Enriching understanding of climate and energy related behaviours (Energy Behaviour Fellowship Follow On Fund)

Government policies across many fields are currently being steered by the concept of 'behaviour change' as a 'light-touch' alternative to regulation. Behaviour is neither simple to understand, nor to change. Current political circumstances have led to a high profile for a group of approaches that are aimed at 'nudging' behaviours, however the theories and understanding behind these are just one of a range of possible ways of interpreting the reasons people behave in the ways that they do. Not all behaviours are alike, and in terms of developing effective policies it is useful to have a range of possible approaches to choose from. For the non-expert though, understanding potential complementarities or conflicts between different approaches can pose a significant barrier to employing new strategies or to using a variety of methods, particularly when certain approaches may have more political acceptability despite potentially not being as effective.

The project will provide support to a range of stakeholders involved in developing and implementing policies around public behaviours in relation to energy usage and climate change. Following on from a successful 12-month social science placement Fellowship in DECC, the project will allow Dr Chatterton to build on the work and relationships already established in the Fellowship, in order to improve understanding with regard to a) public behaviours and social practices, and b) cross-departmental challenges in relation to climate change policies.

The project has support from the four government departments most closely identified with climate and energy related behaviours (DECC; the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra); the Department for Transport (DfT), and the Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG)). This will provide Dr Chatterton access to spend time within each Department (an average of one month per Department) to help them to implement the latest thinking on behaviours into policies, and through concurrently working with the various Departments, take the opportunity to help them better understand the overlaps and possible conflicts or synergies between their respective policies.

The project will also take the learning from the original Fellowship, as well as from the departmental working, and share it with a limited number of relevant stakeholders from businesses and NGOs working in the area. This will help them improve their understanding of current approaches to behaviour, so as to enable them to more effectively play a positive role in their work with government and the public.

The key beneficiaries of the project will be the government departments, businesses and NGOs directly engaged with the project. Through an effective and intensive interaction with these bodies, they will benefit from the opportunity to develop their understanding of a range of current approaches to behaviours, and to explore the ways in which their areas of activity interact with each other.

More widely, there is the opportunity to influence wider and improve government policy making, by helping establish new and more diverse approaches towards tackling 'behaviour change'. In addition to this, there will be the opportunity to work with businesses and NGOs to explore how they respond and relate to some of the less conventional approaches to understanding behaviour in the area of social practice theory. Particularly with businesses, there is the opportunity to establish relationships that may be able to fund longer-term engagement and work in this area.

The general public will also hopefully benefit through introducing government to a wider set of theories about behaviour, so that better policies can be developed that make the process of 'change' smoother and more positive than might otherwise be achieved.

Finally, through helping develop better policies in the fields of energy, environment and climate change, there is expected to be a global benefit through enabling more effective reductions in greenhouse gas emissions, use of environmental resources, and other negative impacts on the environment.
The primary aim of the project is to support the development of stronger in-house capacity to understand and implement learnings about climate and energy-related behaviours. Through ensuring that adequate time is allocated to direct and high quality contact with the project partners, it is anticipated that this will lead to a significant and lasting impact.