The Method

Change can be hard. We all know that. Keeping fit, eating well, managing our finances and doing the right thing by others and the planet. We try our best as individuals, but it often falls to government and other institutions to persuade us to change our ways, typically by providing information, developing regulations or creating incentives.

The case for behaviour change

The problem is, telling people what to do or think doesn’t always work.

To give our behaviour change ambitions the best chance of success, we need to understand the things that really matter to people and use insights from the behavioural sciences to influence behaviour in a way that leads to more economic prosperity, better health, social inclusion and environmental sustainability.

By using insights from the behavioural sciences, as well as our experiences working on behaviour change projects over the years, embracing new methods of thinking and expanding our skillset with new staff and partners, in 2016 we developed the BehaviourWorks Method.

This book provides an in-depth guide on how to use the BehaviourWorks Method, providing practitioners with a prioritised list of research and decision-making tools that will increase the chances that any behaviour change efforts will be effective. The Book is based on our extensive experience of applying different behaviour change skills and approaches in partnership with government and industry across a range of contexts.

In this Introductory chapter, we outline some of the key benefits of applying the behavioural sciences to influence outcomes related to economic prosperity, better health, social inclusion and environmental sustainability (including specific reference to Covid-19), followed by an overview of the Method. We then describe our plans to release a chapter each month throughout 2021 that focuses on a specific skill or approach (along with a host of complementary resources, including future training and collaboration opportunities). Finally, we describe how we will be applying the behavioural sciences to our author team to deliver the book as planned.