Behaviour change sits at the heart of many sustainability, community and organisational initiatives. Effective approaches recognise that people are more likely to act differently when the conditions around them support it: clear purpose, practical pathways, social encouragement and structures that reduce unnecessary barriers. Information and messaging can help, but they are rarely enough on their own.
Behaviour is also shaped by wider influences, including shared paradigms, values and evolving practices. Many behaviour change resources focus on individual-level interventions, such as messaging, nudges or programme design for well-defined target groups. The resources here take a wider view, recognising that in complex, multi-actor settings behaviour is shaped by social norms, institutional practices and system conditions as much as by individual choice.
The pages below bring together curated and annotated links to frameworks, guides, tools and readings from a range of authors, organisations and fields. They are organised around practical questions for people trying to understand what shapes behaviour, design more grounded interventions, and support learning as conditions shift.
Explore behaviour change resources
Use this section to find a useful starting point, whether you are trying to understand what shapes behaviour, work with values and identity, support practice change, design communication, or find practical guides and toolkits.
- If you are diagnosing a behaviour change challenge
Start with Behaviour change resources for curated and annotated links to frameworks and tools that help identify what enables or constrains behaviour. - If you are working with deeper beliefs, identity or collective action
Explore Paradigms, identity, and collective action and Values and behaviours for resources on how meanings, values, norms and group identities shape what people do. - If you are supporting shifts in professional or community practice
Go to Practice change resources for approaches to learning routines, peer networks, organisational conditions and practice-based change over time. - If communication is part of the change process
See Communicating for change for resources on framing, messaging, dialogue and engagement across organisations, communities and collaborative initiatives. - If you want older but still useful practical material
Visit Foundational guides and toolkits for earlier papers, guides and frameworks that continue to offer value for behaviour change and community change work.
Browse the behaviour change pages
The starting points above help visitors move quickly to the part of the behaviour change material that best matches their current task. The pages below provide a fuller map of the behaviour change section on this site.
Understanding what shapes behaviour
Behaviour change resources – guides to approaches and theories
Curated frameworks and tools for analysing what drives behaviour and where interventions can be targeted. Includes COM-B, the Behaviour Change Wheel, the Theoretical Domains Framework, and the socio-ecological model. A good starting point if you need a structured way to diagnose a behaviour change challenge.
Paradigms, identity, and collective action
Explores the deeper beliefs, worldviews, and group identities that shape how people interpret problems and choose to act. Useful for understanding why change efforts succeed or stall – particularly in community and institutional settings where shared meaning matters as much as individual motivation.
Values and behaviours
Research and frameworks on how values shape behaviour, including relational values, shared values, and deliberative approaches to decision-making. Relevant when behaviour change depends on engaging with what people care about, not just what they know.
Supporting change in practice
Practice change resources – frameworks and approaches
How professional and community practices shift over time, and how reflective routines, learning networks, and organisational conditions support that process. Useful when the challenge is not individual behaviour but the way groups, teams, and sectors work – in agricultural extension, health, environmental management, and similar settings.
Communicating for change
Guidance on designing communication that supports understanding, encourages dialogue, and aligns with the needs and preferences of different audiences. Covers framing, messaging, and engagement approaches for work across organisations, communities, and collaborative initiatives.
Foundational guides and toolkits
A collection of earlier papers, toolkits, and frameworks that continue to offer practical insights for practitioners working in development, sustainability, and community change. Several remain widely referenced in the field.
Quick answers to common questions
What is behaviour change in community and professional settings?
Behaviour change involves understanding what enables or constrains people’s actions, and shaping conditions that make helpful behaviours easier and more likely. It includes individual habits and motivations, as well as social norms, organisational practices, and wider system influences.
Which ideas or frameworks guide behaviour change work?
Practitioners draw on frameworks such as COM-B, the Behaviour Change Wheel, and the Theoretical Domains Framework to clarify what drives behaviour and where intervention is possible. These can sit alongside participatory and systems-focused approaches that support both individual change and wider shifts in context or culture.
How do social and cultural factors shape behaviour change?
Behaviours take shape within social worlds. Norms, identities, expectations, and a sense of belonging strongly influence what people do. Approaches that engage communities, encourage shared reflection, and build local ownership are usually more sustainable than those focused solely on individuals.
What helps interventions work well in complex environments?
Change rarely follows a straight path. Blending behavioural insights with co-design, systems thinking, and regular learning routines helps teams adjust strategies as conditions shift. Working iteratively and involving those affected tends to lead to more grounded and lasting outcomes.
Behaviour change connects closely with several other areas. The Facilitation section covers the process skills for working with groups. Designing together explores how to shape solutions collaboratively. The Social learning hub looks at how groups learn and act together. Climate adaptation addresses behaviour in the context of shifting environmental conditions. And for evaluation approaches that work with behaviour change in complex settings, see Complexity-aware MEL.
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