Ben Roberts

After two years of lockdowns, restrictions, distancing, and however many gallons of hand-sanitiser we’ve all gone through, the time has come to tempt fate and say that the worst of the pandemic seems to be behind us. Cases are down week-on-week. A huge majority of the public have been vaccinated, with our research showing that only 13% of the public are unconvinced by the prospect. Plus, the Scottish government has finally altered their famously rigorous guidance, and no longer recommend self-isolation for sufferers.  All of these signs give us the hope to say (with bated breath!) that the situation is close to stabilising.

But what comes next? In recent years, all things Covid have occupied the public imagination and dominated the newscycle. In terms of fundraising, 2020 saw NHS charity support grow to more than 400 times their 2019 figures. The public’s priority was fundamentally shifted during this period towards a single cause, united by the constancy of relevant news and the uncertainty of our collective wellbeing.

The same can be said for the invasion of Ukraine, which has prompted huge media attention and sympathy for those affected, spurring support for relevant charities and direct action by the public. In the wake of this emergent crisis, attention has been broken away from the pandemic for the first time since its beginning, giving us the opportunity to ask: what will the public’s priorities be once we move on from Covid-19?

In order to investigate this, we prompted a list of issues and asked members of the public to pinpoint the five issues they were most concerned about. Unsurprisingly, the quality of NHS services and the coronavirus pandemic were top concerns, the first and fourth most popular responses respectively. While this was to be expected, NHS services (43%) being more commonly listed as a top concern than the pandemic (34%) indicates that as Covid-19 fears are assuaged, the public may once again primarily advocate for the improvement of non-Covid healthcare concerns within the NHS.

This widespread concern about the NHS doesn’t necessarily indicate that the huge increase in support for NHS charities will continue, though. In 2020, the goodwill of the public was directed towards the NHS due to the sudden and unprecedented nature of the pandemic, prompting a huge influx of donations. As this need diminishes in the public eye, it’s likely that so too will this support.

The second most common concern for respondents was of political instability and war, a top concern for 35% of people, a dramatic increase from only 7% in December 2021. The onset of these fears has likely come about as a result of the Ukraine invasion, meaning that the longer-term ramifications of how this may affect charities ultimately rests on the eventual outcome of this political situation, and future geo-political stability.

Another top concern is mental health. When asked about whether the mental health landscape has changed in the past 20 years, 46% of the public believed it had gotten worse, nearly double the 25% who say the situation has gotten better. It’s a topic that’s close to home, with nearly one in four claiming that their own mental health was a top concern, and this is reflected in the 21% of people who count mental health charities among their favourites. With public outlook being geared towards identifying and rectifying its underlying mental health challenges, this cause is one to watch.

Intriguingly, though the public demonstrate a lot of concern for both physical and mental health, these causes have actually become less popular in the past decade. In fact, only two causes have become more relevant to the public.

The first of these is environment and conservationism, which is a favourite cause for 13% of the public as of April, compared to 10% in January 2010. While this may not appear to be a major increase, this cause bucks the trend of reduced engagement, which is an impressive feat. And it isn’t hard to see why the public are drawn to this cause. Our data shows that nearly a third of the public cite climate change as a main reason for concern, and 46% of respondents anticipate that the climate crisis will worsen in the next 20 years. What will likely be seen in the near future is more public engagement with environmental charities as these anxieties progress.

The second cause to bolster popularity over the past 10 years is social welfare, another small increase over the past decade from 14% popularity to 16% in the time frame listed above. This cause is inherently tied into many of the public’s most pronounced concerns, with over 45% of those we asked claiming that homelessness, the refugee crisis, and austerity were worst than they were 20 years ago, and would continue to get worse in the next 20 years. While this sounds pessimistic, knowing that the public have identified the scope of this issue may mean that more action is taken in the future.

These public concerns may give some indication of which causes might see an increase in support now that coronavirus cases are waning, but it remains in the hands of charities themselves to best capitalise on this new opportunity for attention. The public are aware of the fundamental issues that need tackling in the UK, and through proactive engagement they can be led to rally around the right solutions.

If you're interested in hearing more about our sector insight research, get in touch with us by emailing CAM@nfpresearch.com