. Systematic Tool for Behavioral Assumption Validation and Exploration A tool to support policy making and implementation for sustainable consumption

1. A tool to support policy making and implementation
for sustainable consumption
STAVE
Systematic Tool for Behavioral
Assumption Validation and
Exploration
Good Practice Guide
If you are interested in understanding and addressing citizens’
daily behavior in any policy context STAVE may suit you
The STAVE tool was developed in the context of the EU Pachelbel Project
(Policy Addressing Climate Change and Learning about Consumer
Behaviour and Everyday Life) (GA 244024)
www.pachelbel.eu

2. This guide aims at helping potential users of the STAVE
tool to get a feel of what the tool does and how it can
help in policy making and policy implementation for
sustainable consumption
What is the STAVE tool ?
How can I know if it suits my
needs?
A detailed description of the STAVE tool can
be found in the STAVE Manual
The STAVE tool was developed and tested in the climate change and sustainability
context in the framework of the EU funded project Pachelbel. Its characteristics and
capabilities enable the STAVE tool to serve meaningfully in other policy contexts
where citizens’ daily behaviour is a fundamental concern

3. What is STAVE?
A tool to support policy making and
implementation for sustainable consumption
A strategy to link the sphere of policy-making
with the sphere of everyday lay citizen
behaviours
A set of procedures/methods to identify policy-
makers’ concerns, engage citizens in reflecting
about the policy area, “capture” the related
everyday behaviours and discourses, and feed
them back to the policy makers.
The STAVE trials carried out in the framework of the Pachelbel project in six EU
countries focused on defining new policy initiatives and/or validating existing policy
measures dealing with the promotion of sustainable behaviors in 6 EU countries.

4. Is STAVE a suitable tool for me?
The evidence gathered through the STAVE trials indicate that it is a strong tool to deal
with everyday citizen behaviors, especially in areas that do not involve highly polarized
issues (public opposition, demonstrations, conflicts of interests, etc.).
• Does your policy issue relate to “everyday
Yes citizen behaviours”?
• Is your policy issue a highly controversial
No one?
• Are you ready to commit to an “engagement”
Yes process?
• Are you ready to involve a “STAVE operator”
Yes (with social science skills) in the process?
STAVE is a deceptively simple but sophisticated tool.
To make the best of it the owner of the process (policy maker) needs to be
committed to it, and social science skills should be integrated through calling
upon a so-called “STAVE operator”.

5. The STAVE process
If you are considering the possibility of implementing STAVE
, these are the four key steps to be followed
1. Clarifying objectives
2. Preparing the intervention
3. Implementing the process
4. Providing feedback

6. A visual representation of the key four steps to be followed if
you are considering the use of STAVE
1 2
Clarifying objectives Preparing the intervention
 x x



x x
3
Implementing the process
TOOLKIT
Meeting 1 Meeting 2 Meeting 3
4
Providing feedback

7. 1. Clarifying objectives
This very first step aims to help you clarify your needs and concerns
= your demand
1 2
Clarifying objectives Preparing the intervention
 x x



x x
3
1 Implementing the process
Clarifying objectives TOOLKIT
Meeting 1 Meeting 2 Meeting 3
4
Providing feedback
Characterize your policy context
A reflection focused on
these three aspects will
facilitate the proper
Specify your “policy issue” definition of your
objectives.
Characterize your citizen context
To this end, a so-called “Project Group” involving representatives of the policy maker
and the STAVE operator should be established so your STAVE process can benefit from
, and properly integrate, the most pertinent inputs.

8. Characterize your policy context
Your demand will be closely linked to your own policy profile, so please place your
institution in the following figure according to your level of government, and
experience with social research as well as with public participation process.
Level of government
Local Regional National
Familiar
Experience with public participation
Unfamiliar
Unfamiliar Familiar
Experience with social research
The STAVE trials showed that your specific policy profile will influence greatly
the type of intervention you will wish to prepare, and the type of feedback
that will be most useful to improving your policy design and implementation.

9. Characterize your policy issue
This step will help you to specify the policy issue suitable for your STAVE process as well as
the particular questions that may guide its appropriate design and implementation
Specify your policy issue
The STAVE trials showed that the tool can properly address quite a wide range of “policy
issues”, such as domestic energy savings – including citizens' interaction with smart
meters , transportation habits, recycling, buying domestic appliances, etc.
Define the specific policy questions
The specific questions STAVE can deal with include:
Knowledge gaps? Need to know more about specific citizen behaviors, or gain
evidence on lay persons' reasoning and actions?
 Acceptability of specific policies/strategies? Public views on specific policy options?
 Engaging specific groups in policy strategies (“access”)?
Consider the exploratory/validatory dimension
Depending on your “policy issue” and “questions” you may use STAVE to explore new
policy options or to validate existing ones. Most of the STAVE trials entailed a
combination of both.

10. Characterize your citizen context
You will engage pertinent groups of citizens to reflect (directly or indirectly) on your
questions, in order to “capture” the related behaviours and discourses (step 3). Such
knowledge will be then be fed back to you and your project group (step 4) so you can
consider/integrate/etc. it in your policy making & implementation .
Define your target group (“concerned public”): The STAVE trials engaged lay
citizens living in relevant types of buildings, neighborhoods or areas (segmented across
significant socio-demographic variables), or alternatively, identified stakeholders (such
as shopkeepers from a very specific neighborhood)
• Citizens
The target
• Stakeholders
group
The target • Does it entail daily or infrequent behaviours?
behaviour • Does it entail controversy?
Define your target “behaviors” (the ones that policy seeks to foster):
The STAVE trials dealt with daily behaviors related to energy
consumption, transportation, etc. STAVE also worked well with mundane but less
FREQUENT behaviors, such as purchasing home appliances.
The STAVE Manual and Operator will help you to define your target groups
and target behaviors

11. 2. Preparing the intervention
(design and monitoring)
The second step aims to help you design your STAVE intervention
with the support of the STAVE operator and the STAVE Manual
2
Preparing the intervention
1 2
Clarifying objectives Preparing the intervention
x x 

x x


x x
x x
3
Implementing the process
TOOLKIT
Meeting 1 Meeting 2 Meeting 3
4
Providing feedback
Defining the policy makers’ role
Deciding the sampling of concerned public
Deciding on research tactics

12. Defining the role of policy makers
In Step 1 we mentioned the need to create the so-called “Project Group” involving
representatives of the policy maker and the STAVE operator so your STAVE process
can benefit from , and properly integrate, the most pertinent inputs.
Now we specify the requirements for such a “project group”
to perform properly.
Requirements for the
Policy Group
 Be ready to engage with the feedback activities during the
STAVE process
 Be ready to interact with the STAVE operator to refine your
objectives and questions through the process
Designate a policy actor to be actively involved as a monitoring
partner to the STAVE operator throughout the implementation
process
In the STAVE trials one or two policy partners were consistently involved in dialogue
with the operator through meetings, phone conversations or electronic interactions.
Findings from previous steps in the process can be analyzed, objectives can be
reconsidered, and new (“external”) circumstances can be properly integrated.
During the STAVE trials, refinements of the intervention (adjusting the objectives or
adapting the process) were driven by the policy partner and/or by the STAVE operator

13. Deciding the sampling of the concerned public
A sample of citizens from your “concerned public” has to be defined in order to create
you “citizen group/s”. Once your citizen group is arranged, the STAVE tool will
“translate” your needs/demands to such group/s, “capture” the related every day lay
behaviours and discourses, and feed them back to you in meaningful ways.
How to make a decision on the most appropriate
segmentation for your citizen group/s?
 Heterogeneous composition: members showing a wide range of socio-
demographic (and other) characteristics
+ This will give access to a broad spectrum of everyday behaviours
- It may inform more about individual idiosyncrasies, than about a social reality
 Homogeneous composition: members with similar socio-demographic
(and other) characteristics
+ This will tap into socially shared ways of life
- Conformity of contributions so different experiences may not be revealed
There is no “perfect” solution so a careful trade-off of each
option, considering its pros and cons, should be developed by the Project
Group

14. Deciding on research tactics
In line with other research, Pachelbel found that the way you “frame” your
issue/question has an impact on the kind of answers you will get. For instance, you
can view “recycling” as a personal environmental commitment to address climate
change, or as the efficient way to respect municipal trash collection arrangements, or
as a combination of both. Citizen group members may offer a third or fourth view…
The Project Group should consider the following STAVE options with the operator:
How to frame the invitation to the citizen group?:
in environmental terms or in a more
daily/mundane terms?
How to introduce the process?: as one to explicitly
address a specific policy problem or as a more
"open" one?
Research evidence suggests that if you frame STAVE as being explicitly about
environmental issues, some participants may have a tendency to respond with
“aspirations”, rather than with actual practices.
Through the Project Groups, the STAVE operator (and Manual) would help in
assessing the appropriate framing and approach for your case.

15. 3. Implementing the STAVE process
The third step aims to help you implement your investigation
1 2
Clarifying objectives Preparing the intervention
 x x



x x
3
Implementing the process
TOOLKIT
3 Meeting 1 Meeting 2 Meeting 3
4
Implementing the process Providing feedback
Diary 1 Diary 2
TOOLKIT
Meeting 1 Meeting 2 Meeting 3
Pattern of implementation
The Tool Kit

16. Pattern of implementation
Once your process is designed , the next step entails engaging with citizens in order to
capture their real behaviors and related discourses on your policy issue.
The STAVE trial “standard” sequence:
Diary 1 Diary 2
Group 1 TOOLKIT
Meeting 1 Meeting 2 Meeting 3
Diary 1 Diary 2
TOOLKIT
Group 2
Meeting 1 Meeting 2 Meeting 3
Diary 2
Group 3 TOOLKIT
Diary 1
Meeting 1 Meeting 2 Meeting 3
STAVE group activities are designed to generate discourse revealing the
understandings and practices related to sustainability that are shared among lay
citizens.
Combining elements of research and of engagement, the STAVE process in our
example is conducted with three separate groups of participants. It entails three
meetings of each single group of citizens (Reconvened Focus Groups), with an interval
period of 7-10 days, during which a diary is produced by participants.

17. Pattern of implementation
 Deciding the number of citizen groups:
The STAVE standard “protocol”, as implemented in Project Pachelbel, was based
on 3 citizen groups for each STAVE implementation. This number proved
convenient both in practical terms (resources required) and in terms of quality of
outputs (providing comparability and in-depth evidence).
 Deciding the temporal sequence of your citizen groups:
Sequential:
Simultaneous:
Group 1 can be implemented in
All three groups run in
advance to test and refine the
parallel; allowing comparisons
process to be then applied in
among groups
groups 2 and 3
The STAVE operator (and the STAVE Manual) would help in identifying the
appropriate number of groups and temporal sequence for your specific
policy objectives.

18. The Tool Kit
TOOLKIT
Meeting 1 Meeting 2 Meeting 3
• Diaries
• EVOC/CAPA
• Simulated news article
• Oval mapping
• Diaries feedback
• Resource allocation task
•Policy questions
• Evaluation Questionnaire
The STAVE tool kit integrates a number of techniques and procedures (deceptively
simple but sophisticated) to engage with your citizen groups.
A detailed description of the component parts of the tool kit, together with
indications on its implementation, is included in the STAVE Manual.

19. The Tool Kit
* Particularly productive components according to the STAVE trials
 Oval mapping is a powerful resource to illustrate the evolution from
the abstract to the specific, bridge the gap between self-perception and
real behaviour, and synthesize attitudes and reasoning
 Diaries deliver a richness of data on daily behaviours and focus
participants’ attention on their day-to-day activities
 Policy questions create “lay knowledge” usable in a strategic policy
making process
 Resource allocation exercise enables a straightforward ranking of
potential policy measures
 EVOC/CAPA questionnaire set confronts policy makers’ intuitions
on citizens’ attitudes, and delivers information on individual profiles and
awareness of the group participants
 Simulated newspaper article provides information to the groups
and stimulates discussions

20. The Tool Kit
* Particularly productive combinations according to the STAVE trials
The STAVE trials identified particularly productive combinations of the tool kit
components, such as the ones below
 Oval mapping and diaries:  CAPA and diaries:
The group-based oval mapping revealed High scores on the CAPA
quite a lot of aspects related to the questionnaire (judging one’s own
policy issue. The individually-produced capability to act in favour of
diaries prompted participants to notice sustainable consumption) may
what they “really do”, triggering self- contrast with the limitations
reflection and making participants re- acknowledged in diaries. The
think what was already discussed. This combination of tools proves
combination is useful for bridging the meaningful for uncovering the
gap between self-perception and real gap between aspirations and real
behaviours. behaviors
 Diaries, resource allocation and policy questions
This combination produced insight by situating citizens in their everyday life (diaries)
and then inviting them to take the policy maker role (resource allocation and policy
question exercises)

21. 4. Providing feedback
The final step aims to help you draw the insight from the group
process
1 2
Clarifying objectives Preparing the intervention
 x x



x x
3
Implementing the process
4
TOOLKIT
Providing feedback Meeting 1 Meeting 2 Meeting 3
4
Providing feedback
Characterizing feedback
Deciding the feedback strategy

22. Characterizing feedback
Once the experiences and discourses of your citizen groups have been captured, the
next and final step deals with “translating” such evidence back to the Project Group in a
suitable way so you can consider it in your policy making & implementation
The figure below illustrates the different feedback modes applied during the STAVE trials.
Your STAVE operator will help you to find the suitable one for you
This feedback mode provides
findings right after a session or a
complete STAVE intervention – Building on the speedy
responding to assumed policy feedback, the Full report
makers’ needs for quickly available includes an elaborated (social
and easy to understand information. sciences) analysis (by the
The “speedy” feedback relies STAVE operator) that also
primarily on the materials directly captures the PM responses to
produced by the citizens the “speedy” mode, to draw
participating in the group full insight
Speedy mode Full report
Combined
options
From a slightly elaborated “speedy
mode” to the full report

23. Characterizing feedback
The “speedy mode” delivers to the Project Group a visual and easy to follow presentation
of the citizen group participants’ direct outputs.
The STAVE operator will elaborate such a presentation for you.
The “speedy mode”
Example of a “speedy feedback” including extracts from group transcriptions and
diaries, as well as results from oval maps, resource allocation exercise and EVOC.

24. Characterizing feedback
Building on the speedy mode, the “Full Report” mode includes an elaborated
(social sciences) analysis (by the STAVE operator)
The Full Report
This feedback mode has a more social research oriented focus and will be
elaborated by your STAVE operator.
It is based upon a qualitative analysis of the groups and diaries data (discourse
analysis of transcriptions) and a quantitative analysis of EVOC/CAPA, resource
allocation and policy question exercises and evaluation questionnaire.
The full report provides findings to policy makers that may detail or adjust the
“speedy” findings. Ideally, it will be discussed and considered by the Project
Group in interaction with the operator. This dialogue may lead to an expanded
final report.

25. Deciding the feedback strategy
According to the STAVE trials, the kind of “evidence” you will require by the end of the
process (in order to practically integrate the process findings in your design and/or
implementation of policy initiatives) would much depend on your specific policy profile.
Higher levels of government (National) and higher levels of experience with social research
and/or public participation processes may seek more elaborated feedback (i.e., full report).
During the STAVE trials, Local government tended to prefer the “speedy” mode
Level of government
Local Regional National
Familiar
Spain 1
Experience with public participation
UK
Sweden
Germnay
France
Spain 2-3
Unfamiliar
Romania
Unfamiliar Familiar
Experience with social research
The STAVE Operator will help to identify, and to elaborate, the most suitable
feedback mode according to your policy profile.

26. A tool to support policy making and implementation
for sustainable consumption
STAVE
Systematic Tool for Behavioral
Assumption Validation and
Exploration
Good Practice Guide
If you are interested in understanding and addressing citizens’ daily
behaviors STAVE may suit you.
This Good Practice Guide gives simple, straightforward keys to
planning, designing and conducting a STAVE process.
That process will call on the detailed STAVE Manual, and may benefit from the
collaboration of a STAVE operator.
The STAVE tool was developed in the context of the EU Pachelbel Project
(Policy Addressing Climate Change and Learning about Consumer
Behaviour and Everyday Life) (GA 244024)
www.pachelbel.eu