A desk review was conducted between July 2020 and March 2021 to meet the study objective. Given that a global census of road safety NGOs does not exist, we conducted a Google search to identify NGOs working on road safety around the world. Keywords were organized around the combination of three main concepts 1) country, 2) road safety, and 3) NGOs (e.g., “India” + “road safety” + “NGO”). Additionally, we reviewed the list of road safety NGOs provided on the WHO website and other international organizations. Through this two-pronged approach, we identified 256 organizations from across the world, representing 92 countries. The local branches of an international NGO were counted as their own entities to understand variation between regions of the world. Sizes of NGOs varied greatly, from small and local, to large and global. Our approach is akin to studies that have also examined large corporate industry influence on public health through involvement with government or NGOs. For example, in their research, Jaichuen et al. [16], for example, also collected data through company websites, domestic, and international social media, government, and private sector organization websites. Further, Mialon et al. [17], recommended a list of sources that could be used to monitor corporate political activity of the food industry, this included industry’s own materials, materials from professional bodies, including websites, and websites of major conferences.
A review of the organization’s website, social media feeds, and secondary searches of the world-wide web (described in further detail below) were conducted to identify ties to the alcohol industry and examine the nature of these relationships. We defined a relationship between road safety NGOs and the alcohol industry as any involvement (e.g., business/financial, personnel-related) with alcohol companies; Social Aspects Public Relations Organizations (SAPROs); “astroturf” groups (i.e., industry-funded front groups that resemble grassroots organizations); or any other entities or persons working on behalf of the alcohol industry. Secondary searches included the name of the NGO being searched, in addition to the main concepts of 1) alcohol industry, 2) drink-driving, and 3) road safety.
Previous reviews relating to drink-driving, road safety, and the alcohol industry were also consulted to find any recent relationships between the alcohol industry and road safety NGOs described in literature. Backwards searching was also utilized, whereby an industry list of the largest alcohol producers and entities was consulted, and research on those entities’ websites was conducted to find mention of affiliated road safety NGOs. Information was obtained in English or translated through Google and Facebook translation services from Arabic, Spanish, Italian, Greek, French, and other languages.
Information from all 256 NGOs and partnerships were documented in a detailed spreadsheet. Any organizations identified as having direct or indirect ties to the alcohol industry were flagged and researched in further detail through Google searches, financial documents, press releases, social media feeds, websites of the alcohol partners’ websites, and road safety conference materials. All levels of NGO involvement with the alcohol industry were included, from the industry’s local actors to its global corporations and organizations. Once the data were gathered, analysis shifted from examination of relevant content to the aggregation of themes across relationships. These include the types of alcohol actors most involved with road safety NGOs, types of NGOs most involved with the alcohol industry, types of relationships between NGOs and industry actors, types of interventions used, and level of public communication about partnerships (Fig. 1).
Website of NGO
Websites of the n = 256 NGOs were reviewed for signs of a relationship with the alcohol industry in press materials, financial statements, personnel and board member biographies, photographs, blog posts, and other available information. While the majority of NGOs had a functioning website (n = 204), others did not (n = 52). For the n = 204 NGOs with websites, searches were conducted within each NGO website to find a list of sponsors, donors, or partnerships with the alcohol industry. Board members and leadership listed for each NGO were then searched on Google to find any ties to the alcohol industry. Various NGOs (n = 112) listed board members and/or management teams on their websites.
Additionally, the websites of the n = 204 NGOs were also utilized to find annual reports of each NGO. Commonly, only larger NGOs housed annual reports on the organization’s website (n = 32). Recent tax documents (e.g., USA: 990 tax documents) of NGOs were reviewed for potential sponsor and donor information. However, just n = 12 NGOs had publicly available tax or financial documents from the last 5 years (2016–2020), while n = 244 NGOs did not have tax documents available online. In addition, photographs on n = 149 websites were reviewed for any signs of alcohol industry partnership. For example, sponsorship banners from event photographs were used to find an NGO’s alcohol industry partners (n = 7). Sponsors were also listed under sponsor or partner sections of some NGO websites (n = 5).
Social media of NGO
In addition to a website search of each NGO, social media searches were undertaken to find ties to the alcohol industry. For all NGOs, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram from 2016 to 2020 were searched to find any postings that may have involved alcohol partnerships or sponsorships. All n = 256 NGOs were present on Facebook, while n = 191 were on Twitter, and n = 87 were on Instagram. Importantly, all n = 52 NGOs without a website had at least one form of presence on a social media platform, which allowed for a gathering of information on each NGO. For n = 31 of these 52 NGOs, this was a minimal amount of information – i.e., limited posts and shares (less than five per year), and n = 17 were dated by more than 5 years.”
The search functions within Facebook and Twitter were also utilized. For example, keywords like “sponsor,” “partner,” “drink-driving,” “drunk-driving,” “drink,” “nightlife,” “event,” and “substance,” were entered into the search function of each NGO’s Facebook and Twitter to find any posts indicating partnerships with the alcohol industry. Additionally, the “Photos” section of each NGO Facebook profile (n = 256) was reviewed from 2016 to 2020 for photographs depicting partnerships with the alcohol industry.
Google searches
For all NGOs, Google searches were conducted to find alcohol industry sponsors and partners. The organization’s name was used in the search, followed by keywords organized around the three main concepts of 1) alcohol industry, 2) drink-driving, and 3) road safety. For the n = 112 NGOs that had personnel lists on their websites, board members and leadership were searched on Google (up to two pages of search results) to find ties to the alcohol industry. Another n = 12 NGOs listed names of leadership on their Facebook pages, which were also utilized in personnel Google searches. Additionally, a Google Images search of each NGO was conducted to find images of sponsorship banners or events with the alcohol industry. Similarly, a Google News search was conducted for each NGO coupled with keywords around the concepts of 1) alcohol industry and 2) drink-driving in order to find recent publicity showing potential alcohol industry affiliation.
Furthermore, road safety conferences from 2016 to 2020 (i.e., International Conference on Road Safety, Transport and Road Statistics, Road Safety Performance Index Annual Conference and Award Ceremony, Department for Transport International Road Safety Conference) were researched on Google to uncover any alcohol industry sponsors related to the n = 256 NGOs. Moreover, road safety awards (i.e., National Roadway Safety Awards, Prince Michael International Road Safety Awards, Excellence in Road Safety Awards) and alcohol industry corporate social responsibility awards (i.e., CSR Incorporated Awards, The Drinks Business Green Awards, International CSR Excellence Awards) were researched on Google for any NGO and alcohol industry relationships.