Designing a Behavioural Framework for Emergencies: Common Principles and Tailore

Designing a Behavioural Framework for Emergencies: Common Principles and Tailored Approaches for Rare, High-Consequence incidents

Defra ("The Authority") has responsibility for delivering the Government's key strategic environmental aims, including the Environmental Improvement Plan 2023 and for its contribution to achieving Net Zero. Green choices, as described in these strategies, underpin the delivery of these aims and we have committed to "Enable all parts of society to play their part in line with our six principles for green choices" (Environmental Improvement Plan 2023).

Behavioural science provides vital insights into the mechanisms and reasons behind the behaviours of citizens, organisations and stakeholders and provides evidence-based solutions in response. Advice from behavioural scientists can help maximise the effectiveness of policy and delivery approaches.

Defra's Strategic Behavioural Insights Team is establishing a Behavioural Science Call-Off Framework which aims to maximise the effectiveness of policy and delivery in Defra group by ensuring they are informed by high quality behavioural science evidence. The Strategic Behavioural Insights Team is responsible for developing and embedding expertise in behavioural science within Defra and collaborating across the Defra group. Additionally, the team applies behavioural science across policy areas, working closely with policy, social research and other colleagues.

The Behavioural Science Call-Off Framework aims to enable rapid project assignment, minimise the time and resources required to commission individual projects and maximise the impact on policy development and operational delivery. The specific objectives, target behaviours and aims of each project within the contract will differ. This will be dependent on the brief from the commissioning project team. Each project will seek to understand different aspects of behaviour, which could include, for example:

• Assessing evidence gaps in the current behavioural science literature to recommend areas for future research.
• Developing user journeys to understand the barriers and enablers to behaviours at different touch points.
• Developing qualitative and quantitative insights to better understand the mechanisms of particular behaviours.
• Designing and evaluating evidence-based behavioural interventions, including real-world field trials, to understand the reasons behind their effect.