A key component of public policy relates to influencing or regulating the behaviour of its citizens. Yet today, many citizens are passive or disengaged.
There are a number of key policies at the moment, such as a reduction in water and energy use, whose success relies on changing the behaviour of individuals and/or organisations.
This seminar provided the opportunity to hear an academic perspective on what is involved with influencing or changing people’s behaviour and explored case studies, related to current, critical policy initiatives.
Topics covered
- An academic perspective on changing behaviour
- Case studies of behaviour change programs: Target 60 Campaign (Water Corporation), Living Smart Household Project (Department of Transport) &
- TravelSmart Workplace (Department of Transport).
Panellists
Behaviour Change Models & Implications for Interventions
Professor Robert Donovan
Centre Behavioural Research in Cancer Control
School of Public Health
Curtin University
Discover the main models of behaviour change, including cognitive decision-making models, principles of persuasion, stage models and planning models. Implications for developing and implementing intervention strategies and methods will be discussed.
Living Smart Households
Michelle Hogan
Principal Policy Officer
Department of Transport
The Living Smart Households program evolved out of community concern and has now spread to more than ten thousand households who have made real reductions in their carbon footprints and are connecting better to their community.
Making workplaces TravelSmart: Challenging Organisational and Individual Behaviour
David Wake
Project Officer
TravelSmart Workplace, Sustainable and Active Transport Branch
Department of Transport
The TravelSmart Workplace program provides advice and tools for organisations to develop and implement workplace travel plans. Under a travel plan an organisation could: improve bicycle parking, change car park management, inform new staff of travel options, enable teleworking, provide pool bicycles and corporate SmartRider cards and encourage staff participation in walking and cycling challenges.
Target 60 Campaign: Successfully Reducing Water Consumption in Perth by 10% over Summer
Catherine Ferrari
General Manager, Communications Group
Water Corporation
In just 3 months, and during one of the hottest summers on record, together the people of Perth pulled out all stops to save 60 litres of water per person per day. Target 60 was a public service announcement style communications strategy designed to raise the bar on the need to save water in WA and convince every West Australian that there was something more they could do to help. With no rain, we defied the odds and 6 weeks ahead of target, we reduced water consumption in Perth by 10% over summer.
Related Resources
