The BIRD Lab
Project | Behavioral insights, research and design laboratory
The BIRD Lab is a virtual space for experimentation and innovation in the application of evidence and methods from the behavioural sciences to achieve UNICEF programme results.
Protecting and promoting children’s rights requires a deep understanding of human behaviour, as well as a keen grasp of how to apply insights from the social and behavioural sciences to encourage the kinds of decisions and habits that will secure a better future for all children.
That’s why we created the BIRD Lab, an inclusive and collaborative space for UNICEF staff and partners to share their experiences, connect with colleagues and inspire others to achieve results for children. The BIRD Lab is a partnership between UNICEF Innocenti – Global Office of Research and Foresight and the UNICEF Social and Behaviour Change team, Programme Group.
Where we work
UNICEF provides technical assistance and builds capacity to support the co-creation and scale-up of contextualized, people-centered and evidence-informed approaches to social and behavioural change. Current and recent projects employing behavioural insights research and design approaches include:
What we do
The BIRD Lab uses a combination of methods and frameworks from applied behavioural sciences, human-centered design, and implementation research to achieve social and behavioural change.
The BIRD Lab draws on many existing frameworks for behavioural research and design, including the methodological steps outlined in the DEPTHS approach:
Define
We start by taking time to be sure we are precise about what problem and which specific behaviours we are working to address.
Explore
We use research and data to understand the sociocultural, environmental, and psychological factors at play.
Prototype
We use human-centered design methods to co-create tentative solutions directly with the people who will use them.
Test hypotheses
We use implementation research and experimental methods to iteratively trial and adapt interventions in context.
Scale
We solve with a systems lens, scaling by learning and learning by scaling.
Our approach
Convening policy makers, academics and leaders to bring evidence to bear on the most pressing challenges facing children.
Sharing training and tools for ethically integrating behavioural insights into UNICEF programming.
Providing technical assistance and building capacity to support the co-creation and scale-up of contextualized, people-centered and evidence-informed approaches to social and behavioural change.
Key principles
Small changes can make a big difference
People’s decisions and behaviours are affected by the context in which they operate: what cues they receive, what options are available and most visible, which actions seem easiest, what they see others around them doing, or how people try to influence their decisions.
Changing knowledge is not sufficient
Changing knowledge and attitudes is often not sufficient to change behaviour. People’s intentions do not always match their behaviours.
People fail to predict how they will behave
People often fail to predict how they will behave in a given situation. Behavioural science can help us understand how the features of a situation shape how people behave. Simply asking people directly why they do (or do not) behave in a certain way is not sufficient to understanding the underlying drivers we need to address for sustained social and behavioural change.
Context matters
Small changes in the context can sometimes lead to significant changes in behaviour.
