The Behavioural Drivers Model
A conceptual framework for social and behaviour change programming
Highlights
Why do people do what they do? How can we influence it?
The Behavioral Drivers Model was developed to contribute to change the way people understand Social and Behavior Change and invest resources, and to renew the push for evidence-based programming as our guarantee of the highest standards of practice.
Despite the insights that models can provide to explain and – sometimes – predict behaviours, their application by social and behaviour change practitioners remains very limited. Theoretical foundations of behavioural strategies and interventions are often implicit rather than explicit. There is a need to make behavioural models more practical and attractive to those who are supposed to use them in real life, filling this operational gap. And in doing so, help reduce the frequent resorting to ‘’go-to’’ default interventions, such as trying to solve any behavioural issue with a communication campaign, regardless of what may explain the practice of the behaviour.
In this document, we try to make the explanation of complex phenomena more accessible, and systematically link every conceptual element to an approach that can influence it. We provide clear ‘’how-to’’ support for selecting relevant interventions.
This model also informs a set of research and programming tools recently developed and used by UNICEF, including Everybody wants to belong: Practical guide to tackling and leveraging social norms in behavior change programming and Measuring Social and Behavioural Drivers – Guidance Tool.
