HELLO

DR. SIMON O’RAFFERTY
RESEARCH FELLOW - EPA / UL
SIMONORAFFERTY@GMAIL.COM
@SORAFFERTY
Design Research & Practice Review

WHAT I WILL COVER
-WHAT WE (THINK WE) KNOW ABOUT BEHAVIOUR
CHANGE & SUSTAINABILITY
-POTENTIAL & LIMITATIONS OF APPROACHES
-INDIVIDUAL V.S. COLLECTIVE / COMMUNITY
BEHAVIOUR
-THOUGHTS ON WAYS FORWARD IN IRELAND

WHY FOCUS ON BEHAVIOUR?
DESIGN REGULATIONS AND SERVICES BASED ON
ACTUAL, NOT ASSUMED, BEHAVIOURS
LIMITED SUCCESS OF EXISTING POLICIES
PIECEMEAL, INDIVIDUALISTIC INTERVENTIONS

EVERY PIECE OF
DESIGN “ENCODES A
HYPOTHESIS ABOUT
HUMAN BEHAVIOUR”
adam greenfield

EVEN IF NOT EXPLICITLY
RECOGNISED, WE APPROACH
PROBLEMS WITH SOME MODEL OR
ASSUMPTION OF HUMAN BEHAVIOUR

WHAT WE KNOW
DECISION MAKING IS RARELY RATIONAL
SUBJECT TO SEVERAL COGNITIVE BIASES (E.G.
OVERCONFIDENCE)
STRUGGLE WITH TOO MUCH INFORMATION OR TOO
MUCH CHOICE
DECISIONS ARE CONTEXTUAL & SOCIAL

WHAT WE KNOW
DISCOUNT FUTURE BENEFITS
PEOPLE ARE STRONGLY WEDDED TO CURRENT
SITUATIONS: ENDOWMENT EFFECT, LOSS AVERSION,
STATUS QUO BIAS - STRUCTURES
SHOCK / GUILT (SOCIAL MARKETING) DOESN’T
WORK

WHAT WE KNOW
LARGE GAPS BETWEEN MOTIVATIONS, ATTITUDES,
VALUES & BEHAVIOUR
- INFORMATION & KNOWLEDGE DOESN’T
NECESSARILY CHANGE BEHAVIOUR

WHAT WE KNOW
DIFFERENT TYPES OF BEHAVIOUR - ONE OFF,
HABITS
- CAN’T USE SAME APPROACH FOR ALL

adapted from Chatterton, 2014

adapted from Chatterton, 2014

DIFFUSE, DISTANT AND DELAYED

CHALLENGES
RISKS OF REBOUND EFFECTS, MORAL LICENSING
NO SPILLOVER OR LOW PERSISTENCE

BEHAVIOUR CHANGE
THE USE OF PRODUCTS, SERVICES,
POLICIES, INCENTIVES, REGULATIONS,
INTERFACES, BUILDINGS, ENVIRONMENTS
THAT ENABLE, MOTIVATE, CONSTRAIN OR
OTHERWISE INFLUENCE PEOPLE TO DO
THINGS IN DIFFERENT WAYS

BEHAVIOURAL ECONOMICS
≠
BEHAVIOURAL INSIGHTS
≠
NUDGING

MAKE IT SOCIAL

MAKE IT DEFAULT

FRAMING - GETTING THE MESSAGE RIGHT
14 x

INDIVIDUAL V.S.
COLLECTIVE BEHAVIOUR
V.S. TRANSITION

WHY COLLECTIVE BEHAVIOUR?
TENDENCY TO FOCUS ON SMALL PROBLEMS OR
INDIVIDUAL AS A CONSUMER
ENVIRONMENTAL PROBLEMS OCCUR WHEN LOTS
OF PEOPLE BEHAVE IN CERTAIN WAYS
FOCUSSING ON INDIVIDUALS IS INEFFICIENT

LEARNING FROM EXISTING SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITY PROJECTS

SPEAKING TO COMMUNITY ORGANISATIONS AROUND IRELAND

COMMUNITY LEVEL BARRIERS
LACK OF INTERNAL CAPACITY (SKILLS, KNOWLEDGE, FINANCE)
LACK OF A CRITICAL MASS OF COMMITTED INDIVIDUALS
LOW SOCIAL CAPITAL, CONNECTEDNESS AND INFLUENCE
CONFUSING RANGE OF SOURCES OF INFO/GUIDANCE
PLUS MANY MORE…..

WE HAVE COMMUNITY PLANNING / TRANSITION FRAMEWORKS

WE HAVE LOTS OF TOOLKITS AND STRATEGIES

IMPLEMENTATION IS PATCHY & UNEVENLY DISTRIBUTED

WHY DO SOME PLACES AND
COMMUNITIES PROVIDE MUCH
BETTER ENVIRONMENT FOR
INNOVATION & TRANSITION THAN
OTHERS??

“HOW DO HUMAN BEINGS
MOST EFFECTIVELY WORK
TOGETHER?”

HOW HUMANS ORGANISE
HIERARCHICAL SOLIDARISTIC INDIVIDUALISTIC

HOW HUMANS ORGANISE
HIERARCHICAL SOLIDARISTIC INDIVIDUALISTIC
EQUALITY, MEMBERSHIP
SHARED VALUES, BELONGING
- INCLUSIVE, ALTRUISTIC, PASSIONATE
- SECTARIAN, DEFENSIVE, OPPOSITIONAL
AUTHORITY, RULES,
EXPERTISE
- STRATEGIC, VISION,
- SELF SERVING, BUREAUCRATIC
PURSUIT OF SELF INTEREST,
ENTERPRISE, COMPETITION
- CREATIVE, ENTERPRISING, INNOVATIVE
- SELFISH, IRRESPONSIBLE

HOW HUMANS ORGANISE?
HIERARCHICAL
SOLIDARISTIC
INDIVIDUALISTIC

CAUSE BASED
STRATEGICALLY FOCUSSED HIERARCHY
SOLIDARITY BASED ON COLLABORATION & A SHARED COMMITMENT TO EXCELLENCE
MODEL FOR ORGANISING THAT MAXIMISES SCOPE FOR CREATIVITY AND AUTONOMY
CREATIVE COMMUNITIES WITH A CAUSE
CHARLES LEADBEATER

SUMMARY
DESIGN REGULATIONS AND SERVICES BASED ON
ACTUAL, NOT ASSUMED, BEHAVIOURS
DESIGN POLICIES AND SERVICES THAT HELP
COMMUNITIES MAKE BETTER DECISIONS AND TAKE
ACTION FOR THEMSELVES
➡ REMOVE FRICTIONS, BUILD CAPACITY & AGENCY,
PARTICIPATION, EMPOWERMENT

SUMMARY
APPLY AN ITERATIVE PROCESS OF DISCOVERY,
LEARNING AND ADAPTATION.
A MULTI-MODEL APPROACH
SPARK THE CAPACITY OF INDIVIDUALS AND
COMMUNITIES TO SOLVE PROBLEMS, TO BE
INNOVATIVE, TO BE CREATIVE

RESEARCH CAPACITY?

thank
you