What is behaviour change, does it work, should we do it, and why are local authorities and the government in the UK interested in it? Find out all this and more in only 15 slides.

1. Eyes and Flies: Why
Behaviour Change Matters
Louise Reeve

2. What will you get out of this
presentation?
1. A greater understanding of behaviour
change, what it means, why it
matters, and why we are doing it.
2. A cool phrase – “cognitive polyphasia”
– which will impress people.

3. EYES: What is behaviour change?
“A sustained shift in people’s awareness, attitudes, motivation
and habits which makes them do things differently. Once enough
people make the change, it becomes the social norm.”
(Steve Park)
Nettle D, Nott K, Bateson M (2012) ‘Cycle Thieves, We Are Watching You’

4. Why seek to change behaviour?
Previous example: prevent socially harmful behaviour such as cycle theft
Or, promote socially beneficial behaviour
Local government context: Between 2010-2015 , local authorities face a
central grant reduction of 28%.
Many argue this requires not “salami-slicing”, but wholesale redesign of
service delivery.
Example: Somerset – “Sort It”
partnership: "By collecting food waste
separately, people become more
aware of the amount they are
throwing out and start to minimise
their waste themselves.”
Reduced costs by 20%.
Somerset Waste Partnership

5. Why don’t people just behave in the
“right” way anyway?
It seems like common sense not to drop litter or drink
to excess… yet people do it. Why?
National Social Marketing Centre:
“People do not always act in their own best
interest, and behaviour can be:
Irrational, we don’t carefully consider every action
we take
influenced by both internal factors (such as
confidence, attitude to risk, habit) and external
factors (such as what everyone else is doing, the
environment we live in)
subject to change in different circumstances.”
(NSMC, “A Social Marketing approach to behaviour change”)

6. How do you do it? And is it the same
thing as social marketing?
The next slides will explain how to do it. First, an important
point: Different behaviour change tools exist:
Support – help people to make the change by giving them
the means to do it
Design – change the environment or products, to support new
behaviour
Inform and educate – provide information, run marketing
campaigns
Control – use legislation to require people to do things, such as
use seatbelts or not smoke
Using marketing techniques to encourage people to adopt a
new behaviour is one approach, but not the only one – and
usually most effective combined with other approaches.

7. The famous FLIES…
Often, changing habitual
behaviour requires a change
in the environment.
(This is why social marketing
is a useful behaviour change
tool, but may not be enough
on its own.)
So, to prevent spillage at
urinals…
…give their users something
to aim at!
Change Observer, “The value of
design disruptions”.

8. The essence of a Social Marketing
approach to behaviour change
Segmentation
Build Actionable
Insight
A SMART
behavioural goal
1. Do I see things
from my audience‟s
perspective?
2. Am I clear about
what I would like
people to do?
4. Do the benefits of
change outweigh the
costs or barriers?
Use behavioural
theory
3. Am I using a
combination of
activities to
encourage the
desired behaviour?
Identify the
exchange
Learn from the
competition
Support
Control
Inform and
Educate
Design
(NSMC, “A Social Marketing approach to behaviour change”)

9. Segmenting your Audience
A „one size fits all‟ approach
A message, or a service, will be interpreted differently
by different types of people
“Don‟t sniff glue or
aerosols, they can kill
you”
How terrifying, I won‟t be doing that!
So what?
It‟s a kids drug, I wouldn‟t be
seen dead doing that.
Hmm, I didn‟t know you could
sniff glue – I‟ll give that a try!
(NSMC, “A Social Marketing approach to behaviour change”)

10. Should we be doing this?
Do people want us to do this?
Ipsos MORI “Acceptable Behaviour”
report 2012:
36% of people agree with the
statement: “The government
should change the law so that
everyone has to enrol in a pension
scheme”.
The same 36% also agree with the
statement: “government should
not get involved in what people
choose to save for retirement”.
Cognitive polyphasia = “the way
individuals can exhibit contradictory
modes of thinking about a subject”.

11. But, staying neutral is not an
option…
“Staying neutral is trickier than
it sounds. All else being equal, a
government that decides not to
influence fizzy-drink
consumption (or whatever)
isn't staying neutral, leaving
consumers free of pressure. It's
making an active choice to let
the soft drink industry's
persuasive efforts –
ads, sponsorship – go
unopposed.”
Oliver Burkeman, “Don’t take
refuge in neutrality”

12. Does it work?
“Usually the most effective means of changing behaviour at
a population level is to use a range of policy tools, both
regulatory and non-regulatory.”
Government Response to the Science and Technology Select
Committee Report on Behaviour Change
Does it work? Yes, but be aware that there can be
unwanted consequences! Cycle Theft intervention:
Bicycle theft decreased at locations with eye signs by 62%...
However, bicycle theft increased by 65% in the control
locations.
So, yes it can work… but it is a complex, involved process.

13. What are we doing in Newcastle?
Behaviour Change “enabler”
workstream with 11 different projects:
1. Maintaining the City
7. Fostering and Adoption
2. Crisis Response
8. Community Safety
3. Services People Access
9. Go Smarter
4. Support and Enabling
10. Warm Up North
5. Services to Schools
11. Greening Newcastle
6. Public Health

14. Conclusion
What it is
Why we want to do it
Why behaviour change and social
marketing are not necessarily the same
thing
How you do it
Should we do it?
The meaning of “cognitive polyphasia”
Does it work?
What we are doing in Newcastle.
Questions?

15. Sources
Burkeman, O. 2013: “Don’t take refuge in neutrality; trying to stay neutral is
fraught with trouble”. Guardian, 24 August 2013.
Cabinet Office, 2012: “Government Response to the Science and Technology
Select Committee Report on Behaviour Change”. London, Cabinet Office.
Change Observer, “The value of design disruptions”:
http://changeobserver.designobserver.com/feature/flies-in-urinals-the-valueof-design-disruptions/33108/ (accessed 27 November 2013)
Keohane, N. 2011. “Changing Behaviours: Opening a new conversation with
the citizen”. London, NLGN.
Ipsos MORI, 2012: “Acceptable Behaviour: Public opinion on behaviour change
policy”. London, Ipsos MORI.
Nettle D, Nott K, Bateson M (2012) ‘Cycle Thieves, We Are Watching You’:
Impact of a Simple Signage Intervention against Bicycle Theft. PLoS ONE 7(12).
Somerset Waste Partnership: http://www.somersetwaste.gov.uk/ (access 27
November 2013)