Institute for Fiscal Studies

Where does the government get its money from?

BRIEF

To produce a series of short video-explainers for the general public, to provide transparency about taxes and government spending in the UK.

Questions include: ‘Where does the government get its money from?’, ‘How does the government spend its money (your money)?’ and ‘How can the country afford healthcare for an ageing population?’.

APPROACH

We worked with IFS researchers to draft the scripts based on their work and coach them on presenting to camera, ensuring they remained accurate as well as engaging. These films also needed to be produced in a way that remained evergreen and relevant for years to come. The films are a mix of interviews and motion graphics and are designed to be dynamic in a way that resonates with a younger audience.

IMPACT

The initial launch of the films received over 40k views across social media, and continue to be used by the IFS years later, whenever they share work on the government budget. Young researchers coached by the team have since made media appearances for the IFS on a range of broadcast news programmes.