Institutionalizing Social And Behavioural Change In Malaysia
Best practices for implementing participatory, evidence-based strategic solutions in academic institutions
Highlights
Social and behaviour change (SBC), previously known as Communication for Development (C4D), is a core change strategy which engages children, adolescents, and communities to exercise their rights and unlock solutions that will create change for themselves, their families, and their communities. Drawing from SBC unpacks how people make decisions about their behaviour, the context in which decisions are made and how to facilitate change in these behaviours (both individual and collective).
UNICEF Malaysia has been working to institutionalize SBC in Malaysia by establishing C4D Centres within key academic institutions in the country. These centres serve as knowledge hubs to strengthen local capacity in SBC approaches through training, research, curriculum development, advocacy, and advisory services to government, CSO and private sector stakeholders to effectively promote positive change in society.
The sustainability of social and behavioural outcomes depends on the SBC capacity of UNICEF staff, governments, academia, and CSOs to ensure quality SBC planning, implementation and monitoring and evaluation at both national and subnational levels, increased awareness and investment by government and non-government players, and greater institutionalization in key academic and training institutions across sectors that train policy makers and practitioners.
This document outlines the rationale and process for institutionalizing SBC within three academic institutions; how they work with government and non-government organizations and communities to design and implement SBC programmes; and key learnings to expand the pool of SBC practitioners in Malaysia for a greater SBC ecosystem to better deliver results at scale.
