Thank you for all of your support in 2025! Looking ahead to 2026

2025 has been a remarkable year for activism around the world. From the No Kings protests in the United States, to mobilisations around Gaza, to the global wave of youth-led 'Gen Z' protests from Bangladesh to Kenya to Nepal, citizens have continued to take to the streets to demand change. Yet this activism unfolds against an increasingly challenging backdrop: rising authoritarianism, democratic backsliding, and the systematic criminalisation of protest in countries that once championed civil liberties.

In this context, the work of understanding how protest matters—and where it can be most effective—has never been more vital. That's what drives us at Social Change Lab.

This year, we expanded our research portfolio into new areas, achieved extensive media reach, and deepened our engagement with activists and movement leaders. Here's a look back at what we accomplished across our three core priorities.

Continuing to build our portfolio of impactful research

This year we delivered a diverse programme of research spanning climate change, animal advocacy, and AI safety—providing strategic intelligence to campaigns and advancing understanding of what makes movements effective.

Climate movement research

Making a scene, making sense (February): Our first report of the year analysed tactics employed by Animal Rising and Just Stop Oil, demonstrating that even seemingly nonsensical tactics—interrupting theatre performances, actions targeting art galleries—typically generate the most coverage and drive supporter engagement. This work has led to a collaboration with researchers at Stanford and NYU on follow-up research examining how such tactics shape public opinion.

Protest and the ballot box (May): Funded by the Joseph Rowntree Reform Trust, we analysed over 900 polls across the UK, Germany, and Sweden to understand how disruptive climate protests influence support for political parties. The research showed protests were associated with an increase in support for green and environmentally conscious political parties.

Strategies and tactics to curb the fossil fuel industry (June): A comprehensive analysis of how civil-society groups are holding fossil-fuel firms to account and which tactics are most likely to be effective, including detailed 'tactic sheets' describing how each tactic works with its theory of change.

Swedish Restore Wetlands impact evaluation (July): We evaluated Sweden's Återställ Våtmarker campaign, finding that following the campaign, public awareness and media coverage increased significantly, and the issue gained rhetorical and budgetary priority from the Swedish government. The report was covered in 17 outlets including all major Swedish national newspapers.

Where next for the climate movement? (December): We launched a new discussion paper series exploring where the climate movement might focus its energy and resources, developed in collaboration with thinkers and strategists from across the movement.

Animal advocacy research

Peer-reviewed publication (October): We published a paper in Humanities and Social Sciences Communications examining how public responses to disruptive animal protests change over time. The research found that initially negative effects typically dissipate after six months—providing important evidence that short-term unpopularity need not determine long-term impact.

Factory farming polling: We conducted nationally representative polling in the UK and US for a major new initiative aiming to end factory farming, establishing baseline public attitudes and uncovering compelling insights to power media-friendly campaigns launching in 2026. Book chapter: We contributed a chapter titled “The role of disruptive protests in the animal advocacy movement” to an upcoming academic volume on Animal and Vegan Advocacy (released in 2026).

AI safety movement research

AI safety movement mapping (August): We published our first report as part of our new AI and Society Programme: 'AI is on the March. Is the AI Safety Movement Ready?' The report maps how civil society is mobilising to address AI risks and identified critical gaps in grassroots mobilisation and public voice.

Understanding how to mobilise the public around AI safety (December): We launched a randomised controlled trial (funded by Changing Ideas) examining which AI risk issues and messages are most effective at convincing people to take action around AI safety, with results to be published in early 2026.

Cross-cutting research

Small Movements, Big Change (December): In collaboration with The Movements Trust, we surveyed 57 grassroots movements to understand who they are, what drives them, what they've achieved, and the barriers they face.

Deepening engagement with activists

We have worked throughout 2025 to ensure our research reaches practitioners who can apply it in their work.

We presented our research at multiple conferences and events including the Vegan and Animal Rights Conference 2025 in Manchester, EAGxVirtual, and EAGxPrague. In July we hosted a webinar sharing the latest insights from our research on protest impacts, attended by over 60 funders, activists, and NGO staff. Our Director guested on a panel event hosted by 350.org for their 'Draw the Line' mobilisations ahead of COP30, and our Senior Researcher Dr Cathy Rogers presented our AI movement mapping report to the Contentious Politics of AI network at the University of Birmingham.

We also launched a new Resources for Activists page on our website, including The Activists Resource Hub and complementary tools to help activists choose effective tactics.

Shaping discourse around protest in the media and online

2025 saw a dramatic increase in our media presence: we saw a 480% increase in news coverage of our work compared to 2024

Outlets covering our work included The Guardian, The Observer, Metro, BBC Radio 5 Live, Associated Press, ABC News, The Independent, RTÉ, The Week, Voice of Islam Radio, and Alliance Magazine, among others.

Our analysis of the global wave of youth-led 'Gen Z' protests was featured in over 30 media outlets in a single week. We provided commentary on what connects these movements, the role of digital platforms, and the conditions under which protest succeeds or fails.

We also produced opinion pieces for outlets including the Big Issue on the legacy of Just Stop Oil, Waging Nonviolence on the burgeoning AI safety movement, and a discussion of how activists are responding to increasing criminalisation of their activities.

Organisational updates

Last summer, we were very pleased to welcome our then Interim Director Sam Nadel into the role on a permanent basis.

We are also very pleased to announce three new Directors joining our board, strengthening governance and bringing new expertise to guide our strategic direction. While we're sad to be saying goodbye to outgoing Board Directors Cleodie Rickard and Amy Odene, we're delighted to welcome our new Directors: Max Dowbenko (charity solicitor at Bates), Samantha Sakar (Director of Research at Power for Democracies), and Ruth Tanner (Country Director at World Animal Protection UK). They will join continuing Directors James Özden and Aidan Alexander.

Looking ahead to 2026

We have an exciting programme of research planned for the year ahead. We are currently exploring research on:

AI and activism: we'll be finalising our randomised controlled trial on effective strategies for mobilising the public around AI safety, alongside an in-depth historical analysis of past movements drawing lessons for AI safety mobilisation.

Animal advocacy: a report synthesising research on effective protest strategies for animal advocacy, plus analysis of new polling exploring public attitudes towards factory farming.

Climate movement: empirical research on how activists can mobilise most effectively in response to extreme weather events, and continued development of our discussion paper series on where next for the climate movement.

Thank You

We are so grateful to all our funders, partners, and supporters who have made this year's work possible. Your support enables us to provide the evidence base that movements need to create lasting change.

For more information about our work, visit socialchangelab.org or contact us at info@socialchangelab.org. And please consider making a donation to Social Change Lab - it makes huge difference.

All the very best and here’s to more progress in the year ahead!

The Social Change Lab team

Image in header Extinction Rebellion Edinburgh - available Open Democracy here.