your broader ethos.

Never underestimate the power of a good case study


Ask people what issues concern them

Brainstorm issues at a team meeting or away day

Record the issues of concern in a discussion document

12

3

Action points for Step 1

The heart of the issue about how charities portray peopleThe core issue about portrayal is whether charities use their imagery, their language, or their case studies to portray clients in a way that doesn’t fully capture them or their situation. So if a person is portrayed as vulnerable or a victim or pathetic or incapable when the reality is more complicated, or even the opposite of that situation, then something isn’t right.

To put this into a real situation: if a fundraising appeal portrays a disabled person as pathetic and needing help when the reality is more complicated, then that’s probably not right. But the opposite is no better. If a person is portrayed as proud, independent and resourceful when the reality is again more complicated or the opposite, then that is no improvement. If a charity portrays its clients as needing no help or living independently when the charity exists to provide them with help, then that’s probably not right either.

Of course in most cases the reality is more complicated, but ethical dilemmas remain around how somebody can fundraise for a client if they have no needs. How can a donor feel good about themselves if all the materials produced by the charity show beneficiaries in no need of help?

It gets worse tooGiven a side of A4, most organisations (but certainly not all) could create a persuasive case for feeling empathy, not sympathy, and feeling admiration rather than pity: and in doing so generate donations and preserve dignity. But when an organisation needs to grab a headline, or sum things up in 12 words or create a sound bite, then the difficulty of squaring the circle only increases exponentially. It still has to be done though.

Best Practice Guide to Portraying Beneficiaries and Service Users 9

ERIC is the UK’s only charity providing information and support to children and families suffering from childhood continence problems.

Problems such as bedwetting, daytime wetting, constipation and soiling affect one in 12 children and young people in the UK. ERIC provides a confidential helpline, website and online shop selling products designed to overcome or manage childhood continence problems.

As part of ERIC’s media work, case studies are essential to highlight the real life experiences of children suffering with continence problems, and that of their parents. ERIC’s core media – parenting press, women’s magazines and national press – often require case studies with photographs before a story is considered.

Within ERIC, the entire team is responsible for providing potential case study leads to the media manager. This might be a marathon runner who met our community fundraiser or a parent commenting on ERIC’s online message board. A feedback questionnaire goes to all customers of ERIC’s online shop which includes a tick box asking if the customer would like to provide a case study to help raise awareness of ERIC’s work. Contact details of the potential case study are passed to the media manager.

Upon first contact, the media manager will explain why ERIC needs case studies, how past case studies have been used and how the process might work if a journalist wishes to speak directly to the case study. At this stage, we ask if the case study is willing to be photographed, and named or if they would prefer to remain anonymous. We explain in a tactful way that photos are needed for most magazines and that they would be helping raise awareness and reducing the stigma by speaking out about these issues. We also ask what type of media they are willing to work with – i.e. papers/magazines, radio and TV.

Due to the sensitive nature of childhood continence problems and the risk of bullying, we struggle to find parents willing to provide

photos and many wish to remain anonymous. We never pressure people into providing images, or taking part in an interview they are not comfortable with.

ERIC’s role is to raise awareness of childhood continence problems and the help available, not put children and families at further risk. On past occasions, we have decided not to feature particular case studies due to a potential risk of misunderstanding or persecution towards families.

Case studies are used for a maximum of one year if the child has overcome the problem. After this time, it can be difficult for the parent to remain as passionate about the consequences

of childhood continence problems as they have passed this stage. If the problems are ongoing, we continue to use the case study as appropriate.

Case study

ERIC (Education and Resources for Improving Childhood Continence) Natasha Collins-Daniel, education and media manager, ERIC


The next step in the process is to agree general principles for your organisation to follow in its portrayal of beneficiaries. These principles alone should give people some clear guidance about how to portray beneficiaries. While many organisations will have principles in common, each organisation needs to decide for itself those principles. The idea of creating principles is that they create the high-level approach which employees and

volunteers can follow in the absence of detailed direction.

Another aspect of this approach is that the principles should be relatively unchanging while the detailed direction (as detailed in Steps 3 and 4) may change more frequently.

Finally, it’s worth having guidelines in a condensed format: say two sides of A4 so they are short enough to be read by busy frontline staff and the CEO.

What are your principles?Here are some ideas for principles that cover the three key areas.

Photos and images• We should own the copyright to any photo we use.

• Anybody we show in a picture should have given their agreement.

• We never use pictures that are more than five years old.

• All people in our pictures will be active wherever possible – showing energy and action.

• All people in our pictures will be individuals with personalities, interests, lives and loves.

Step 2Agree principles for how you will portray people


Words and language• We will use accessible language in our writing: never use corporate speak,

jargon, passive third person-speak or dull prose.

• We will use adjectives and adverbs to describe our clients, to bring them and their rich, complex lives to life.

• We will avoid the use altogether of a number of words and phrases in our writing. These are: (________), (________) and (________).

• We will avoid the over-use of a number of words and phrases in our writing. These are: (________), (________) and (________).

Case studies• The person we are talking about would always be happy with the way they

are described.

• Portraying with dignity doesn’t mean portraying an absence of need.

• Portraying with dignity doesn’t mean portraying without emotion.

• Focus on the individual and tell their story as simply as possible.

• Case studies are the best way to tell people about our work.

• We ask people to tell their own stories and then we aim to have the courage to let the stories speak for themselves.

• Every person faces challenges in life. Someone using our services individually has “reasons” why they are there and “solutions” out of their situation and this should be reflected in the way we communicate their story.

• Our case studies are designed to show how people are living with (________) and even where they have problems they can overcome them with the support of us and other organisations and their resources.

• We will have a group that represents the views and perspectives of people using our services.

Creating the principles of your approach is probably the most difficult part of the entire process. So while the principles are normally going to be pretty short – perhaps one to two sides of A4 – they may take a while to agree. It’s worth pointing out that once the principles are agreed, the rest of an organisation’s approach should come together relatively easily.

Action


Translating the principles from Step 2 into a more operational set of instructions is the next stage. In some cases these decisions are the direct result of what is in the principles and in some cases they are decisions that need to be made, irrespective of what is in the principles.

There are quite a lot of “decisions” in this section that aren’t obviously pertinent to the way beneficiaries are portrayed. We include them because our experience from the interviews we conducted is that the mechanics of how photos, writing and case studies are handled is sometimes as important as the principles.

Photos and images: some key decisions

What photos are the most appropriate? What photos are not appropriate? What makes a good or poor photo?Any charity using photos needs to have clarity about what kind of images are acceptable and applicable. Oxfam has an excellent document which gives examples of a whole range of photos

and discusses why some of them are good to use and some of them aren’t (see our Resources section at the end of this guide). The kinds of issues that need to be thought through are:

• The group composition – are the people active or passive?

• The use of light and shade – can you see people’s faces?

• The use of context – does a photo make the reader infer certain things about what is happening in the image (even if there is no direct evidence)?

• The relative position of the helper and the beneficiary: what assumptions might people make about how beneficiaries behave?

Who can take photos? In most organisations anybody can take a photo – but if this is the case, are they trained? Do they have a suitable camera? Have they thought about how images can be and are used?

Who will take photos? While anybody can take a photo, who will actually take a photo of a client? It’s

Step 3Make your decisions


worth polarising this debate. Staff have perfect access to clients, so giving them a camera should produce a steady stream of photos which are low-cost, and genuine: taken without posing or pre-meditation. However often frontline staff don’t actually end up taking photos (too busy or too bashful appear to be the two main reasons).

In contrast a professional photographer will be very good at making sure the photographs get taken, but the shots will cost more and will only be taken on the few occasions when most organisations can afford to commission a photographer. So the choice is little, often and erratic but free, vs infrequent,

expensive but numerous.

How long can a photo be used for?One of the most subtle issues about the portrayal of beneficiaries is deciding when a photo should no longer be used. This is equally true for case studies. The reason that timescales are important is that portrayal is all about trying to make sure the impression created by a photo does justice to, and is representative of, reality. For example if a picture shows somebody in a certain situation who is no longer in that situation, but the use of the photo implies they are, this is not an accurate portrayal.

With photos it’s probably unrealistic to assume the organisation can keep in touch with every individual in them (particularly for overseas charities).

We believe that every charity should have a rule that a photo won’t be used after a set of period time (say three or five years). They may choose to break this rule for specific reasons. And organisations may have a longer time window if they work overseas and a shorter time window if they work with young people whose lives are changing rapidly, or with illnesses where the person may have died or recovered or their circumstances changed.

Does the person in the photo need to give their agreement (for each use or for any use)? We are aware of some organisations which specify that each and every use of a photo requires permission from the subjects in them. We are aware of others who have said that they won’t show faces of children in photos – even if permission has been given. Our belief is that any photo which shows people who are beneficiaries or might be seen to be beneficiaries should only be used with permission (see our Resources section for a sample permission form). That permission is much better if open-ended simply because of the logistics of re-affirming permission on each and every occasion.

Whatever guidelines are set about permission, the criteria should take into account what the subject of the photo might feel if they see the photo being used. For example, the use of a photo two years after it’s taken might not cause any concern in a subject’s life. However if the photo is going to be used in an advertising campaign or released to the media then permission should probably be sought. Again the re-permission that is sought is always affected by geography: overseas subjects may not need permission sought with the same diligence, simply because they are very unlikely to see the photo in use.

Make sure photos do justice to, and represent, reality


How will photos be stored? Any organisation which uses photographs of beneficiaries should store them on a database so their use can be monitored and co-ordinated. While the bigger organisations will often have a photo-librarian, smaller organisations generally won’t. In this case the database may need to be managed by users. Whatever the size of organisation, the use of photos should be recorded. This prevents over-use of a particular photo and it also prevents conflicting use (eg a use by fundraising portraying one scenario and by a service portraying another).

The use of models in photosIf anybody used in a photo is not who they seem to be then the caption should make that clear. There are two

reasons for this. Firstly it’s deceptive to say that somebody is an abused child or a homeless person when they aren’t. Secondly it protects the people in the picture from being confused with beneficiaries.

Should photo subjects be paid?As a rule we believe the answer is no. Not only is paying people in photos a dangerous precedent, it may encourage people to pose for photos as a source of income. Our exception to this rule would be if the photographer took up a large amount of somebody’s time in order to get the photos. If a photographer wanted to spend half a day taking pictures of a disabled person which required the subject to disrupt their

usual routine, or generally devote time to getting the right images, we believe it would be fair to recompense the individual for their time. This is sometimes

called an “inconvenience allowance”.

What words and phrases describe your clients powerfully and accurately?It probably isn’t appropriate to have a list of approved words that should be used to describe clients. However we do believe that organisations should make clear to people who are writing about clients the sentiments and impressions they wish to invoke in the reader. The challenge is to use powerful yet accurate language – guidelines shouldn’t find a solution by simply being bland.

What words and phrases describe your clients badly, inaccurately or misleadingly?It probably is appropriate to have a list of words and phrases that aren’t to be used or are in danger of becoming over-used or clichéd. This is particularly appropriate if there is an unwritten list of words that people are not meant to use. If such a list of forbidden or frowned upon words and phrases exists informally, it is far better to make it formal and transparent.

Does the portrayal manipulate emotions or sensationalise the situation? If the cumulative effect of the portrayal of people is to move people, and make them feel empathy and understanding for a person, then that is without doubt a powerful reaction. But if the effect is to manipulate emotions through the use of language then that is not acceptable. Each organisation will need to decide what that line between being moved and manipulated is, and when it has been crossed.

Use powerful yet accurate language – being bland is not a solution


Case study

Use of languageOxfam’s guidelines for communicating about people living with HIV and AIDS

Strong communications material is vital to drive advocacy, educate the public and raise money for Oxfam’s programme work to tackle HIV. Oxfam needs to establish a reputation for being an organisation that is effective, reliable and respected in tackling HIV. Our reputation in the HIV debate is dependent on us getting our communications right.

Tone/languageTo demonstrate our programmes’ success we need to move away from only telling bad news stories about HIV, or focusing on the story of orphans and child-headed households.

As well as telling stories of prevention, we must emphasise that people are “living positively” with HIV through improved nutrition and lifestyle, and when diagnosed with an AIDS related disease, achieve an improved quality of life if

they have access to treatment and care.

We need to tell stories that demonstrate courage and resilience, emphasising that positive people are at the forefront of the response to contain the epidemic. Of course we must show need but also focus on real-life achievements of individuals and families living with HIV, documenting what they are doing to turn their lives around with support from Oxfam and partners.

Terminology guidelinesOxfam at all times tries to use language that is sensitive and non-stigmatising. Some examples are:

Do not use this Use this

HIV/AIDS Use HIV unless specifically referring to AIDS. Examples include people living with HIV, the HIV epidemic, HIV prevention, HIV testing, HIV-related disease; AIDS diagnosis, children made vulnerable by AIDS, children orphaned by AIDS.

AIDS scourge or plague HIV epidemic or AIDS epidemic

AIDS virus There is no “AIDS virus”. The virus associated with AIDS is called the Human Immunodeficiency Virus, or HIV. Please note: the phrase HIV virus is redundant. Use HIV.

AIDS-infected Avoid the term infected. Use person living with HIV or HIV-positive person.

AIDS sufferer or victim The word “victim” is disempowering. Use person living with HIV. Use the term AIDS only when referring to a person with a clinical AIDS diagnosis.

Acronyms and abbreviations Please spell out all terms in full. For example PMTCT should be prevention of mother-to-child transmission, etc.


What kind of case studies do you want?Of all the different areas we have looked at for this guide, case studies are the most complicated. This is partly because they bundle together words and photos, but also because they are about real people. In many cases those real people will see what is written about them and live in the world in which the communications that feature them are used.

Being featured in a case study can also put an individual at risk: of public profile that they didn’t really want or expect,

or of anticipating that they will get benefits that don’t materialise, as just two examples.

Case studies: some key decisions

The first question any charity needs to answer is: what do we want case studies for? It’s easy to imagine that a case study is just a case study. But charities use case studies for fundraising and for communications, in media releases and in annual reports, for demonstrating their impact and for marketing their services. Each of these types of case studies will need subtly different information collected to make them powerful. Each different type of case study will have an impact on the person or people behind them.

Clarity when starting to build up case studies will help in two ways. It will

help the people who are featured to understand what they might expect from being featured, how the information they are giving might be used, and what the nature of any ongoing relationship might be. Understanding how a case study will be used can also make sure that the right information is collected.

Who looks after your case studies (nurturing relationships, welfare, storage)?Case studies need looking after in a variety of ways. It is rare that the individual behind a case study can just have information collected from them and then be forgotten about. In all the interviews we carried out for this set of guidelines there were numerous stories of how the maintenance of the relationship, and putting the welfare of the case study subject centre stage, is critical. Here are some examples:

• A case study was put out by a medical charity to highlight the benefits of regular screening. Six months later a journalist decided to use the case study again in a different context. By that stage the subject of the case study had a new job where she hadn’t told them about her illness. She was on holiday at the time of the new press enquiry. The charity’s media team spent a frantic few hours trying to stop the story and track down the case study subject.

• A case study subject was keen to talk to the media about her experiences as a reformed drug user. As part of her story she had given her child up for adoption. The charity was worried that her story might make it possible to identify the child just as it was settling with its newly adopted parents.

• Another case study subject did a very detailed, very personal story for a magazine. She was excited but

Putting the welfare of a case study centre stage is critical


Setting up your interview:• Face to face is better than phone,

which is better than email

• Arrange a time that’s convenient for them

• Send some background information

• Make sure you have plenty of time available

• Contact them on the day to remind them

• Think about how you will take notes

Starting the interview:• Take all their personal details (including

contact details)

• Record which activities they are willing to be involved in

• Assure them that their interview will be kept confidential

• Assure them that you will contact them first if someone wants to use their story

• Ask for a photo

• Give them your contact details

Interviewing tips: it’s all about listening• Have a normal conversation

• Use open questions

• Listen actively

• Look for the emotional journey

• Steer the conversation

• Make sure you understand everything

• Prompt them to carry on

• Ask how your charity has helped

• Ask “Is there anything you would like to add?”

• Check availability over next few days

Interviewing case studiesFreelance journalist Martine Gallie (martinegallie.co.uk)

Top tips

nervous about the story appearing in the media. But the newspaper never used it (because that’s how newspapers work) and so the interviewee had the roller coaster of believing her story was about to get out, and then the deflation of it never happening.

• A patient with cancer whose case study had been used extensively died. Could the case study go on being used? The charity needed to contact the relatives, soon after their bereavement, to find out whether several thousand posters needed to be pulped. Luckily both the case study subject and the charity had foreseen this possibility and discussed it with the family. So permission was much easier to obtain on every level.

These are just some examples of how important it is for charities to have a strong and ongoing relationship with the individuals they feature in case studies.

Building and maintaining great relationships with case studies1. Storage on a database. Case studies need to be stored on a database. The database needs to keep not just the details of the story, photographs, and all the background on the person featured, but also when the case study was used and with what results. It’s impossible to maintain great case study relationships (in all but the smallest charities) without a good database.

http://www.martinegallie.co.uk


Coordinated Action Against Domestic Abuse (CAADA) is a national second tier charity supporting a multi-agency response to high risk domestic abuse. We provide policy, training and support to smaller charities and other professionals involved in support work. We do not have direct “victim” beneficiaries, and as a result have a complicated offering which presents challenges in terms of messaging.

Getting media coverage of domestic abuse and the issues surrounding it isn’t easy. Compelling stories in the form of case studies are hugely effective in demonstrating the impact of our work, but both the domestic abuse organisations we work with and potential subjects for case studies are often wary of the

media. With the safety of the victim the central ethos in our work, we developed guidelines

around creating and using media case studies.

When liaising with journalists we are always clear about our guidelines and the reasons

we have them. We also make sure we’re well prepared, with written, signed off case studies ready at all times.

As a result, journalists respect our guidelines and don’t push back. We’ve developed a bank of good quality case studies who have grown in confidence and feel they’re “giving something back”. And our partner organisations and service managers trust us and are seeing the value of media work.

What’s more, our coverage has hugely increased from 0 to 110 pieces of coverage in the last quarter, 10 of which featured detailed case study interviews/filming, including Newsnight, The Times, Community Care and BBC Breakfast.

Case study

Placing safety first: CAADA’s approach to supporting vulnerable media case studies Samantha Brown, head of communications, CAADA

• Risk assessment of every case study to ensure they’re no longer in danger.

• Survivor’s name changed to protect identities and increase safety.

• Perpetrator’s name changed to increase safety and prevent defamation.

• Frontline domestic abuse professional’s name changed to protect identities and increase safety.

• No details about the residential location revealed.

• Small details changed to further protect identities.

• Survivor case studies choose the media work they undertake – from written case studies only to radio and TV.

• Photography or filming only with case study consent, and no identifying features.

• Telephone interviews – three way conference phone set

up, and survivors offered “read backs”.

• Spend direct time with each survivor, building up an ongoing relationship over a period of time, providing media training and accompanying to interviews.

• Personal information for case study stored on CAADA’s secure hard drive under a password protected document.

CAADA’s media case study guidelines


A photo-librarian (or even better a case studies and photo coordinator) is a really useful post for many larger organisations: somebody who knows the case study/image assets an organisation has. For those organisations that can’t afford a paid post, it could be perfect for a volunteer to look after on a part time basis.

2. Briefing the case studies. People featured in case studies (and their families) need to understand what they are letting themselves in for. They also need to indicate that they understand how their information might be used. So a charity should have both a briefing form, including a consent form, as well as a leave-behind document with contact details for the charity staff they might want to contact.

3. Uniform information extraction processes.

For charities to use case studies well, they need to have the right information about the case study subject. So a form or a protocol which makes sure all the right information about the case study subject is gathered is really important. This should include their contact details, their family contact details, and so on (see Resources).

4. Good photography. Very few case studies are powerful without good, even great photography to go with them. Words need pictures. People need photos to show the whole

story. In an era of digital photography photos are easier to get and use than ever before. Media officers and even frontline service staff can take photos (although they won’t always want to). There is no doubt that professional photographers will always get better pictures partly because that’s what they are trained to do, but also because it is their core job, whereas for a service-delivery person it will always be of secondary importance.

5. Recruiting frontline staff. The best people to find case studies are almost certainly frontline staff. They will know who has the “good” stories to tell, is happy to talk about their background and who will agree to be used for the benefit of the cause and the wider organisation. They will also understand the politics and motivations of case studies (and the attitudes of other staff towards gathering case study material). Gaining the trust of frontline staff is vital. Anybody who wants to create a good resource of pictures and case studies for the organisation will need to invest time and energy in building relationships with frontline staff.

6. A designated contact person. It’s impossible to know what a case study subject will want to talk about and when they will want to talk about it. But when they do it’s really important that they know whom they should talk to, and that that person should know something about them. Many case study interviewees find the experience of being in the public eye both exhilarating and unsettling. They like being able to see their situation being used to help other people, but often their moment in the spotlight is not quite how they imagined it. When any of these emotions occur, it is vital they know whom at the charity they can talk to.

Frontline staff are the best people to find case studies


7. Training case study subjects if they do media work.

Not all the people featured in case studies will do media work. Many case studies will stay as articles in annual reports or on a website. Even those that are in the media may be presented as a finished product. However where a case study subject may talk directly to journalists, media training is really important. This is both to help interviewees understand the importance

of thinking about what they say and giving them practice if they are going to do any live interviews on TV or radio, but also so they understand how their “words” might be used.

8. Keeping what works, losing what doesn’t.

Any code of practice is not a static thing. It needs to be reviewed and updated. Once a code of practice has been in operation for a while, perhaps a

1. Establish a clear brief with key messages that you want to communicate. Find people through your volunteer network, case study database or production company who can communicate those messages through their own experiences and in their own words.

2. Nurture relationships. Build time into the schedule so people feel calm and able to be themselves in front of the camera. If possible film them in a familiar place. It’s not about the technology and crew, but about them and their story.

3. For a behaviour change brief, choose people who mirror the diversity of your target audience. Avoid experts, as messages can be more easily accepted if they come from people who we perceive to be like us - especially when targeting hard to reach groups.

4. Peer role models offer realistic and practical solutions. Find people who can share barriers they faced and coping strategies for overcoming them.

5. It takes a lot of bravery to volunteer to be interviewed. People should be treated with respect, kindness and dignity at all times. This includes giving them as much information as possible about the process and the sequence of events.

6. Keep it real. It’s the authentic human story that will draw people in and keep them watching. Don’t try and put words into people’s mouths and give them scripts to learn; that’s what actors are for. Rather, draft questions which will deliver the key statements you need. Give people a sense of the questions to be covered, but avoid handing over a list as some people will learn and rehearse answers.

7. Accept and expect the unexpected. That’s the beauty of real people, they are unpredictable. They will add a perfect comment or angle out of the blue which makes the piece.

8. Include humour if possible.

9. Be honest – being realistic about a situation, rather than glossing over problems, will help people engage.

10. Tread gently. Be prepared to listen and edit.

Working successfully with case studies in videoGaby Jeffs, producer and director at Magneto Films (magnetofilms.co.uk)

Top tips

http://www.magnetofilms.co.uk


studies. While there are strong arguments in favour and against this practice, we believe that the use of any composite case study needs to be made clear just as the use of models is.

Is a case study a person or a document?Case studies can be two things: a person with a story to tell and a set of documents that encapsulate that person’s story. Both need to be cultivated. Both need to be seen as assets of the organisation. Both need to be treated with care, but above all it’s important to remember that case studies are not just pictures and words that can move people to tears and to donate – they are also real people with lives entirely separate from the organisation.

How often will you use a case study? Another important issue is the frequency with which a case study will be used. Why? Firstly whether the case study as a person gets fed up with constantly being in the media. Secondly how the charity comes across if it seems to have very few case studies. Put crudely, if a charity is saying there is lots of need and lots of potential beneficiaries but it uses the same case study again and again those two messages appear to contradict each other. It is important to agree internally on the frequency with which a case study is used.

How long will you use a case study for? Perhaps the biggest “innocent” weakness we’ve seen in many people’s use of case studies is how long they are prepared to use them. Using case studies past their sell-by date is very easy to let happen. It takes hard work to get new case studies. However it should be the case that charities set a default “use-by date” on case studies. These deadlines can then be extended when there are good reasons to do so. As a rule, case studies should only be used for a limited period of time. We would recommend

year or two, it is worth reviewing it. At this stage it’s important to understand what works about the code and what doesn’t. This needn’t be a cumbersome process, but one simply to ask those who were involved in creating and working with the code about what works in practice, and

what doesn’t.

What are the ethics of your use of case studies?Ethics is quite a strong word in this context and we would welcome suggestions for an alternative. However there are a number of decisions an organisation needs to make about their use of case studies that we believe are worth spelling out.

Will you use photographic models and if so when? Using a photographic model is completely alien to some charities and the norm for others. Anonymity of the individual is one of the main reasons why

a model would be used for a case study: children are the obvious example. The decision a charity needs to make is when and why it would use models. One of the main downsides of using a model is that it takes away from the power of the case study. In all cases, the use of a model will need to be declared on all the materials where it is used.

Will you use composite case studies? Equally important as the use of models is that a charity needs to be clear about whether the case studies it uses are 100% true to life. Some charities use a composite case study – pulling together the best bits of a number of other case

Case studies are real people – not just pictures and words


three years as a default, but it absolutely depends on how the case study is used and how the circumstances of the individual might change. The earlier example where a journalist was going to use a case study six months on shows that for some case studies, a shelf-life of months rather than years would be appropriate.

Will you pay case studies to do media work? One final issue that charities grapple with is whether to pay case studies. Many charities have a blanket rule against paying people who appear in the media as case studies. The irony of this approach is that while a media officer is paid and a journalist is paid, the interviewee, who may well be the poorest person in that triumvirate, isn’t paid. Individuals featured in case studies should definitely be paid expenses and if they are taking more than an hour or two of their time to help a charity, we believe

they can be paid. While this shouldn’t be at a rate that would encourage them take part in a case study just for the money, it should be possible to acknowledge the inconvenience they have often been put to. We would recommend this is done on a case-by-case basis rather than a blanket rule.

How far should you go in re-using or re-working films, case studies and media stories?

Many case studies, and many films and photos, end up being re-used for all sorts of purposes other than was originally imagined. It’s much cheaper and easier

to re-use existing footage than to create original footage. When this happens the only issue is whether this impacts on the subjects of the footage. Will a person be upset if they thought they were being used for a campaign and six months later their case study is also used for fundraising? The only way to know is to ask. Every organisation will have to decide how far they are prepared to go in their use of a case study about people before they say “enough is enough – we need to make sure this person is still happy”.

Who checks the case study? Who can veto the use of a case study? For many charities (overseas charities, children’s charities, some medical charities) the case study subjects cannot check their own case studies. They are too far away, too young or even possibly dead. In this situation where an individual cannot speak for themselves – who speaks on their behalf? A charity needs to be clear who their “advocate” is. Who will try and inject into discussions about the use of communications and fundraising materials the perspective of the case study subject? It is worth having an advocate who has the right to veto the use of case studies or ask for their use to be changed.

Appoint an advocate with the right to veto the use of case studies


At Mencap we have a case study database developed to centralise how we collect and share case studies but also to ensure all material complies with the data protection act.

We use case studies in many ways. Real life stories help us lobby in parliament, highlight examples and statistics in reports, raise money and bring issues in the media to life.

Good stories can come from any part of the organisation. We have developed population plans for all the relevant teams at Mencap. The plans set out how case studies are likely to come into the team, who would write the case study and who would upload it onto the database.

The plan also recognises if there are people in the team who need the ability to “search” for cases, for example for media or fundraising.

Our approach is that gathering case studies is part of the working process. However, in some posts we’ve now included contributing case studies in job descriptions.

We run training for new staff and refreshers for teams who are involved. The training aims to inspire staff with the importance of real life stories and how these stories can support their work and the work of Mencap. We aim to give staff the skills to interview people to ensure they keep people safe and comply with the Mental Capacity Act and data protection law. We also talk about how to

structure and build a story and Mencap’s style for writing it up. We have a case study section on the intranet with support and resources for staff which includes things like standard consent forms and a case study guide.

Simple, powerful stories with strong supporting evidence make the best case studies for Mencap to use but all stories help us to build a picture of the lives of the people we support.

Case study

Case studies at MencapNaomi Rose, case study officer, Mencap

• Check for any “clutter” in the background of shots eg. plastic bags, magazines etc. Before you move anything, ask the person they belong to if that’s OK, remember where everything was and make sure it’s put back at the end.

• Locations for shoots can sometimes be quite dark so try and utilise lots of natural light.

• Unless otherwise specified on the brief, the majority of

photos should be uplifting and positive images.

• If you stand to one side, or behind the photographer, it will help the model to focus on something and stop them looking straight into the lens.

• Give the model something to hold/do - it can be very difficult to “act natural” whilst having your photo taken. If the model has something to hold or an activity to do, it can help them relax.

• Keep track of time: you will probably have a lot to fit into a short amount of time. Have a rough idea of how long to spend in each scenario (eg kitchen, living room etc) and try to stick to this.

• Make sure the photographer has a full briefing of the background for the shoot, what the shots will be used for, the model and their family and any other special requirements.

Mencap’s top tips for photo shoots


Mechanic 1

A person with overall responsibility for your portrayal of clients and beneficiariesThe first mechanism we recommend is being clear who has responsibility for the portrayal of clients and beneficiaries (through language, image and case study). In some cases this will be the same person who is responsible for the organisation’s brand. In other cases it may be somebody in the design team. In larger organisations, particularly those where case studies are especially important, there may be a dedicated person or even a team. In any eventuality, there is little chance of an organisation’s approach to the portrayal of its clients improving if it’s not clear who is responsible for making it happen. The buck needs to stop with somebody, even if it is only one part of their role.

Mechanic 2

A user group to advise and be critical friendsAn organisation can’t just rely on its own staff or trustees’ wisdom on how

it portrays its clients and beneficiaries. Wherever possible it should have a group of people who can advise on a charity’s approach from the perspective of beneficiaries. This doesn’t need to be a group of people who meet on a regular basis with an agenda and minutes and so on (though it can be). Advice could be given by email, by phone, on a one-to-one basis or whatever works. But it should be a formal process and the status of the advice of this group should be clear. We say this because we are aware of user groups who have become frustrated because their perspective has not always been taken into account. Does the user group have a veto? Do staff have any obligation to take notice of the group? While the exact mechanism through which beneficiaries are consulted is very variable, the need to do so is paramount.

Mechanic 3

A staff group to steer and review your guidelinesAlongside the need to consult users is the need to make sure that staff (and volunteers where appropriate)

Step 4People and paperwork: work out the mechanics


feel ownership of the process as well. There are two reasons for this. Firstly, to review how any guidelines are being implemented across the different departments and in different media. Secondly, to give the different departments an opportunity to feed back (and criticise) guidelines which may have an impact on their work. The issue of the mechanism through which staff do this is as fluid as it is for users, though given that most charities love holding meetings, that’s probably a good mechanism to start with.

Mechanic 4

The necessary paperworkThere are lots of potential forms needed for the portrayal of clients and beneficiaries. These forms are to protect the beneficiaries and the charity. Here are some of the forms that might be needed:

Case study consent form: a document which explains to a case study subject the use to which their story will be put if it is used in a case study. It ensures that a case study subject has something in writing about what to expect, who to contact and so on. It also makes sure that the charity has got permission to use the personal information about an individual.

Photographer agreement form: a document which sets out the relationship between a charity and the photographer who is taking pictures on their behalf. Again it should protect both parties.

Case study details form: a document that makes sure all the key information is recorded systematically about somebody who is a case study.

Mechanic 5

A database to store all your images, case studies and monitor their useIt is no good having the most brilliant set of photos and case studies if they are not accessible for use, or if their use is uneven or upsets the individuals they are about. For all these reasons a database is needed for all but the smallest organisations. The database will need to be accessible via the internet or via an intranet. It will need to monitor all the information about the case studies – that is which information is to go into the public domain (their photos, their situation, etc) and that which isn’t to go into the public domain (contact details, information they haven’t agreed to put in the public domain, uses for their case study which they haven’t agreed to, etc.).

A database should also monitor when images and case studies are used to make sure no case study is over-exposed (or under-exposed).


Case study

Oxfam: how to get informed consent

In order to ensure we are obtaining and using material which protects the dignity and rights of the subjects, we always require informed consent.

Where the subject is a child, we must seek informed consent from the adult responsible for them, but we will also seek consent from the children themselves where they’re old enough to understand.

How to achieve informed consent• Consent to use photos/

testimony and footage should be informed, meaning the person understands why Oxfam wants to interview, photograph and video them, what it will be used for, and where the material will be used. Informed consent can only be achieved in the person’s own language. Unless the interviewer is fluent in the local dialect, a translator is essential.

• Wherever possible seek informed consent accompanied by a member of the local programme or partner staff who the interviewee trusts and feels comfortable with.

• Plan ahead. Partners and programme staff will be able to identify people who are happy to speak about their personal experiences,

but only if they are given adequate time to do so. Ensuring sufficient time for dialogue with programme staff and communities is an essential part of the story gathering process.

• Have plenty of time. Before you begin to interview or shoot, spend time with the person explaining who you are and why you are here. Show examples of the kind of ways their images/testimony/film might appear – there needs to be a clear explanation of the possible impact on the individual that publishing their story might have.

• To ensure either the adult being interviewed, or the adult responsible for the child being interviewed, really understands how and where their face might appear, ask them the consent questions (see below).

• Once you have been given it, note that you have informed consent.

• Note any objections to use, eg “don’t let my family see me like this.”

• If a person who gave their informed consent whilst alive dies, their death will be recorded on the consent record, but the consent to use their image remains

unchanged.

Checklist• Has consent been obtained?

Is it informed (see above)?

• Could publication be harmful to the person portrayed? Consider the sensitivities surrounding disclosing the identity of the person (eg, police attention, family relations, stigmatisation).

• Have you given the person an option not to appear in your photo/film? Do they know how not to appear (eg creative photography, use of alias, etc)?

• If there is a real risk to a person, do not take or use the photo (this is particularly important if that person is a child or vulnerable adult).

Questions to ensure informed consent• Have you told your friends

and family that you are (eg living with HIV)?

• What do you think would happen if the police or your neighbours / family / friends / colleagues / boss saw your photo or interview in a magazine or on TV?

• Is there anyone you would not like to see you like this?


1. Respect people’s personal information, and the law

Chances are you’re not an expert in the Data Protection Act ‘98. But chances are someone in your legal team is. Involve them from the start of your hunt for a system. They can help draft a permission form for every case study you store on your digital library, and advise you on the proper processes for storing data.

You have to do a lot more than tick boxes legally though. The more personal and understanding you can be with a case study, the more likely they’re going to want to help. A good digital library can help you do this.

2. Set up clear processesEverything on your digital library should be easy to find. Set up a process on keywording resources at the start. Whether it’s creating a bank of keywords specific for your organisation that you can pick from when uploading, or creating a more manual process, it helps to think about this before you launch.

Think about a method for signing staff up to your digital library, and keeping a log of how a case study has been approved. This should be as automated as possible. For things that have to be at least partially manual, like approving the use of a photo or case study, make it as simple (and automated) as possible.

3. Choose carefully Choosing the right, affordable software is crucial. You need it to adapt to your needs, whether it’s for storing case studies, photos, videos or documents. And you’ll need someone who knows how to make the most of it.

Most importantly your software should allow you to adequately manage all the sensitive data you will store. At Macmillan, we give general staff restricted access to case studies, so they don’t see any personal details like email, phone number, address and full name.

A good system will enable you to track usage of each resource and set up a request process for sensitive material like case studies, to help you manage relationships and control usage. This ensures staff use them in the right way, for the right reasons, with full consent.

4. Be flexibleYour organisation grows and changes: so should your digital library. Ours began solely as a case studies library, and now contains everything from videos to photos, our new brand content, generic PowerPoint presentations and documents of every shape and size.

5. Instil a culture of sharingYour library is only as good as what’s on it. You not only need to promote it but embed it into the workplace culture. At Macmillan we found the best way of doing this is to get people involved in promoting their own content. This gives them an incentive to share.

6. Quality over quantityResist the temptation to take whatever content you can get. Only post good quality content that reflects your organisation. If users have to trawl through 300 terrible photos from an event just to find one good one to use, your digital library has missed the point. It’s meant to save staff’s time, not waste it.

Creating a digital libraryBen Cohen, digital library coordinator, Macmillan Cancer Support

Top tips


About CharityCommsCharityComms (charitycomms.org.uk) is the professional membership body for charity communicators. We aim to improve the standard of communications and champion its role in the sector.

Membership of CharityComms gives you access to great content, examples of best practice, networking events and a host of opportunities for professional development. Find out more at charitycomms.org.uk/membership

To explore more best practice on a range of key communications issues, check out our events calendar at charitycomms.org.uk/events

About the authorJoe Saxton is driver of ideas at market research firm nfpSynergy, and is the founder and chair of CharityComms. Joe works on a range of specific projects particularly those looking at impact, communications or trusteeship. He also works on the overall direction and

development of nfpSynergy.

AcknowledgementsThanks to all the people who have helped with this draft. Thanks especially to the people we interviewed: Cath Drake from NSPCC, Lucy Smout ex-DISC, Mary Ryan from Cancer Research UK, Vicki Cook from RNIB, Kate Pattinson from Oxfam, Christina McGill, ex-Breast Cancer Care, Alexandra O’Dwyer from Scope and Joe Human, stories consultant. Thanks also to the people who put in their ideas and their guidelines: Betty McBride from BHF, Polly Markandya from MSF, Brenda Shalvey from Mencap, Christian Humphries from UNICEF-UK, Eleanor Perkins, Habitat for Humanity and many more. Thanks finally to everyone who commented on the draft version of the guide and to Mark Bowley (bowleydesign.com) for design and layout of the guide.

Further information

http://www.charitycomms.org.uk

http://www.charitycomms.org.uk

http://www.charitycomms.org.uk/membership

http://www.charitycomms.org.uk/events

http://www.bowleydesign.com


Media volunteer request form (Cancer Research UK)

Video and photo guidelines (Habitat for Humanity)

Filming Contributors Release Form

UNICEF: Field trip asset guide

EXAMPLE Media Volunteer Request Form Details of your activityToday’s date:Your name:Contact details (contact number and email):Department:Description of media activity/publication/event:Date and timings of activity:Audience: How would you like the volunteer to be involved (eg. provide a quote, take part inan interview)? How will input from a Media Volunteer (someone with a close experience of[CHARITY CAUSE] benefit your activity? Further details if attending an eventVenue:Staff contact on the day (including contact details):Details about their involvement (eg. speaking or media activity attached to theevent): Specific timings (including length of their talk):Arranging travel and expenses (NB: costs will need to be covered by [NAME OFDEPARTMENT]: Any other requirements (eg. dress code): Preferred requirements for the Media Volunteer(please state no preference where applicable)Gender:Age:Location:Specific details about their experience: Photography: Any other preferred requirements (eg. their availability, family details or pastmedia activity):

Photo and video footage guidelinesIntroductionRefer to the Code of Conduct for the International Red Cross/Red CrescentMovement and NGOs in Disaster Relief #10: ‘In our information, publicity and advertising activities, weshall recognise disaster victims as dignified human beings, not hopeless objects;’ and also the Reuters Termsand Conditions for use of photographs by AlertNet members: ‘If in doubt about fair usage, try to putyourselves in the shoes of the person or people depicted in the image and ask: “Am I exploiting or helping?” PurposeOur aim is to show the impact of housing on peoples’ lives, whether that is decent housing or inadequatehousing, and how safe, decent housing can be achieved through a transformative participation. It is our dutyto respect the dignity of the people we photograph or video, whatever their situation. Guidelines

PeopleIn photos and videos, children and adults should be appropriately clothedNever exploit a person’s vulnerability, and always assess how the photos/videos you take will impacton the safety, well-being and rights of the person being portrayed.Habitat for HumanityYour photographs should reflect the spirit of the mission and values of Habitat for Humanity. Thisincludes partnership, transformation, empowerment and working with people regardless of gender,background, religion or nationality.When planning your shots, try to show the interaction between people and their homes, not just thebuildings.Global VillageVolunteers should respect the onsite health and safety guidelines given to them. Please refer to yourtrip protocol guidelines which refer to behaving appropriately on site.

PermissionHabitat for Humanity homepartners and Global Village volunteers have already given their permission fortheir photographs and videos to be used by Habitat for Humanity.Habitat for Humanity GB requires written or verbal permission from an adult or guardian when:

The subject is under 16 and can be recognised from the photograph or video and/or accompanyinginformationThere is information in the photograph or video that is potentially sensitive (includes racial or ethnicorigin, religious beliefs, physical or mental health, political opinions, trade union membership,sexual life or anything relating to the commission (alleged or otherwise) of any offence and relatedproceedings)

If either of these situations apply then the person should be asked to sign the Habitat for Humanity photorelease form. A parent or guardian must sign and be informed regarding the use of a child’s image or story.The child should be informed in an age appropriate manner and give permission for use of his or her imageand/or story. Where possible the form should be translated into the local language, and, if theparent/guardian is illiterate, be read aloud. When the above criteria do not apply, informed consent from the subjects may be sufficient. In thesesituations, the photographer, reporter or cameraperson should clearly identify themselves and explain thegeneral purpose of their photographing or reporting. If you are asked to stop filming or photographing by a member of Habitat for Humanity staff, team leaderor member of the community please do so.Using photographs, videos and storiesAll resources contained in HAL (Habitat for Humanity Asset Library) are the property of Habitat for Humanityunless specifically expressed otherwise and are available for use only to Habitat for Humanity staff andvolunteers and their designates for Habitat for Humanity business purposes. Unless specified otherwise,Habitat for Humanity owns full and complete rights to these materials and grants their use for publication.

Use of these materials is intended for discussion of and presentation of the role and scope of Habitat forHumanity. They are intended only for use in discussion of or reference to the ideas, expressions or events of

.••

.•

•

.•

•

•

EXAMPLE RECORDING/FILMING CONTRIBUTOR RELEASE Name ………… …………………………………………… Address ……………………………………………………… Programme … ………………………..……………………..…(working title) Description of Programme: ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….. Date…………… ……………………………………………… Dear Sir/Madam, In consideration of our arranging to film and record your interview, contribution and/orperformance (together “the Contribution”) on DATE, you agree to the recording and filming ofthe Contribution. You acknowledge that you have had explained to you, and you fully understand, the full natureof the Programme and your participation in it and you agree to so participate. You hereby give all consents necessary for the reproduction, exhibition, transmission,broadcast, publicising, previewing, reviewing and exploitation of the Contribution withouttime limit throughout the world by all means and media (whether now known or hereafterinvented) without liability or acknowledgement to you. You agree that your contribution willbe true and honest. We shall be entitled to cut, edit and translate the Contribution as we deem fit and we shall notbe obliged to include all or any of the Contribution in the Programme. You agree that you will not at any time disclose to any third person (including withoutlimitation the press and media) any information in relation to the Contribution, theProgramme, this Agreement and/or our general affairs without our prior written consent. Yours faithfully Read and agreed For and on behalf of [Name of Production company] [Name of Contributor]

A former child solider © UNICEF/NYHQ2010-1152/Asselin

UNICEF UK guide to asset gathering

Field trips are an opportunity to gather the stories and photos we need to emotionally engage our supporters. These stories are the voices of children in our all of our communications.

The contents of this guide include: Photography and UNICEF Policy including protection; Basic tips on making photographs; Interviewing and life stories; Templates for interviewing;

What assets do we need?

Photos with captions and first-person quotes Photos with short interview and background – 300 words – consent form Potential feature story with range of people – the child, the parent, the worker, UNICEF worker with

series of photos. Consent forms for all. What the issues are for children. What UNICEF is doing to help. How does this impact on a child’s life.

Photography and UNICEF policy

Brand – graphic values Simple - focus on children

Optimistic – solutions and hope

Bold – communicate clearly and with emotion

Contemporary – use of angles, framing, colour, strong lines

Respect and uphold child rights Respect the real situation of children’s lives. Uphold their rights to:

Accurate representation respect privacy protection

Child protection Children in the following at-risk categories should not be identifiable if photographed:

1. Victims, or perpetrators, of sexual exploitation; 2. A child who is HIV positive and is below the age of maturity to

give informed consent1; 3. Charged or convicted of a crime; 4. Current or former combatants, IF being so identified puts them

at risk of future reprisals.

Consent forms – a child’s right to respect and privacy Ask permission before taking someone’s photo. Pictures taken in a public setting are documentary images and don’t need consent forms. Take notes for the caption.

However, as our intention is to use stories in promoting our work, be explicit about this and to seek informed consent especially if recording a more in-depth story and/or taking a series of photos or film footage of particular individuals. The consent form is a record that we have obtained appropriate permission to use these stories, photos and films. The form MUST be translated into the person’s everyday language, preferably written.

1 Revealing identity: a young person involved in HIV awareness work would be aware of the implications of identifying their HIV status and could confirm this in a consent form provided they have appropriate support in making this decision.

© UNICEF/NYHQ2009-2299/Holt

ResourcesBelow are links to documents referenced in this guide.

CONCORD: Code of conduct on images

Mencap Case Study Guide

CCooddee ooff CCoonndduucctt oonn IImmaaggeess aanndd MMeessssaaggeess 22000066

Preface This Code of Conduct on Images and Messages has been written by NGOs working in the areas of emergency relief, long term development and development education. The purpose of this Code of Conduct is to provide a framework on which organisations can draw when designing and implementing their public communications strategy. The Code offers a set of guiding principles that can assist practitioners in their efforts to communicate their organisation’s programmes and values in a coherent and balanced way. Signatories to this Code are acutely aware of the many challenges and difficulties entailed in conveying the scandal and injustice of poverty while striving to meet the ideals of the Code. It is a reality of our world today that many of the images of extreme poverty and humanitarian distress are negative and cannot be ignored. To ignore them would run counter to the spirit of this Code which is to portray the reality of the lives of people with sensitivity and respect for their dignity. Images and messages should seek to represent a complete picture of both internal and external assistance and the partnership that often results between local and international NGOs. The values of human dignity, respect and truthfulness as outlined in the Code, must underlie all communications. The signatories to this Code are committed to these principles, and will translate them into internal policies and procedures. They are also committed to working constructively with others whose work involves communicating on issues of global poverty, to explore ways of reflecting these principles in other fields of communications. By signing and promoting this Code, NGOs will continue to keep the development agenda very much in the public eye and to look beyond the sound bite or single image to reflect the values espoused in this Code.

Code of Conduct on Images and Messages a. Guiding Principles Choices of images and messages will be made based on the paramount principles of:

• Respect for the dignity of the people concerned;

• Belief in the equality of all people;

• Acceptance of the need to promote fairness, solidarity and justice.

Accordingly in all our communications and where practical and reasonable within the need to reflect reality, we strive to: • Choose images and related messages based on values of respect equality, solidarity and justice;

• Truthfully represent any image or depicted situation both in its immediate and in its wider context so as to improve public understanding of the realities and complexities of development;

• Avoid images and messages that potentially stereotype, sensationalise or discriminate against people, situations or places;

Case study guidelines for staff

These guidelines are aimed at staff who, as part of their jobs, are involved in collecting and writing up case studies for use by Mencap. These guidelines have been written to support the development, population and use of the case study database.

Case study protocol (British Heart Foundation)

Family story requirements (Habitat for Humanity)

British Heart Foundation

Case Study Protocol

This document sets out the charity protocol for the use of patient and supporterstories and images in all BHF materials – from prevention and care literature, toincome generation materials, posters, campaigns, media work and the website.The British Heart Foundation policy on case study use is informed by two centraltenets:

Heart Disease is the UK’s single biggest killer. There are well over twomillion people living with heart problems, and just about every family in thecountry has been touched by cardio-vascular disease in some way oranother. The British Heart Foundation is the nation’s heart charity. We have a well-deserved reputation for open and straightforward communications oneverything from the use of animals in research to the need for stem cells inregenerative medicine.

A stakeholder/customer population of this size, and our reputation (andrequirement) for transparency in all our communications lead us to this defaultposition on the use of case studies: Case study stories and images used in British Heart Foundation materials areof real patients and supporters, accompanied by genuine quotes and images. BHF staff working with patients and supporters should get explicit agreement(and written permission where possible) to use their information andphotographs as case studies in our media work, prevention and care literature,fundraising activity and the website. There are exceptions to the default position:

Where a case study, or in the case of a child, a parent, wishes to share theirstory but does not want to be identified, the charity will anonymise theinformation to protect the privacy of the individual and/or use a model forillustration.In such cases, the fact that an anonymised case study has been used will beindicated on the document/video/website and the identity of the case studywill be lodged with the divisional Director for the originating department.If a performance is required for information or marketing campaigns, modelsor actors may be used with the prior agreement of the Director of Policy andCommunications. In such cases, the fact that actors/models have been usedwill be stated on the campaign or subject pages of the BHF website and,where possible, on the campaign material itself. All quotes and heart healthexperiences used in such cases will be sourced from named heart patientsor supporters, and details lodged with the relevant divisional Director. As a rule, the British Heart Foundation does not use composite case-studieswhich draw on the experiences of more than one person to highlight anissue or heart need. In the unlikely event that a team believes that acomposite case study is required for a communication, these safeguardsapply:

•

•

1.

2.

3.

FAMILY STORY REQUIREMENTS HFHGBPlease use simple Word format to send the family story, include direct quotes, send pictures and video of the familyseparately (see photo/video checklist below) with captions and include the following information (in any order). You can enterthe information directly into this sheet or you can use this sheet as a checklist.

Basic DetailsInterviewer name Interviewer contact details Email: Telephone:Photographer/videographer name Date of interview DD/MM/2011Family story title PBF project code and name Family name ● This family has explicitly agreed and signed arelease that their story and images can be used forpublicity and fundraising purposes

HFH staff member printname:_________________________________Signed:____________________________________________________

INITIAL STORY/First visit + photos and video1. Family backgroundPersonal names, family name & ages of each family members Occupation of adult family members Basic information about the family’s children (Do they go to school/stayhome with a relative? How much does it cost to go to school? How well arethey doing at school?)

Describe a typical family day (from when they get up until going to bed) What is the family’s source of income? Are there times in the year whenthe family has very little or no income? When and why?

2. The problem situation/housing challenges (if the family already lives in a Habitat home or has received HFHintervention, this is where the family used to live). Please include least one direct quote from each family member includingchildren.Community and surroundings: describe the community/surroundings. Whatis good/bad about the community where the family lives?

Description of the living conditions: What materials is the house made from?How many rooms are there?

Housing condition: What is missing/in bad condition(sanitation/roof/flooring/windows/ door etc.)?

Finance: How much is the family paying for their current/previous house?Renting/owners? Do the family use the home for income generation? Doesanyone run a business from the home?

Water and sanitation: Describe the toilet and potable water situation. Isthere a latrine? Where does the family’s water come from? Is it safe? What arethe problems?

Health: Is the family’s health affected by the bad living conditions/location? Nutrition: What does the family usually eat? How do they cook? Where doesthe food and fuel come from?

Safety: How safe is the house? Are the family secure at night? Do they worryabout their possessions or personal safety? What are the problems?

DURING INTERVENTION + photos and videoBasic details as above: interviewer name, date, story title, PBF project code, family name3. HFH Intervention. Please include at least one direct quote from each family member.

Ethical Approaches to Gathering Information from Children and Adolescents in International Settings

Who cares? Challenges and opportunities in communicating distant suffering: a view from the development and humanitarian sector

Oxfam: How to select images

Dochas, The Irish Association for International NGOs: Code of Conduct on images and messages

Ethical Approaches toGathering Information from Children and Adolescents inInternational Settings:

Guidelines and Resources

HorizonsPopulation Council

IMPACTFamily Health International

POLIS

Shani Orgad and Corinne Vella

With contributions from Bruna Seu, Frances Flanagan, Leigh Daynes, Brendan Paddy, Ian Bray and Joe Morrison

Who cares? Challenges and opportunities in communicating distant suffering: a view from the development and humanitarian sectorJune 2012

www.polismedia.org

Email: [email protected]

www.charliebeckett.org

Twitter: @charliebeckett

How to select images

There are no real rules to selecting photos. Any rule can always be broken when the photo is saying something special. Themore time spent working with photos, and seeing final products, the more insight you will gain as to why photos are chosen andhow they enhance a message.A professional photographer may only keep a handful of exceptional photos from a trip but we have to select to reflect allpossible Oxfam needs. They must support any number of finished Oxfam products or stand alone to illustrate a point. Thefollowing slides should be seen as guidelines, not rules. What to look for/ think about

Clear clean photos that are in focusPortrait shape and landscape of similar imagesPhotos of people going about their daily lives that reflect reality and are not obviously set up posed shotsKeep photos of incidental Oxfam objects – health kits – mosquito nets - bucketsLook for evidence of technology - radios – solar power - phones - storage sytemsKeep photos reflecting the culture, in the city, not just Oxfam programme at workSpace for text – vital for a front cover - not needed in every photoCould it crop to panoramic, square etc? All shapes and sizes are called for.Is this the only photo of Doris? If it isn’t a great image keep in case there is an interview, it can be discarded laterDo not over select take time to go through a second time, compare similar pictures and discard those less good

At times the comparisons made are a little unfair as professional photos are contrasted with staff shots. The intention is to makeyou think about what you choose and why, not to criticise anyone’s work. The very best photos can tell a story without words

••••••••••

CharityComms Best Practice Guide - bfunded · experience and examples from charities ... Clients...

Documents

Transcript of CharityComms Best Practice Guide - bfunded · experience and examples from charities ... Clients...