Changing Behaviour for Sustainable Development

The countdown is on for the world to achieve the United Nations’ 17 Sustainable Development Goals by 2030. These goals provide a guide for the promotion of systems, practices and policies that will end poverty, protect the planet and ensure all people enjoy peace and prosperity.

Human behaviour is at the heart of the SDGs, and many of the challenges faced by society today. We need to harness behavioural insights, to understand human behaviour, what drives it and what can change it. Working with, and learning from, behavioural scientists will allow us to apply solutions to our challenges that take into consideration human behaviour.

Join our team from the Monash Sustainable Development Institute in this 6-module online course (MOOC), to learn about how, through behavioural science, we can apply behavioural insights to achieve the changes we wish to see at a local and global scale. The topics covered range from systems thinking to behaviour prioritisation, drivers and barriers of behaviour, intervention design and evaluation, ethics, and more.

Module 0 - Introduction to the course

0.1 Welcome to the course

0.2 Introducing human behaviour and behavioural science

Module 1 - WHO needs to do WHAT differently?

1.0 Introduction to Module 1

1.1 Understand the problem and the system it sits within

1.2 Understand your target audience

1.3 Identify target behaviours

Module 2 - The drivers and barriers of behaviour

2.0 Introduction to Module 2

2.1 Consider drivers & barriers of behaviour

2.2 Make use of behaviour change theories

2.3 Capture audience insights

Module 3 - Behaviour change interventions

3.0 Introduction to Module 3

3.1 Design and apply interventions

3.2 Consider generic behaviour change tools

3.3 Define measures of success and evaluation

Module 4 - Critical issues in behaviour change

4.0 Introduction to Module 4

4.1 Behaviour change ethics

4.2 Sustainable behaviour change

4.3 Taking your behaviour change further (scaling)

Module 5 - Case summaries of behaviour change in action

5.1 Improving waste separation in hospital operating suites, using behavioural insights

5.2 Protecting wetlands by changing cropping practices on private land, using behavioural insights

5.3 Reducing food waste in schools, using behavioural insights

5.4 Enhancing patient care in Victorian hospitals, using behavioural insights

Module 6 - Summary and key learnings

6.1 - Applying behavioural science to the COVID-19 pandemic

6.2 - Summary