Lessons from the Field

Held on Friday 18 March 2016 at the Melbourne Convention Centre was BehaviourWorks’ inaugural Research Forum.

Below are 11 videos and presentations from the day.

Keynote - Jeremy Grimshaw

Ottawa Hospital Research Institute

Jeremy was a special international guest of the Forum, presenting on how to promote evidence based care through better designed dissemination and implementation strategies. Presentation here.

Are your letters getting the numbers?

Nick Faulkner (BehaviourWorks) and Pravin Madhaven (VicRoads).

Let’s face it, standard letters can be downright unfriendly. That’s why many of us ignore those notifications, statements and fines as long as we can. However, new research shows that by changing what they say, standard letters can be more effective, motivate us to be better citizens and improve the bottom line.

Presentation here.

Dirty Old Joe gets a makeover

Mark Boulet (BehaviourWorks) and Jane La Nauze (Melbourne Water)

‘Old Joes Creek’ – it conjures images of an old timer sippin’ moonshine on the porch of his a log cabin, right? It’s actually a drain running underneath an industrial estate in Melbourne’s eastern suburbs. It’s heavily polluted, carrying insecticides and heavy metals such as cadmium, silver and lead into Dandenong Creek. It smells. Fish are dying. Something had to be done.

Presentation here.

A ‘heads up’ on safe swimming

Liam Smith (BehaviourWorks) and Darren Cottam (EPA)

Summertime. As the sun shines of the brown water, it – wait, it’s brown? When the Environment Protection Authority wanted to encourage beachgoers make the right choices about swimming (like, ‘don’t’) they asked BWA to help intervene with the most effective messages. Thanks to some eye-catching technology, they came up with some interesting results.

Presentation here.

Employing? Then start by employing the right words

Professor Andreas Leibbrandt, Monash Experimental Research Insights Team

Two recent field studies looked at how women and minorities in the US respond to job applications. Both were natural field experiments (where those taking part didn’t know it) and both have revealed the way a job is advertised can affect who applies. Presentation here.

Women in Local Government – improving recruitment practices

Dr John Martin, La Trobe University

Dr Martin presents some interesting findings on who puts their hand up to run for local government and how we can open up the field to a wider range of candidates. Presentation here.

A Switch in time

Eraj Ghafoori (BehaviourWorks) and Fiona Curley (NSW Office of Environment and Heritage)

The NSW Office of Environment and Heritage was half way through it’s Home Power Savings Program – reducing energy use for 220,000 low income households – when it saw it wasn’t tracking as fast as it hoped. They had a choice; keep going with no change or ‘adaptively manage’ the program; that is, look for ways to increase its potential impact before the program ends.

3 Top behaviour change mistakes

A/Prof Liam Smith, Director, BehaviourWorks Australia

Mullet hairdos. That tattoo of your ex. Your ex. We all make mistakes.

Luckily, behaviour change experts try to identify why we make them so we can all learn to make less. But as Liam Smith (Director of BehaviourWorks Australia) points out, even the experts have had a lot to learn. He shares a few lessons about what the behavior change industry has learned over the years.

Presentation here.

Fast facts on fast food

Peter Bragge and Breanna Wright (both from BehaviourWorks Australia)

The National Heart Foundation of Australia had to do something quick; over 60 per cent of Australian adults are overweight and half of them are obese.

Its Victorian branch came up with the Healthy Dining Victoria Program and contacted BehaviourWorks Australia (BWA). What followed was a REALLY rapid review.

Study buddies at smart schools

Mark Boulet (BehaviourWorks) and Kate Greer (Sustainability Victoria)

When BWA buddies up with others to explore the wider effects of Resource Smart Schools, it’s like really good compost; a blend of different ingredients which mix in and, over time, come up with something fertile. Presentation here.

All aboard; sensitising the community to change

Bill Shannon, The Shannon Company

The consummate storyteller shares some insights into how Victoria has led the way in community change programs which have saved thousands of lives.

Presentation here.