Much of the theatre work of Rib Davis is oral history-based, and he has edited a number of books of oral history (most recently Life on the Fifth Continent). He has also written radio scripts using oral history (Women From The Vale), directed other oral history-based community projects (such as The Fabric of Milton Keynes) and has overseen the production of both oral history websites and exhibitions. At The Lightbox, in Woking, he oversaw the oral history within the Woking's Story museum, which was a key element in the gallery and museum winning the Art Fund Prize 2008.

Having been involved in the collection and use of oral history since the late '70s, Rib Davis was appointed an accredited trainer in oral history on behalf of the British Library and the Oral History Society. He has given training to, amongst others, the Science Museum, London, the Royal Opera House, the National Army Museum, the Victoria and Albert Museum, Tate Britain and Oxford University Press. At the British Library he presents An Introduction to Oral History and his own course Transcript to Script, on developing plays from oral history, as well as co-presenting Developing Your Oral History Skills and Designing and Planning Your Oral History Project. He now conducts oral history training all over the UK and abroad; on behalf of University College London, he has given training at the Museum of Islamic Art and other institutions in Doha, Qatar and in Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates. In 2015 and 2016 he delivered training at the American University in Kuwait; in 2016 he was in Beirut working with the NGO Sharq, training Syrian refugees to interview each other. He has also delivered training in Germany and France. 

In 2016 Rib Davis finished his work as oral history consultant on the Pass It On project at Chichester Festival Theatre; 2017-18 he was working on Protests of the 80s with the Isle of Dogs Living Archive and in 2019 was consultant on the For Walls with Tongues oral history of community murals, for Greenwich Mural Workshop. More recently he has been working on an oral history of Brooklands (based at Brookland Museum, Surrey), as oral historian for the Fifth Continent project on Romney Marsh, for Kent Wildlife Trust, as oral historian for the West Horsley Place inter-generational project, and on the Secret Listeners project at Trent Park House.

As Goodison Fellow 2018-'19 at the British Library, Rib Davis wrote the script Safe (see the theatre section of this website).  

Rib Davis is also Chair of the Environment and Climate Change Special Interest Group of the Oral History Society.