Tom Cohen (University of Westminster), Clemence Cavoli (UCL) & Kristian Steensen Nielsen (Copenhagen Business School) Research

BRIGHT: Changing transport policy makers’ behaviour

Funded by School of Architecture + Cities; Seed grant

The climate emergency requires urgent action, but large swathes of transport policy is at best inconsistent with climate targets and Sustainable Development Goals, or at worst takes us in the opposite direction. That prevents transport policy makers from choosing more sustainable options? How do we encourage them to make decisions aligned with climate goals? To address these questions we are using behavioural science to develop interventions aimed at influencing the decisions of transport policy makers in the UK and possibly beyond. This has been supported by a seed grant from the School of Architecture + Cities.

First, we ran a workshop in April 2024 at which experts from various fields helped us to define the parameters of the intervention, drawing on behavioural science principles, methods and frameworks, such as the COM-B model and Behaviour Change Wheel (BCW).

This led to the development of a pilot intervention which we ran in June 2024. It took place at UCL’s innovative PEARL facility in east London and involved 12 volunteers who currently are or who have been transport policy makers. The pilot began with a ‘behavioural diagnosis’ questionnaire designed to capture participants’ perceptions of the barriers they face in attempting to deliver more climate-friendly policies. It then featured video immersion, a climate gallery, a serious game and motivational interviewing, each intended to overcome one or other obstacle to the desired behaviour. The pilot went well and produced a range of useful findings for the future development of interventions.

An application for a larger grant is pending and the intention is to work towards a more rigorous intervention design based on methodical behavioural diagnosis and use of innovative visualisation software.