THE effect
An independent 8-month study into the raw methodology
For over 4 years, RAW, our uncensored storytelling night, has been changing people. Now, an independent 8-month study into RAW and its cross-disciplinary methodology, conducted by Rosie McKelvie of London Interdisciplinary School, is finally out.
The study documents meaningful shifts in how people felt and described themselves – and identifies some of the conditions through which RAW builds connection, community and personal transformation. For WDN, the larger possibility is how these conditions might help reweave the social fabric beyond the night itself.
The future will not arrive fully formed. it will be shaped by how we gather, share, listen and care.
THE WHY
“RAW is a monthly storytelling night in London, that offers a platform for ordinary people and emerging artists to share their personal stories around a chosen theme.
The need for something like RAW has never been more urgent. We are living through a loneliness epidemic, now formally recognised as a public health crisis. In a world of ever increasing division, polarisation, and reduced understanding, RAW emerges: connecting people through vulnerability; broadening perspectives; and, rebuilding empathy and togetherness through shared humanity.
The study sits within a growing conversation around social prescribing – the practice of connecting people to community-based, non-clinical support for issues like loneliness, isolation, and poor mental wellbeing, as an alternative or complement to traditional medical care.”
ONE iN siXThe number of people affected by loneliness worldwide. (WHO, 2025)
In 2017, The Jo Cox Commission on Loneliness formally declared loneliness a public health epidemic in the UK. Then in 2025, the WHO Commission on Social Connection identified loneliness as a global crisis, positioning social health as a distinct third pillar alongside physical and mental wellbeing.
Study excerpts
about RAW
RAW is our monthly uncensored storytelling night, and first-of-its-kind experience that has be to lived to be understood. It centres true stories by everyday people, and pairs them with live music and art.
RAW started decades ago among inner circles – born from WDN founder Christine's insatiable obsession with talking to strangers as both survival strategy and favourite pastime.
Today, it aims to change the world by asking the question, ‘what if we have more in common with people we thought we had nothing in common with?’
THE HOW
RAW creates change and transformation
bridging the distance between self and other
reframing what is considered possible
Help finding common ground without erasing difference
inspiring & empowering people to take action
fourth spaces, social prescribing & raw
Initially, RAW caught the attention of Rosie McKelvie at London Interdisciplinary School for its innovative approach to creating a fourth space: defined as ‘an offline, intentional gathering place rooted in shared passions and analog connection,’ distinct from home (first space), work (second space), and casual public hangouts like cafés or bars (third space).
The research outcomes, however, pointed to a more powerful story: RAW as a social prescription.
“Social prescribing is “an emerging [NHS] practice that connects people facing non-medical struggles, like loneliness, isolation, low mood, to community-based support instead of, or alongside, clinical treatment. Activities range from walking groups and gardening projects to arts activities and volunteering, each offering a different route to the same goal: connection.”
Study excerpt
4 insights into raw’s impact
“RAW IS UNIQUE & DEEPLY NEEDED”
“RAW IS A SAFE SPACE TO BE VULNERABLE & AUTHENTIC”
“RAW builds real Community & connection”
“RAW sparks personal transformation”
The what
Four themes emerged from the interviews and testimonials describing what RAW does for the people in the room.
Let’s dive in.
Theme 1: RAW is unique & deeply needed
“Interviews and testimonials consistently revealed that RAW is genuinely unlike any other event participants had encountered, and that what it offered them met a social need they hadn't found fulfilled anywhere else.
This theme operates at a meta-level: it wasn't just a standalone comment on the event, but also a lens through which participants framed every other theme; For example, storytellers repeatedly described the audience as uniquely respectful, and many participants felt the connection and community they found at RAW was similarly rare.”
Study excerpt
The core condition of RAW
Theme 2: A safe space to be vulnerable & authentic
“At the heart of RAW is a simple but rare condition: people feel safe enough to be completely themselves. This isn't just atmosphere, it's the foundation everything else RAW does rests on.
This safety changes what's possible in the room. Being truly seen by others turns a room of strangers into a community, producing a different kind of connection than simply sharing space. ”
Study excerpt
Outcome of being a part of RAW
“Community and connection emerged as one of the most consistent outcomes across the data. Participants repeatedly reached for words like tribe, family, community and like-minded as literal descriptions of what RAW feels like to them.
Alongside this sat a recurring sense of shared humanity participants experienced between the diverse group of people.
Together, these findings position RAW as a countercultural intervention that demonstrably rebuilds a kind of connection many participants described as scarce. This impact is especially important given the era of social isolation and disconnection we are currently living through. ”
Study excerpt
Theme 3: community & connection
Outcome of being a part of RAW
Theme 4: personal transformation
“The personal transformation which RAW events stimulate is unique, providing something largely missing from current community events or forms of social prescription.
For storytellers, personal growth occurs through the act of constructing a personal narrative and performing it in public, whilst for audience members it happens through listening to other people’s personal experiences. ”
Study excerpt
For storytellers:
Healing & self development
Confidence & empowerment
For audiences:
Empathy & new perspectives
Feeling inspired
BECAusE HuMANiTy's NEXT EVoluTioN Will BE soCiAl, NoT TEcHNologicAl
The long term impact
Toward an empathic civilisation
“Stories preserve traditions and values across generations and anchor individuals to a sense of collective identity and belonging.
The next evolution of humanity entails an upgrade of human identity, an expansion of empathy beyond the individual and into the collective.
As Jeremy Rifkin (2010) explores in his TED talk on "the empathic civilisation," our capacity for empathy has been the quiet engine of human development throughout history, and its continued expansion may be the defining shift of our time. RAW plays a part in this evolution: moving us from survival of the fittest to survival of the most empathic.”
Study excerpt
Study finding
stories change people.
PEOPLE change the world.
RAW is one place where stories become recognition, connection and possibility. But it cannot be the only one. The study taught us about storytelling, human connection and the conditions that make change possible.
The findings raise a larger question: if carefully designed storytelling can change the emotional and social possibilities inside one room, where else could its principles be applied?
Watch this space.
get in touch to read the full study
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