10 November 2009
Time to change behaviour
Gillian Norton and Paul Martin
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Councils cannot be expected to make their communities better places in which to live without support from the public, say Gillian Norton and Paul Martin.
The shift from a focus on responding to the major problems of local communities to a more preventative approach is probably one of the biggest challenges facing local government.
In London, we are already witnessing a major shift in how councils and their partners work with local people to achieve a greener and healthier society, cleaner streets, increased levels of recycling and less anti-social activity.
Influencing the behaviour of local residents and businesses has always been part of what local government does, but there is a growing focus on behavioural approaches – which is the subject of a new guide from London’s Improvement and Efficiency Partnership Capital Ambition – part of London Councils.
Developed by Capital Ambition’s London Collaborative programme, the aim of the guide is to help public authorities learn from the experiences of others, and develop their own solutions for the issues they might be facing in their areas.
Examples include work in Barnet, where environmentally-conscious people are being encouraged to do more to reduce carbon and to act as champions to motivate others – or Richmond, where a combination of the ‘carrot and the stick’ is used to encourage recycling, walking, and the use of smaller cars.
Camden is using energy meters in homes, and testing whether showing people how much others are paying in energy bills or how their energy consumption compares with others has the greatest impact on behaviour.
Sutton has a comprehensive programme called Smarter Choices to influence the actions people take in their communities.
In Wimbledon, Transport for London is incentivising more children to walk to school by offering high street vouchers and an attractive common room for when they get there on time, creating an immediate impact on bus overcrowding and obvious longer-term fitness benefits.
While seeking to change people’s behaviour is nothing new, a range of issues is now combining to make boroughs look at the method with renewed interest.
There is a growing acceptance that service delivery can only change so much, in terms of resident behaviour. Real and lasting change may only be delivered if we work with residents to ‘co-create’ the social outcomes we need.
At the same time, dwindling resources and the squeeze on the public purse will mean even greater efficiency in local government activities. To help achieve this, we need to get serious about focusing on how we can prevent issues or conditions arising before the need for intervention.
As an environment manager put it in a recent workshop: ‘This is not just hype. We need to get better at helping residents do the right thing, because we can’t keep simply fixing problems.’
Capital Ambition is already helping to bring boroughs together with each other and with agencies such as the NHS, TfL and the GLA to discuss new ways to change behaviour.
As well discussing local experiences, the collaborative work of Capital Ambition is also helping boroughs understand the thinking behind behaviour change, from Nudge theory through behavioural economics to appr-oaches based on values, persuasion and deliberation.
There is a lot to think about to bring about effective behavioural change – from ensuring that desired objectives are clear and properly communicated to residents through to ensuring agencies have an understanding of the current behaviour of their communities before they go about seeking to change it.
Understanding what groups of people make up a community is also vital – not only in terms of demography, but also the different levels of receptiveness, motivations and barriers to change.
We are learning that we cannot change the behaviour of others unless we start with ourselves. The values, energy and commitment of our own staff are crucial in winning public support.
We, and all our staff, need to learn to work alongside people, to draw on insights about people’s lives and experiences, to exchange ideas about what might help, remove barriers, create incentives, and be smarter about the ‘choice architecture’.
The recession makes even more urgent a rethink of how we spend scarce public resources. By changing our behaviour, both within organisations and in our communities, we can save millions, and focus on the services that really make a difference.
The way forward isn’t about trickery or manipulation, and it cannot be achieved by frightening or controlling people. We need serious conversations within and with our communities to win support for changes we all agree are necessary.
Local government is crucially placed to lead those conversations.
Click here for more details of the behaviour guide
Gillian Norton is chief executive of Richmond LBC, and Paul Martin is chief executive of Sutton LBC. Both are Capital Ambition champions on behaviour change
The shift from a focus on responding to the major problems of local communities to a more preventative approach is probably one of the biggest challenges facing local government.
 |
| Fresh moves: In London, there has been a major shift in how councils and their partners work with local people to achieve a greener and healthier society (Pic: Mike King) |
In London, we are already witnessing a major shift in how councils and their partners work with local people to achieve a greener and healthier society, cleaner streets, increased levels of recycling and less anti-social activity.
Influencing the behaviour of local residents and businesses has always been part of what local government does, but there is a growing focus on behavioural approaches – which is the subject of a new guide from London’s Improvement and Efficiency Partnership Capital Ambition – part of London Councils.
Developed by Capital Ambition’s London Collaborative programme, the aim of the guide is to help public authorities learn from the experiences of others, and develop their own solutions for the issues they might be facing in their areas.
Examples include work in Barnet, where environmentally-conscious people are being encouraged to do more to reduce carbon and to act as champions to motivate others – or Richmond, where a combination of the ‘carrot and the stick’ is used to encourage recycling, walking, and the use of smaller cars.
Camden is using energy meters in homes, and testing whether showing people how much others are paying in energy bills or how their energy consumption compares with others has the greatest impact on behaviour.
Sutton has a comprehensive programme called Smarter Choices to influence the actions people take in their communities.
In Wimbledon, Transport for London is incentivising more children to walk to school by offering high street vouchers and an attractive common room for when they get there on time, creating an immediate impact on bus overcrowding and obvious longer-term fitness benefits.
While seeking to change people’s behaviour is nothing new, a range of issues is now combining to make boroughs look at the method with renewed interest.
There is a growing acceptance that service delivery can only change so much, in terms of resident behaviour. Real and lasting change may only be delivered if we work with residents to ‘co-create’ the social outcomes we need.
At the same time, dwindling resources and the squeeze on the public purse will mean even greater efficiency in local government activities. To help achieve this, we need to get serious about focusing on how we can prevent issues or conditions arising before the need for intervention.
As an environment manager put it in a recent workshop: ‘This is not just hype. We need to get better at helping residents do the right thing, because we can’t keep simply fixing problems.’
Capital Ambition is already helping to bring boroughs together with each other and with agencies such as the NHS, TfL and the GLA to discuss new ways to change behaviour.
As well discussing local experiences, the collaborative work of Capital Ambition is also helping boroughs understand the thinking behind behaviour change, from Nudge theory through behavioural economics to appr-oaches based on values, persuasion and deliberation.
There is a lot to think about to bring about effective behavioural change – from ensuring that desired objectives are clear and properly communicated to residents through to ensuring agencies have an understanding of the current behaviour of their communities before they go about seeking to change it.
Understanding what groups of people make up a community is also vital – not only in terms of demography, but also the different levels of receptiveness, motivations and barriers to change.
We are learning that we cannot change the behaviour of others unless we start with ourselves. The values, energy and commitment of our own staff are crucial in winning public support.
We, and all our staff, need to learn to work alongside people, to draw on insights about people’s lives and experiences, to exchange ideas about what might help, remove barriers, create incentives, and be smarter about the ‘choice architecture’.
The recession makes even more urgent a rethink of how we spend scarce public resources. By changing our behaviour, both within organisations and in our communities, we can save millions, and focus on the services that really make a difference.
The way forward isn’t about trickery or manipulation, and it cannot be achieved by frightening or controlling people. We need serious conversations within and with our communities to win support for changes we all agree are necessary.
Local government is crucially placed to lead those conversations.
Click here for more details of the behaviour guide
Gillian Norton is chief executive of Richmond LBC, and Paul Martin is chief executive of Sutton LBC. Both are Capital Ambition champions on behaviour change
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