Although a behaviour change programme can be cost effective for a local authority, that economy is wasted if change doesn’t stick. For one of our final #nudgemonth pieces, Economist, Leanne Kelly sets out the principles for lasting, positive change, from building a programme on a sound conceptual basis, to drawing on established research frameworks and understanding the different stages of the user journey.

At DG Cities, we’re committed to understanding the drivers and enablers that make beneficial behavioural change lasting and sustainable. This means being open to continual learning about what works, when and for whom, and applying an iterative approach. We don’t think about solutions for our towns and cities as one-off interventions, but as ideas that can be refined or adapted in response to how communities and individuals engage with and benefit (or not) from them over time.

We recognise that behaviour change can be challenging, even where people want to make changes. This may be due to existing habits that are easy to continue; in-the-moment barriers, such as timing, immediate alternative gains and required effort; levels of self-efficacy and capability, and of wider contextual and external factors that can influence choice at an individual and social level. We also know that nudges may not always be sufficient in isolation, or appropriate – for example, if they are misaligned to individuals’ preferences, motivations or opportunities. If this is the case, their impact may fade over time due to the novelty effect, or because reliance on attention and incentives may not be sustainable.

Below, we’ve pulled together some of the ways we approach challenges that incorporate behaviour change alongside technology and infrastructure interventions, followed by some salient lessons and themes from the latest academic research.

These are our key lessons for enabling lasting behaviour change:  

1. Articulate a clear ‘theory of change’ early on, and revisit this throughout the project

   A theory of change – a clear, comprehensive description of how and why change is anticipated – is a powerful way of mapping the effect you intend to have on behaviour over time. There can be real value in developing this with appropriate stakeholders, such as client and local authority teams, community group leaders and potential end users. The framework can reflect relationships determined in previous projects, trials and research as a basis. However, it’s important to ensure the specific (and future) context of the project is understood so that the ‘theory of change’ and its relationships remain open to refinement. This also provides a good basis for our team to workshop the context and external influences, along with assumptions, risks and potential mitigations that relate to the project. This theory provides a clear framework we can revisit through a project’s design, delivery, assessment and evaluation.

2. Comprehensive behavioural diagnosis and change drivers

   There are various behavioural science models available to diagnose challenges through a behavioural lens and understand how change might happen. The Behavioural Insight Team’s MINDSPACE and EAST frameworks have been helpful to set out insights and early suggestions across behavioural drivers (messenger, incentives, norms, defaults, salience, priming, attention, commitments and ego – and timing). There are more recent guides, such as the UN’s Behavioural Drivers Model, and various sector and departmental behavioural guides for this stage and onward, and taxonomies of behaviour change interventions and techniques. Our team has used the COM-B model too, as part of the behaviour change wheel, setting out the Capability, Opportunity and Motivation factors for achieving a target behaviour, reflecting the social, psychological and physical and their automatic and reflective elements. This is a really useful accompanying framework to the wheel, with its potential intervention areas, and ensures the factors required for change remain central.

   Engagement is a key part of this stage, to understand how people currently think and feel, where motivations and capability currently lie, and what good change looks like and why. Qualitative analysis can help to draw out common barriers and enablers for the current and future context, and to understand where and why these differ… which leads us well to number 3!

3. Develop bespoke user journeys

   This is something our team really enjoys developing and we find it incredibly useful through a project. Engagement is crucial here for those already on the journey and those who could be users. This also provides a framework for when and how communities could be engaged with a particular intervention – the touchpoints. These might be receiving initial information, registering interest and exploring understanding of delivery stages and how uptake can be supported, as well as feedback with users. Of course, this differs between people, as does the extent to which the different stages matter, points at which drop-off or unintended consequences might occur and how to mitigate them. Applying a ‘systems thinking’ approach can also be useful, to reflect the interdependencies and relationships through this journey.

4. A clear monitoring and evaluation plan, with KPIs

   This is a key part of an iterative approach for learning and refining a project. The more the indicators can be broken down by different groups and stages, and with both objective measures and subjective insights (such as attitudes and experiences), the more useful this can be, whilst recognising limitations, such as reliance on self-reported measures. This is an important part of an evaluation framework, whether a process, impact or value for money approach is taken, for testing the project objectives against successes and areas for improvement.

   Each of these steps can and should be revisited and updated throughout the trial or project to enhance learning and ensure we’re meeting objectives. We revisit users and stakeholders early on, to understand how designs are viewed, how delivery stages are going, and if anything has gone less well or has changed. Sustainable behaviour change necessarily involves a process of revisiting, as environments and behavioural drivers change over time – being open to this and being prepared for how to measure and respond is critical, and here, behavioural research is key.

5. Reflect on the latest academic research

   Our team has been fortunate to attend some excellent workshops, conferences and training in this space, such as the recent International Behavioural Public Policy conference hosted at the London School of Economics. Behavioural science fields are increasingly recognising and responding to the limits and critiques of nudge, and developing behavioural approaches that are more appropriate, alongside nudges for sustainable change. This has also been driven by a growing focus on sustained environmental behaviours, and the critical objectives that such interventions seek to meet, as well as an increasing bank of public policy applications and transparent evaluations. This has been accelerated by recently reported issues in nudge research and questions around how substantially and for how long they shift behaviours.

The above steps are valuable to consider in creating lasting change – in a future piece, we’re going to be looking more closely at some useful insights from academia to help focus interventions and deliver greater impact.