Most decisions in policy, service or communications development are made by people who are not behavioural science experts, and they do not need to be. However, behavioural science can add value to the efforts of nearly all practitioners and policy makers – supporting that development is a major goal for the Unit. Developing an understanding of the basic principles of behavioural science and how to enable its application within a project, team, or organisation are key to increasing its use across the system.
Interest in behavioural science is quickly building, there are some great resources, tools, and guidance already out there for you to learn from and apply in your everyday practice. In addition to sharing our own resources, we have collated what we have found useful in the pages below.
We’ve split them up depending on which step in the behavioural science process you’re currently at, more details about the steps can be found here.
Please note that some of the information links included are from external organisations and no Welsh language equivalent is available. We apologise for this.
Define
Diagnose
Select Intervention Type
Select Implementation Type
Build Intervention
Deliver
General
| Title | Author | Description | Resources |
|---|---|---|---|
| Achieving Behaviour Change: A Guide for Local Government | Public Health England | A guide to applying behavioural science for local governments | View resource |
| Approaches to Behaviour Change | Health Education England | A video introducing behaviour change techniques | View webpage |
| Behaviour Change Theory | Choosing Wisely (Australia) | This document provides an overview of behaviour change theory, and the steps you need to take to apply it in practice | View resource |
| Behavioural Discovery Tool | Behavioural Science Unit | A practical, online tool to walk you through the essential considerations to understanding and influencing behaviours that may be at play in your better-health issue. | View webpage |
| Behavioural Evidence Hub | Behavioural Evidence Hub | A repository of behaviour change projects, resources and checklists | View webpage |
| Behavioural Insight Projects | Local Government Association | A repository of case studies funded by the Local Government Association, including public health, climate change, children and young people, community safety and more | View webpage |
| Cost of Living Crisis in Wales; Applying Behavioural Science (Behavioural Science Unit) | Behavioural Science Unit | An infographic explaining how COM-B can be used to increase access to services | View resource |
| Evaluating Behaviour Change Interventions | Behavioural Science Unit | Written in collaboration with the Central Evaluation Team and Public Health Wales, this is a practical and interactive tool that identifies key points to take into consideration when you’re planning how to test and evaluate your behaviour change intervention. | View resource |
| Exploring factors influencing the application of behavioural science within public health practice across Wales: A summary report | Behavioural Science Unit | A report into the exploration of factors influencing the application of behavioural science within public health practice across Wales. | View resource |
| Identifying and Applying Behaviour Change Techniques | Behavioural Science Unit | A practical, interactive tool that introduces Behaviour Change Techniques, considered to be the ‘active ingredients’ of behaviour change interventions. The tool walks you through how to identify and deliver Behaviour Change Techniques, drawing on the COM-B model and Behaviour Change Wheel. | View resource |
| IHI Psychology of Change Framework | The Institute for Healthcare Improvement | This paper is for anyone interested in understanding the underlying psychology to change and leveraging its power to impact quality improvement efforts | View resource |
| Improving health and wellbeing: A guide to using behavioural science in policy and practice (Behavioural Science Unit) | Behavioural Science Unit | A guide for practitioners and policy makers explaining how behavioural science can be used and applied in practice | View resource |
| Improving People’s Health: Applying Behavioural and Social Sciences to Improve Population Health and Wellbeing in England | Public Health England | A guide to applying behavioural and social science | View resource |
| MINDSPACE | The Behavioural Insights Team | This document sets out nine robust influences on behaviour, captured in a mnemonic – MINDSPACE – which can be used as a quick checklist when making policy. | View webpage |
| Podcast: Behavioural Design | Aline Golzwarth and Samuel Salzer | A podcast exploring applied behavioural science and designing for behaviour change | View webpage |
| Podcast: Behavioural Economics Team | Australian Government | A podcast discussing behavioural economics and insights with a range of academics, experts and practitioners | View webpage |
| Podcast: Nudges for Social Good | Local Government Association | A podcast hearing from council officers about their pointers and practical examples on using behavioural insights techniques in various council services | View webpage |
| Podcast: Real World Behavioural Science | Stu King | A podcast exploring how behavioural and social sciences are being used in the real world to help change the public's health | View webpage |
| Responding to the Climate Crisis: Applying Behavioural Science (Behavioural Science Unit) | Behavioural Science Unit | A guide designed to support policy makers and professionals use behaviour science to create effective interventions to respond to the climate crisis | View resource |
| The BASIC Toolkit: Tools and Ethics for Applied BehSci | Observatory for Public Sector Innovation | Methodology that looks at behaviours, analysis, strategies, interventions and change (BASIC) | View resource |
| The Method Book | Monash Univeristy and Behaviour Works, Australia | Guidance on the methods and tools Behaviour Works use to change behaviour | View webpage |
| Using Behavioural Science to improve and protect health in Wales | Behavioural Science Unit | This tool is designed to capture case studies of how behavioural science has been used to optimise that impact. | View resource |
| What’s Behavioural Science Got To Do With Me? | Sheffield Hallam University | A short video introducing behavioural science, and how it's relevant to your role | View webpage |