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The UCL Centre for Behaviour Change (CBC) annual report for the year 2020. It covers the centre's activities, research projects, partnerships, and contributions to behavioural science, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic. The report highlights new projects, publications, and initiatives in areas such as maternal health, digital aids, and behaviour change interventions.
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UCL
CENTRE
FOR
BEHAVIOUR
CHANGE
ANNUAL
REPORT
2020
WELCOME
MESSAGE FROM THE DIRECTOR
Welcome to UCL Centre for Behaviour Change’s
2020 annual report.
Addressing societal problems through behaviour change, especially in the areas of human health and environmental sustainability, has been at the heart of the Centre for Behaviour Change’s (CBC’s) mission since 2014. As a global leader for interdisciplinary academic expertise in behaviour change, the CBC has continued to deliver an ambitious and wide-ranging portfolio of activities, including research, training, consultancy, teaching, as well as public policy and engagement.
This year we have seen the science of behaviour change increasingly applied across the world, as we adapt how we work and learn. The CBC has made significant changes, delivering our successful annual conference, International Summer Schools and Masters course online, with surprisingly positive effects. We have reached more people globally, increasing equality of access; online small groups and multiple communication channels have encouraged more participation and therefore inclusivity; and providing material in advance of discussion has led to better imparting of knowledge and more time for discussions.
The CBC is a small team with a large impact; our methods enable individuals, organisations and government to generate practical solutions to complex problems using a systematic, science-based approach. Our team of researchers and behaviour change experts continue to form strong partnerships in the UK and internationally to advance the science of behaviour change and develop real- world interventions with impact. We address a wide variety of topics e.g. promoting maternal health in low-resource settings, reducing gender-based violence and increasing women’s economic empowerment, contributing to the national and international response to the COVID-19 pandemic, and embedding behavioural science in strategic planning in large public organisations.
This report presents 2020 highlights, including;
We continue to contribute to a wide range of UCL activity, including strategic research initiatives, UCL’s environmental sustainability work and the very successful Beyond Boundaries conference where we led the session ‘ Behaviour: The Climate & Sustainability Crises’. We have also worked closely with the Equality, Diversity and Inclusion team, part of the Office of the President and Vice Provost at UCL, to apply behavioural science to improving working conditions and within the institution, contributing our expertise to efforts to prevent sexual misconduct and bullying within higher education.
We keep information and engagement flowing via our revamped website and monthly newsletters to more than 5000 participants. Do sign up to the newsletter for further details: UCL Centre for Behaviour Change mailing list.
Our 2021 initiatives include:
None of this would be possible without the support at UCL and beyond, including strategic leadership from our Advisory Board, operational input from our Executive Committee, scientific guidance from our International Conference committees, and stretching our impact via our network of CBC Associates. I would like to give my sincere thanks to them, along with the talented and hard-working CBC team. We look forward to the year ahead, with all the challenges and opportunities for making a difference that it will begin. 2020 has been tough for all but there have been changes, learnings and advances that can act as a foundation for all of us to work towards #BuildingBackBetter.
Professor Susan Michie, FAcSS, FMedSci Director, Centre for Behaviour Change
There are 50 icons, which are available in mid blue or white and should follow the same
accessibility guidelines as the logo. Icons can be used individually or coloured with colours from
the colour palette to create infographics (shown below).
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Cutting edge interdisciplinary research
Host interdisciplinary events addressing topical social and methodological issues
Deliver wide-ranging and bespoke training and teaching
Evidence-based consultancy
Build communities to facilitate the engagement of policy-makers, practitioners and researchers
© UCL Health Creatives | June 2020
ABOUT THE CBC
The CBC’s mission is to improve global well-being, social cohesion and equity, and environmental
sustainability through enabling behaviour change. We achieve this by carrying out research to advance
the scientific understanding of behaviour and how to change it, developing methods and tools to
improve the quality, use and impact of applying scientific understanding, and working with others,
nationally and internationally, to translate behavioural science expertise into real-world impact.
The CBC promotes the science and practice of behaviour change to address key challenges facing society through interdisciplinary collaboration and partnerships, for example:
OUR YEAR IN NUMBERS
ACTIVE RESEARCH GRANTS
28
CONFERENCE DELEGATES
350
PEER-REVIEWED PUBLICATIONS
73
PRESENTATIONS (EXTERNAL )
40
CONSULTANCY PROJECTS
17
INCOME FROM RESEARCH PROJECTS AWARDED IN 2020
£14m
£1m
of which
was awarded to the CBC
STUDENTS ACCESSING CBC-LED COURSES AT UCL
90 undergraduates 54 postgraduates
ONLINE SUCCESSES
The CBC’s annual digital health and behaviour change conference is a unique event in the field of digital health and behaviour change. This three-day event brings together academics and industry professionals to exchange ideas and form collaborations to advance the science and practice of digital behaviour change. Conference themes included The Science of Behaviour Change, Methodology, Emerging Technologies, Current Technologies and Real-World Applications.
Thanks to members of the International Advisory Board and Organising and Scientific Committees for their valuable contributions to a dynamic and well received programme. Particular thanks to Scientific Committee chairs, Dr Felix Naughton and Dr Sarah Jackson.
Launched in 2014, the CBC International Summer Schools offer researchers, practitioners and policy makers an opportunity to immerse themselves in learning the principles and practice of behaviour change over a 5-day period.
The schools offer participants the opportunity to work on personalised goals and action plans with mentors, and use pre-recorded learning materials, self-directed learning tasks, live webinars and small group mentoring. Evaluations of the online course indicated very high participant satisfaction.
More than 350
delegates attended from
26 countries,
accessing over 100
presentations 86% of delegates said that the conference met or exceeded expectations for an online event
Three courses
attended by 110 participants
from 36 countries
The Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (SAGE) provides scientific and technical advice to support government decision makers during emergencies. Professor Susan Michie and Professor Robert West are participants in the Scientific Pandemic Influenza Group on Behaviours (SPI-B). Published guidance can be accessed here. One of the outputs led by Professors Michie and West, using the COM-B model and BCW framework to structure thinking and recommendations for policymakers, can be seen at https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/bjhp.12428.
Professors Michie and West are also members of Independent SAGE, which provides weekly data updates, reports on a wide range of COVID-19-related topics, and independent advice to the UK Government and other audiences to inform their response to COVID-19. It holds weekly conferences with the press and public live streamed on YouTube. Reports produced by Independent SAGE are available here.
Professor Michie has provided expert evidence and advice to:
Professor Michie is also a member of:
CBC Deputy Director Dr Paul Chadwick is a member of the British Psychological Society’s Behavioural Disease Prevention Taskforce. Chaired by CBC Associate Professor Dr Angel Chater, the taskforce is a hub for behavioural science expertise to support initiatives to reduce the spread of COVID-19. The committee has co-produced 17 guidance documents to support national and local governments to prevent transmission of COVID-19 and limit the impact of the pandemic on physical and psychological health.
Professor Michie is a member of the World Health Organization’s Behavioural Insights and Sciences Technical and Advisory Group and, together with Dr Elizabeth Corker from CBC, have acted as consultants to the Behavioural Insights team, developing a method for supporting countries to use survey and other data to inform policy and to generate actionable recommendations.
Professor Michie is a member of the Lancet Commission on COVID-19 Task Force on Public Health Measures to Suppress the Pandemic.
WORKING WITH LOCAL GOVERNMENT
Dr Chadwick has worked with the Behavioral Insights Unit at Hertfordshire County Council to adapt the Achieving Behaviour Change Guides for Local Authorities to enable rapid response to requests for behavioural science support from teams across the local authority. The processes and tools developed using the guides have enabled the rapid development of behavioural science briefings to inform a range of public health campaigns under the Stay Safe Hertfordshire umbrella such as increasing resilience, prevention of alcohol dependency, and maintaining social distancing in public spaces.
Advice to UK Government and the World Health Organisation (WHO)
RESEARCH
Our research has been broadly organised around three themes:
Developing methods for advancing the science of behaviour change and its application, including the reporting and synthesis of evidence across and within academic disciplines.
Improving health and well-being, including understanding and changing behaviour to support people to manage their health and enable health care professionals and systems to deliver evidence-based practice.
Combatting threats to the environment and sustainability, by examining how human behaviour and systems can be shaped to improve stewardship of the planet’s resources and mitigate climate change.
Research
highlights
We have 28 active research grants, including NIHR, Wellcome Trust, and UKRI.
Funder: Wellcome Trust
Duration: 2020 - 2022
Partners: IBM Research Dublin, Universities of Aberdeen and Cambridge
CBC leads: Professor Susan Michie
CBC researchers: Dr Alison Wright, Dr Alibhe Finnerty, Dr Oscar Castro, Ella Howes, Emily Hayes, Candice Moore, Institute of Education researchers: Professor James Thomas, Dr Alison O’Mara-Eves, Eva Jermutus
To supplement the Human Behaviour-Change Project an award from the Wellcome Trust Research Enrichment - Public Engagement scheme will fund an investigation of trust in health-promoting digital aids using Artificial Intelligence. The team will bring together health-interested public and population-health decision-makers for a series of workshops. They will enable engagement with key aspects of the Human Behaviour-Change Project’s AI System and co-produce a toolkit of resources to facilitate appropriate trust in AI systems applied to population health decision-making. This will include training and workshops with the UCL Co-Production Collective to develop and practice skills for public engagement activities for research.
Developing a toolkit to facilitate appropriate trust in artificial intelligence for public health decision making 3
CBC staff, researchers and behaviour change experts publish extensively each year. For the list of outputs and publications from 2020 click here.
CBC’s partnership with ActionAid Ireland (AAI) continues to apply behavioural science to the reduction of violence towards women and girls. AAI commissioned the CBC to produce Using the Behaviour Change Wheel Framework in Gender- Focused International Development Programmes: A Field Guide. Launched by webinar in October 2020, with CBC work lead by Dr Paul Chadwick, the guide draws upon the learnings from implementing the Women’s Rights Programme II in Kenya, Ethiopia and Nepal, providing a step-by-step guide to integrating community participatory and behaviour change methods to improve the lives of women in marginalised communities.
WRAP estimates the financial costs associated with avoidable household food waste in the UK is £14.9 billion with the associated greenhouse gas emissions estimated at 22 million tonnes of CO2eq. WRAP worked alongside CBC to apply behavioural systems mapping to their work on developing behaviour change interventions for tackling household food waste. The map identifies the actors, behaviours and influences on food waste, representing the interplay of influence within and between the consumer, retail and manufacturing sector contributing to household food waste.
Preventing gender-based violence in international development
TRANSLATING KNOWLEDGE
INTO PRACTICE
Consultancy
The consultancy work of CBC continues to grow spanning health, sustainability and social justice.
Below is a selection of consultancy projects carried out in 2020:
The Prevention Directorate of the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) looks after the interests of UK nationals in other countries. Sexual assault of UK nationals abroad is unacceptably high. The CBC, lead by Dr Paul Chadwick, is working with FCDO to develop a methodology to apply behavioural science to the primary and secondary prevention of sexual assault, piloting the approach in Spain and Turkey.
Now more than ever health and social care services need to think creatively about how services are delivered to have maximum reach, impact and reduce inequalities. The CBC, lead by Dr Lou Atkins and Dr Paul Chadwick, worked with Nesta, Macmillan and the British Heart Foundation to produce Re-imagining Help: An Evidence-based Approach to Helping People Reach Their Goals. Reimagining Help is a toolkit to support those responsible for commissioning, designing and delivering services to deliver effective behaviour change support across a wide range of contexts. We used co-production methods to synthesise evidence from NICE guidance on behaviour change with insights gained from stakeholders from cancer and cardiovascular disease care to create a guide for service redesign.
Preventing harms associated with sexual assault of UK citizens abroad
Placing behavioural science at the heart of service transformation
Applying Behavioural Systems Mapping to food waste
The CBC has promoted behaviour change and interventions development through engagement activities.
In 2020, CBC Deputy Director Dr Paul Chadwick was seconded as the Joint Head of Public Health England’s Behavioural Insights team for six months, contributing to a range of issues related to the recovery from COVID-19 including cross-government policy on green recovery and obesity. Dr Chadwick is PHE lead for the Behavioural and Social Science Strategy for Public Health.
CBC Senior Research Fellow Dr Jo Hale was seconded to the sustainability team within Policy Connect, a cross-party think tank working in health, education & skills, industry, technology & innovation, and sustainability. She coordinated 14 reports on how to achieve the UK’s Net Zero target by 2050, jointly authored by parliamentarians and academics and informed by a series of round table events.
Dr Jo Hale and Dr Paul Chadwick, in collaboration with Chris Jofeh of the Decarbonisation Advisory Group for Wales, submitted evidence for the BEIS Select Committee Enquiry for Decarbonisaing Heat in Homes based on their experience of applying behavioural systems mapping and the Behaviour Change Wheel framework to develop recommendations for the Better Home, Better Wales Better World report.
Public Health England (PHE)
Policy Connect
BEIS Select Committee Enquiry – Decarbonising Heat in Homes
Bespoke training
CBC training courses and workshops support institutions across the public, commercial and third sectors to understand and apply behaviour change science to a range of issues. This year the CBC has trained over 228 participants from 11 different organisations, adapting its training courses to online.
HERTFORDSHIRE BEHAVIOUR CHANGE UNIT
WEST BERKSHIRE LOCAL AUTHORITY
MOVEMBER FOUNDATION
WRAP
ACTIONAID IRELAND
ROYAL MARINES
FOREIGN, COMMONWEALTH AND DEVELOPMENT OFFICE
TROCAIRE
Organisational Sustainability Change
Social CBC BESPOKE TRAINING DELIVERED IN 2020 Health Justice
TEACHING
Now in its fourth year, our highly regarded MSc Behaviour Change equips students with the knowledge and skills to use behaviour change science to tackle a wide range of issues spanning sustainability, health and social justice.
Despite the challenges facing the higher education sector this year saw over 200 applications - a 7% increase from last year. The 2020-21 cohort has 35 MSc, 2 PG Diploma and 2 PG Certificate students. Half of the students are from the UK, 11% are international and the remainder are from Europe. The academic backgrounds of students span Psychology, Business, Economics, Humanities and Politics.
Many of the research-based dissertations are based on real-world projects developed in partnership with the CBC, UCL ARENA, the UCL Sustainability Team and third sector organisations such as The Mix.
MSc Behaviour Change publications
Approximately 30% of research dissertations are being prepared for or have been accepted in peer-reviewed journals. Two examples:
A qualitative study using the theoretical domains framework and the capability opportunity motivation-behaviour model Kam, W., Haklay, M., & Lorke, J. (2020). Exploring factors associated with participation in citizen science among UK museum visitors aged 40–60: A qualitative study using the theoretical domains framework and the capability opportunity motivation-behaviour model. Public Understanding of Science, 0963662520963511.
Mental Health Training to Improve Communication with Children and Adolescents: A Process Evaluation Moran, R., & Gutman, L. M. (2020). Mental Health Training to Improve Communication with Children and Adolescents: A Process Evaluation. Journal of Clinical Nursing.
Mini conference
The annual MSc Behaviour Change mini-conference allows outgoing students to showcase their research-based dissertation as well as offers opportunities for networking among new and former students. This year the mini-conference was a successful online event with more than 70 attendees.
MSc Alumni
This year we launched the MSc Behaviour Change Alumni Group to support networking and collaboration amongst our alumni and with CBC; 55 students are active in the group.
MSc Highlights
For more information on the MSc programme: https://www.ucl.ac.uk/behaviour-change/study/msc- behaviour-change
The Mix have collaborated
with two UCL students
studying MSc Behaviour Change
who focused their dissertations
on the Mix webchat counselling
service. Both students produced
very insightful works with clear and
actionable recommendations, some
of which we will implement.
Data, Evaluation and Insights Manager at The Mix, Bohdana Dock.
Behaviour Change: An Interdisciplinary Approach enables 3rd year undergraduate students from across UCL to study principles of behaviour change from an interdisciplinary perspective and how it can be applied to a variety of topics, such as international development, digital applications, transport, and the way that the built environment shapes behaviours relating to energy use, health and wellbeing. 144 students (90 undergraduate, 54 postgraduate) are enrolled for 2020-2021.
THE YEAR AHEAD
We will launch a new online short course ‘Behaviour Change Interventions: Introductory Principles and Practice’ in early 2021. Led by CBC staff Dr Danielle D’Lima, Dr Paul Chadwick and Professor Susan Michie, this course will provide an entry level understanding of how to systematically design behaviour change interventions in a range of contexts. More information on this course, including content, price and how to register, will be released soon.
BUPA – CBC WEBINAR SERIES
In early 2021 the CBC will be launch the CBC and Bupa UK’s jointly hosted webinar series on behaviour change and healthcare, led by CBC staff and associates. All webinars will be available on the CBC website.
Dr Aleksandra Herbec & Dr Olga Perksi
Dr Danielle D’Lima
Dr Fabiana Lorencatto
Dr Paul Chadwick
BUPA-CBC webinar series