Every year, I work with several INGOs on applying social and behavioural science approaches to programme design. A thing I come across often is people’s discomfort with using the term ‘behaviour change’ in the context of international development. I understand where the discomfort comes from, and I think we should have a serious discussion about its use.

According to the HIPs, mass media is one of several proven practices recommended for widespread implementation as part of a comprehensive family planning strategy, provided that there is monitoring of coverage, quality, and cost as well as implementation research to strengthen impact.

Far too often, I have seen formative research used as a tick-box exercise. The formative research report should be a document that accompanies the project team throughout the programme design and iteration phases. It helps the team ensure that they are responding to real needs and not design interventions that no-one asked for.

Khartoum, Sudan is my city of birth. War is not new to Sudan, but a war breaking out in Khartoum on 15 April 2023 was a huge shock to the world.
The Horn of Africa (comprising of Ethiopia, Eritrea, Djibouti, Somalia and Somaliland) along with Sudan and South Sudan, are notorious for being turbulent and violent. Peacebuilding efforts in this region have spanned over decades, and building peace in the region is a specialisation of hundreds of scholars and institutes. Yet, whatever progress is made never lasts.

Over the years that I have been working with organisations on designing and implementing social and behaviour change (SBC) projects, I have seen many variations of how to put together a team that will design an impactful SBC project. When I zoomed into the ways in which successful projects are similar, I found the common denominator to be a well put-together core design and implementation team. These teams contain seven key functions.

The application of an SBCC approach to the design of information campaigns for Afghan migrants travelling through irregular routes was a novel approach. We would like to offer some reflections and lessons learnt that may help in growing the field of integrating a behavioural science lens to the design of
information campaigns.