Tribal Community-Based Social Marketing Strategies to Promote Sustainable Behaviors Training Guide with Recycling Toolkit Tribal & Ooi "id I km T»un I ty Developed by the Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa In Collaboration With The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency - Region 5 Fond du Lac Environmental Program July 2016 ------- Tribal Community-Based Social Marketing (CBSM) Training Guide Overview Using CBSM to Promote Sustainable Behaviors Designing and implementing a sustainability project using Community-Based Social Marketing (CBSM) is a proven method used to engage people in adopting sustainable behaviors. This training guide provides guidance and templates that can be used when developing a CBSM project to promote sustainable behaviors. ~ What Is Community-Based Social Marketing? The introductory fact sheet introduces the concepts and purpose of using CBSM to promote sustainable behaviors. The fact sheet also presents an overview of CBSM strategy tools that are used when developing a CBSM project. ~ SM PowerPoint Presentation: The presentation can be used when providing information on CBSM to potential participants, leaders, and other stakeholders. The presentation provides an overview of CBSM, a discussion of each step used to develop a CBSM project, CBSM strategy tools and a summary of the FDLTCC CBSM recycling project. The presentation can be tailored to include information about your CBSM project. ~ CBSM Research Approach: The fact sheet provides a step-by-step guide to developing research options to define the CBSM project. The fact sheet describes using literature review, observations, focus groups and questionnaires to understand the benefits and barriers to changing behaviors associated with your sustainability project. ~ J SM Strategy Tools Checklist: The checklist provides techniques for when and how to use each CBSM strategy tool, including examples. CBSM strategy tools include: ^ Convenience - remove barriers (or misperceptions) S Commitment - ask for public, written commitments (includes example ledge Card) S Social Norm - exhibit behavior as normal, commonplace ^ Social Diffusion - use social interactions to spread behavior S Prompts - remind people to act •S Communication - craft effective messages S Incentives - provide benefits to encourage behavior ~ SM Resources List: The list provides resources including guidance documents, fact sheets, and case studies about developing and implementing a CBSM project. The fact sheet provides general resources on CBSM and specific resources on applying CBSM to promote sustainable behaviors. ~ Tribal CBSM Recycling Toolkit : This toolkit focuses on using the CBSM process to promote recycling behavior, based on a CBSM case study at the Fond du Lac Tribal and Community College (FDLTCC). The Toolkit components can also be adapted to promote other kinds of sustainable behaviors: ^ Case Study - how FDLTCC used CBSM to increase campus recycling rate by 41% ^ Example Research Plan - how, where, and when to collect information on barriers and benefits S Example Questionnaire and Observation Checklist - methods to collect barriers/benefits data S Example Data Analysis - examine data results to identify barriers and benefits ^ Recycling CBSM Strategy Tools Checklist - checklist for using CBSM strategy tools specifically to address barriers to recycling behavior S Example Pilot Implementation Plan - design pilot project to test CBSM strategy tools S Example of Measuring Results -measure waste/recycling data and behavior change ------- For more information, contact: Shannon Judd Environmental Education Outreach Coordinator Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Phone: 218-878-7123 Email: shannoniudd'c/ I'dlrez.com Dolly Tong Tribal Solid Waste & Pollution Prevention Coordinator U.S. Environmental Protection Agency - Region 5 Phone: 312-886-1019 Email: tong.dollv@epa.gov This Training Guide is available online at http://www.fdlrez.com/RM ------- Tribal Community-Based Social Marketing (CBSM) Training Guide What is Community-Based Social Marketing? Using CBSM to Promote Sustainable Behaviors Changing people's behavior to improve sustainability can be challenging. Traditional marketing techniques that focus on information-intensive campaigns often fall short in encouraging a new behavior. How can you ensure that sustainability programs have a high likelihood of changing individual behavior? By understanding what leads individuals to engage or prevents them from engaging in sustainable behavior, organizations can design programs that have a high probability of encouraging and changing behaviors. Community-based social marketing (CBSM), developed by Doug McKenzie-Mohr, Ph.D., is an alternative to information-intensive campaigns and has shown to be effective at encouraging sustainable behavior changes. CBSM uses marketing tools with research, best practices, and community engagement to more effectively change behaviors for the social good. CBSM involves the following five steps: 1) Selecting the behavior to be promoted. 2) Identifying the barriers and benefits associated with the selected behavior. 3) Designing a strategy that utilizes behavior-change tools to address these barriers and benefits. 4) Piloting the strategy with a small segment of a community. 5) Evaluating the impact of the program once it has been implemented broadly. If STEP 1: SELECTING BEHAVIOR Whatever the sustainability goal is: recycle more, use less water or energy or produce less greenhouse gas, there are nearly always a large variety of behaviors that will help achieve the goal. For example, if the purpose was to reduce water use, this goal might be achieved by encouraging the installation of faucet sensors or low-flow faucets. The goal can also be achieved by using less water during showers or gardening. The first step of a CBSM project is to narrow down the specific behavior to be promoted and the specific target demographic group. Narrowing down the behavior and demographic group is important, because different segments of the behavior or demographic group may encounter different barriers that require focusing on different CBSM strategies. STEP 2: IDENTIFYING BARRIERS AND BENEFITS Barriers that prevent people from engaging in the behavior, and motivators to encouraging the behavior, must first be identified. A CBSM approach identifies these barriers and benefits using: literature reviews - seek information on similar case studies and projects observations - observe actual behaviors; examine data (meter data, waste diverted, etc.) focus groups - face-to-face, in-depth discussions with 6-8 individuals per group survey research - online, phone, or mailed questionnaires to gather information ------- Barriers can be internal, such as not understanding how to engage in a behavior, or external, such as a need for structural changes to make the behavior more convenient. CBSM is based on the understanding that a variety of benefits and barriers exist that promote or inhibit a sustainable behavior. The benefits and barriers are often different for different members of the community and also differ based on the sustainable behavior. For example, social science research shows that the barriers that prevent individuals from engaging in one form of sustainable behavior, such as turning down the thermostat are different than the barriers for other sustainable behaviors such as composting. After these barriers and benefits have been identified, a CBSM approach develops a social marketing strategy to remove the barriers and promote the benefits. STEP 3: DEVELOPING STRATEGIES A variety of strategy tools that are effective in changing sustainable behavior have been identified by social scientists and are the basis for CBSM. These strategy tools include: Convenience - removing external barriers (or misperceptions) to make the behavior more convenient Commitment - encouraging people to make public, written commitments to perform the behavior Social Norms - communicating or exhibiting a behavior to be normal, commonplace Social Diffusion - setting examples and using social interactions to spread the adoption of the behavior Prompts - using visual or auditory aids to remind people to perform the behavior Communication - crafting effective messages tailored to the target audience Incentives - providing monetary or non-monetary benefits to encourage the behavior CBSM uses these strategy tools at the community level and frequently involve direct personal contact. Although CBSM strategy tools such as social diffusion and communication and messaging can use social media to implement the strategy tool, social media itself is not a strategy tool for CBSM. All strategy tools use personal contact because social science research indicates that individuals are most likely to change their behavior when others appeal directly to them. STEP 4: PILOTING Prior to implementing a CBSM project, it is important to pilot the project in a small portion of an organization or community. Hie pilot project provides a cost effective approach to obtain valuable feedback on the effectiveness of the project and strategy tools and options to modify the project before implementing on a large scale. A pilot also allows other possible strategy tools to be tested against one another and the most cost- effective method to be determined. STEP 5: BROAD-SCALE IMPLEMENTATION AND EVALUATION After the project has been refined in a pilot and implemented throughout the community, the final step of CBSM involves ongoing evaluation of a project. When evaluating a behavior change project, CBSM uses the direct measurement of behavior change such as documenting behaviors through observation and direct measurement, (such as electric/water meters, waste disposal/recycling records, etc.) over less direct measures such as self-reporting. Ongoing evaluation allows organizations to further refine their CBSM strategy tools and project and can provide a basis for additional funding. Reference: Doug McKenzie-Mohr, Fostering Sustainable Behavior: An Introduction to Community-Based Social Marketing (2011) ------- Using Community-Based Social Marketing (CBSM) to Promote Sustainable Behaviors ------- "Behavior change is the cornerstone of sustainability." ~~~ Significant challenges exist to making a community sustainable. ~~~ Technologies and other options only work if people use them. ~~~ Only providing information on an issue is rarely successful. ~~~ People do change their behaviors when the benefit to them outweighs the barrier. (Doug McKenzie-Mohr, www.cbsm.com, 2014) ------- The Alternative: Community-Based Social Marketing (CBSM) Step 1: Selecting the behaviors to be promoted. Step 2: Identifying the barriers and benefits to an activity. Step 3: Developing a strategy that utilizes CBSM tools that have been shown to be effective in changing behavior. Step 4: Piloting the strategy. Step 5: Evaluating the strategy once it has been implemented across a community. (Doug McKenzie-Mohr, www.cbsm.com, 2014) ------- Step 1: Selecting Behavior to Be Promoted ~ Determine applicable categories that have the greatest impact on sustainability goal. ~ Identify behaviors from the most important categories and how they affect the goal. ~ Focus on a behavior with high impact, high probability, and low penetration. ~ Identify the audience. S Is there a particular group in the population that should be targeted? S Example: Target residents with small children to reduce food waste ------- Step 2: Identifying Barriers and Benefits ~ Review relevant articles and studies. ~ Observe people engaging in both the behavior to be promoted and the behavior to be discouraged. ~ Use focus groups to get detailed input on key benefits and barriers. ~ Implement a questionnaire to target audience and analyze the data. ------- Identifying Barriers and Benefits ~ If limited time and money, consider using intercept questionnaires instead of focus groups and full questionnaires. SAsk specifically about the barriers and benefits of the behavior. ~~~ Identify the most important barriers and benefits to focus resources on. ~ Barriers are behavior-specific and may vary for different individuals. ------- Step 3: Developing Strategies ~Choose CBSM tools based on the identified barriers and benefits to develop the pilot project strategy: ¦SConvenience - remove barriers (or misperceptions) ¦SCommitment - ask for public, written commitments ¦SSocial Norms - exhibit behavior as normal, commonplace ¦SSocial Diffusion - use social interactions to spread behavior •SPrompts - remind people to act •SCommunication - craft effective messages ¦fIncentives - provide benefits to encourage behavior ------- When to Use Each Strategy Tool Barriers Strategy Tools Structural Barriers Convenience Lack of Motivation Commitments Social Norms Incentives Forget to Act Prompts Lack of Social Pressure Social Norms Lack of Knowledge Communication Social Diffusion ------- Strategy Tools: Convenience ~> Before overcoming individual's internal barriers, address external barriers. ~> Using CBSM tools will be less effective if the behavior is inconvenient. ~> Guidelines: Identify, isolate, and address what can be done. ¦SStudy other similar programs to determine the cost-effectiveness of removing the barrier. ¦SPeople will see a behavior as more convenient as they gain more experience with it. ------- Strategy Tools: Commitment ~ If an individual commits to a behavior, they will be more likely to engage in that behavior and continue the behavior over time. ~ Guidelines: Actively involve the person. Help people see themselves as environmentally concerned. Written, public, and/or group commitments. Commitments should be voluntary. Asking if you can follow-up with the participant increases the likelihood of completing the commitment. Help Fond du Lac Tribal and Community College improve campus sustainability through efforts to reduce waste and increase recycling. '» . on pledge to reduce (diitc) waste generation and recycle materials on campus wherever possible. Signature: E-mail: Thank you for helping Fond du Lac Tribal and Community College reach its sustainability goals. ------- Strategy Tools: Social Norms ~ Offer information about what behaviors are approved or disapproved. ~> Promote behaviors that are normally engaged in by others. Example: Turning off engine when parked, taking public transportation. ~> Guidelines: Make the norm noticeable and present it when/where the targeted behavior occurs. Encourage positive behaviors. Don't pit norms against each other. For Our Air I Turn My Engine Off When Parked ------- Strategy Tools: Social Diffusion ~ The behaviors of those we have personal relationships with influence our own decisions. ~ Visibility is key! ~ Guidelines: •SCreatively post actions or commitments. SUse media such as stickers or signs for people to show they participate in the behaviors. SEncourage people who engage in the behavior commit to talk to others about it (community meetings, booths at fairs, pow wows). ------- Strategy Tools: Prompts ~ ~ ~ Remind people to do something they're already willing to do. Focus on what should be done rather than what should not. ~ Opportunities for prompts: S Signage, stickers. Reminders sent via text, social media, etc. Announcements over loudspeaker at appropriate facilities. Guidelines: Noticeable and self-explanatory. Put it close to where people need it. Encourage positive behaviors. CONSERVE ENERGY! TURN OFF LIGHTS WHEN NOT IN USE Miigwech ------- Strategy Tools: Communication •> Go positive. Make it memorable and clear > Offer personal and community targets or goals. >Consider the intended audience. Deliver the message from a source that the audience finds credible. "> Provide results feedback. Example: Bottle filling stations (pictured) keep a tally of bottles filled for documenting reduction in plastic bottles used. ------- Strategy Tools: Incentives ~> How will people avoid the incentive? ~> Is the incentive temporary? ~ Guidelines: ¦SFinancial incentives can motivate people to increase their participation in a behavior. ¦S Pair the incentive with the action! ¦S Make it visible and closely tied to the behavior. ¦S Reward positive behavior; disincentives can be unpredictable. ------- Step 4: Piloting the Strategy ~> Pilot the strategy in a small portion of the community. ¦S Troubleshoot any issues before broad implementation. ¦S If necessary, test out different methods and refine the program until effective. ~> Use random and independent sampling with both a control and a test group. ~> Focus on measuring behavior changes. ------- Step 5: Implementing and Evaluating ~ Collect baseline info on current level of behavior before implementing the strategy. ~ Implement the strategy and collect data. SUse different time intervals to track long-term impact on behavior and provide ongoing evaluation. ~ Guidelines: SUse advertising and media to increase awareness of the program. SProvide feedback on the program's success to reinforce the behavioral changes made. SCompile and share your findings. ------- Putting CBSM into Action: Recycling at Fond du Lac Tribal Community College Step 1. Selecting a behavior to be promoted Targeted behavior: Increase recycling on campus in common area, classrooms, and dorms Step 2. Identifying barriers and benefits Waste characterization and observation On-line questionnaire distributed to students Questionnaire Results: Lack of convenience and poor signage was a major barrier ^wsSSSnim REDUCE.REUSE.RECYCLE. LANOFIU WASTE PAPER RECYCUNG MIXED RECYCUNG ooe ooo ooo 000 000 000 HERE ------- Putting CBSM Into Action Step 3. Developing strategy effective in changing behavior Increase recycling bins and improve locations Bins placed in office areas, commons, conference rooms, every classroom and near trashcans Pilot a visually appealing, bilingual recycling bin Pilot new bilingual signage and posters that are culturally sensitive and easy to understand Expanded outreach at staff and student orientation Student workers in charge of collecting recyclables ------- Putting CBSM Into Action Step 4. Piloting the strategy ^There was an overall 41% decrease in the amount of recyclables found in the college's trash after two months S Post-Pilot Questionnaire ^Strongly agreed or agreed it's easy to recycle Pre-pilot: 62% Post-pilot: 90% ^Strongly agreed or agreed they understand how and what to recycle on campus Pre-pilot: 76% Post-pilot: 89% SAlways or usually recycle paper Pre-pilot: 76% Post-pilot: 83% 35 30 25 20 15 10 % Recycling in trash before pilot Recycling in trash after pilot Commons Conference rooms Offices ------- Final Tips for Implementing CBSM ~Choose an audience and implementable strategy after thoroughly researching the barriers and benefits of a behavior. ~Choose tools that address the barriers and benefits of the behavior as seen by the target audience. ~ Use a pilot to ensure project achieves desired behaviors, can be improved and is cost-effective. ~ Design the project to measure baseline behaviors and the final behaviors to document results. ~Give positive feedback to participants to reinforce behavioral change. ------- Tribal Community-Based Social Marketing (CBSM) Training Guide Developing the Research Approach: Using CBSM Projects to Promote Sustainable Behaviors Developing the research approach for a Community-Based Social Marketing (CBSM) project is an important part in understanding how to engage people in sustainabilitv behaviors. The goal of the research approach is to identify barriers and benefits to engaging in sustainable behaviors. To get started with your CBSM project, develop a list of research goals. An example list of overall research goals for a sustainability project might include the following; Gather target audience demographic information Identify level of understanding of benefits of sustainable behavior Identify barriers to the sustainable behavior Identify CBSM strategy tools that may be successful in increasing the sustainable behavior Once your research goals are established, all research methods should be developed and implemented to achieve those goals. There are four steps in the research approach to uncover the barriers and benefits of your sustainability goals: (1) conduct a review of articles and reports; (2) observe both those from the target group that already engage in the sustainability behavior you wish to promote and those from the target group that do not engage in those behavior(s); (3) develop a focus group or interviews to get a better understanding of the behaviors of your target populations; and (4) conduct a questionnaire based on the information obtained from the previous research steps. 1. LITERATURE REVIEW Narrowing the focus of the sustainable behavior goal provides an efficient method for researching relevant information during your literature review. For example, a well-defined sustainable behavior goal might be improving recycling by tribal employees in tribal office buildings. A general undefined sustainability goal might be improved tribal recycling throughout the entire tribal community. Begin the literature review by reading online trade magazines for relevant articles. These short articles are summaries of more comprehensive reports and are a good lead for further research. Review state and federal environmental agencies for guidance documents and fact sheets related to your sustainable behavior goals. Consider contacting authors of articles that were most helpful and ask if they know of any other studies that are similar or additional lessons learned 2. OBSERVATIONS Observe people engaging in the sustainability behavior you are promoting and those that do not to document the ways that these two groups differ. It is important to observe unobtrusively to prevent having an effect on their behavior and influencing the results. For example, for observations on recycling behaviors, observe recycling behaviors from a distance rather than placing a crew of observers next to all the garbage bins. Before beginning your observations, two or more people should independently observe the same behaviors. Their records should be similar. Keep in mind while observing that many behaviors include a number of steps that make up the behavior. For example, before recycling, people must first separate their trash from their recyclables. Then in some instances they must further separate their aluminum from their plastic to effectively engage in the recycling behavior. ------- 3. FOCUS GROUP A focus group is an excellent method for identifying barriers and benefits to achieving sustainable behavior goals. A focus group should consist of 6-8 individuals that were randomly picked from your target audiences. Your target audiences should be separated by those that engage in the desired behavior and those that do not to create a more welcoming environment for each target audience. Use information obtained from your literature review and observations to come up with a set of clearly-defined questions. During the focus group ensure that all members feel comfortable speaking out, including those that are less assertive or have a less favorable opinion. Remind the group that other participants may feel a different way and ask if those participants would like to share their opinions. At the end of the focus group, summarize the comments. Quantify the number of respondents agreeing and disagreeing with the questions. Example: the types of questions to ask during a focus group to improve recycling might include: Where do more recycling bins need to be placed? Do you understand what to recycle? How often do you recycle? What materials do you recycle regularly? What materials do you not recycle regularly? What stops you from recycling materials? 4. QUESTIONNAIRES To reach a larger number of participants than a focus group, consider conducting a questionnaire to enhance your understanding of how your target group views the sustainable behavior you are promoting. Questionnaires can be conducted in person, through the mail, online and over the telephone. It is helpful to use the information gathered in the previous three steps to develop your questionnaire. The following steps should be followed when developing and implementing a questionnaire: Describe the questionnaire objective. Define items to include in the questionnaire and that can be measured. Develop the questionnaire with mostly closed-ended questions. Pilot the questionnaire to a small group to test the questions. Revise the questionnaire based on the pilot and send out the questionnaire through mail, online or over the telephone. Analyze the questionnaire results. FINAL TIPS If you are limited on time and/or funding, consider conducting a literature search, observations, and an intercept questionnaire. An intercept questionnaire involves asking two questions of a representative sample of your target audience: What makes it challenging or difficult to engage in the sustainable behavior? What is beneficial or rewarding about engaging in the sustainable behavior? These three research activities can be done quickly and provide enough information to develop your CBSM strategy and project. Reference: Doug McKenzie-Mohr, Fostering Sustainable Behavior: An Introduction to Community-Based Social Marketing (2011) ------- Tribal Community-Based Social Marketing (CBSM) Training Guide Checklist of CBSM Strategy Tools to Address Barriers to Sustainable Behavior There are several Community-Based Social Marketing (CBSM) strategy tools that can be used to promote sustainable behavior. These strategy tools can be summarized as: Convenience - removing external barriers (or misperceptions) to make the behavior more convenient Commitment - encouraging people to make public, written commitments to perform the behavior Social Norm - exhibiting or communicating a behavior to be normal, commonplace Social Diffusion - setting examples and using social interactions to spread the adoption of the behavior Prompts - using visual or auditory aids to remind people to perform the behavior Communications - crafting effective messages tailored to the target audience Incentives - providing monetary or non-monetary benefits to encourage the behavior To design an effective CBSM strategy to promote sustainable behavior, it is essential that the strategy tools you select are tailored to the barriers you encounter. Select the appropriate tools based on the barriers for your target audience. These general barriers can be typically addressed by the following strategy tools: Barriers Strategy Tools Structural Barriers Convenience Lack of Motivation Commitment Social Norm Incentives Forget to Act Prompts Lack of Social Pressure Social Norms Lack of Knowledge Communication Social Diffusion To increase the likelihood of people performing a sustainable behavior, use the following checklists to consider which tactics for each appropriate CBSM strategy tool might work best for your target audience. ------- S Checklist for Using Convenience Remove external barriers (or misperceptions) to make the behavior more convenient. Experience changes perceptions. Some external barriers, such as inconvenience, could be just a matter of perception. ~ Reduce structural barriers. Remove external barriers first before removing individual barriers to a target behavior. Assess whether you have resources to remove external barriers before implementing program. ~ Make the competing behavior less convenient than the desired behavior. In cases where the financial resources do not exist to make the behavior more convenient through costly structural changes, consider making the desired behavior more convenient and less costly than the unwanted behavior. Examples: Provide recycling receptacles in more convenient places and garbage receptacles in less convenient places. Seek recommendations from your target audience on the best places for receptacles. Institute a user charge for garbage disposal and no charge for recycling. Communicate how much money a person will lose on average by throwing recyclables into the garbage, rather than how much money the person will save by recycling (see Checklist for Communications). ------- •S Checklist for Using Commitment A commitment is an agreement or pledge to do something in the future. Commitments are useful when people believe the action is worthwhile, but they have not yet acted. People have a strong desire to be seen as consistent by others. ~ Emphasize written over verbal commitments. See example Pledge Card on next page. ~ Ask for public commitments. ~ Seek groups' commitments. ~ Actively involve the person. ~ Ask people to make a small commitment first, which will make it easier to get them to make a larger commitment later. ~ Use existing points of contact to obtain commitments. ~ Help people to view themselves as environmentally concerned. ~ Don't use coercion (commitments must be freely volunteered). ~ Follow up with the person's commitment. ~ Combine commitment with other CBSM strategy tools. Examples: ~~~ When distributing compost units, ask when the person expects to begin to use the unit and inquire if you can call shortly afterward to see if he/she is having any difficulties. ~> Work with nearby retail outlets or other venues to have people sign pledges committing themselves to take household hazardous waste to the appropriate transfer station or disposal site, and post these pledges for public view (this also creates a Social Norm). ~~~ Household retrofitting increased 3 to 4 times when Pacific Gas and Electric home assessors secured verbal commitment and set up callbacks with customers. ------- Help (Insert Your College Name) Improve campus sustalnabllity (Insert through or by efforts to be made). I, on , pledge to (Insert actions to be taken) on campus wherever possible. Signature: E-mall: Thank you for helping (Insert Your College Name) reach Its sustalnabllity goals. Help (Insert Your College Name) Improve campus sustalnabllity (Insert through or by efforts to be made). I, , on , pledge to (insert actions to be taken) on campus wherever possible. Signature: E-mail: Thank you for helping (Insert Your College Name) reach Its sustalnabllity goals. ------- ¦S Checklist for Using Social Norms Establishing social norms can be helpful when your target audience does not yet believe the desired behavior is important or the right thing to do. People look to the behavior of those around them to determine how they themselves should behave. ~ The social norm should be noticeable. ~ As with prompts, the social norm should be made explicit at the time the targeted behavior is to occur. ~ As with prompts, when possible use social norms to encourage people to engage in positive behaviors rather than to avoid environmentally harmful actions. ~ Combine descriptive information with praise (i.e. injunctive norm) when someone is performing the behavior better than average. Examples: ~ Composting tends to be out of view in people's backyards, out of view to most other people. To make composting a norm, have composters affix a decal to the front of their house, front trash can or recycling container indicating that 'We Compost." ~ Post pi ctures and cluster them together on a wall of employees who made written commitments to turn their computer off at the end of the work day. The cluster of pictures displays and reinforces a social norm in the workplace to conserve energy by turning their computers off. ------- ¦S Checklist for Using Social Diffusion Set examples and use social interactions to spread the adoption of the behavior. ~ Ensure that the behavior you are promoting is visible. ~ Have your message delivered by an individual or organization who is credible with the audience you are trying to reach. ~ Gain commitments from early adopters to speak to others about the desired behavior. ~ Carefully identify who to target to increase the likelihood they will discuss their new activity with others. ~ Model the activities you would like people to engage in to enhance knowledge. ~ Provide feedback at both the individual and community levels about the impact of people's recycling actions. Example: ~ Households who were visited by a block leader were more likely to report that they felt upset if they discarded recyclable materials, and that they felt an obligation to recycle these materials. (Previous prompt and brochure strategies had no impact upon these beliefs.) ~ Homes that made a commitment both to grasscycle and to encourage neighbors to do the same changed not only their own behavior, but also the behavior of the neighbors. ~ Having people agree to wear a button or sticker promoting a behavior increases the likelihood that they will actually perform that behavior. ------- ¦S Checklist for Using Prompts Use prompts when your target audience forgets to do the desired behavior. Prompts are useful in encouraging repetitive behaviors like closing blinds. Prompts are best used when the target audience supports the idea of the desired behavior; but if they do not support it yet, prompts should be used with Social Norms to instill the behavior. ~ Make the prompt noticeable. ~ The prompt should be specific and self-explanatory. Through graphics and/or text the prompt should explain simply what the person is to do. ~ The prompt should be presented as close in time and space as possible to the targeted behavior. ~ Use prompts to encourage people to engage in positive behaviors rather than to avoid environmentally harmful actions. ~ Use commitment strategies and norms to encourage people to act on the prompt. Examples: ~ Simply making a litter receptacle more visually interesting was found to double the amount of litter deposited in one study, and increase it by 61% in another. ~ Work with nearby retail outlets or other venues to affix decals to paint cans, providing information on where to dispose of leftover paint. ~ Have check-out clerks ask consumers if they have brought bags with them. ~ Place a prompt to purchase a product with recycled content directly below the product. ------- •S Checklist for Communications If there is a lack of awareness or knowledge, consider these tactics for effective messaging: ~ Integrate tribal goals into the delivery of your program. ~ Make sure that your message is vivid, personal, and concrete. ~ Using techniques to uncover barriers and benefits, explore the attitudes and behavior of your intended audience prior to developing your message. ~ Frame your message to indicate what the individual is losins by not acting, rather than what he/she is saving by acting. ~ If you use a negative message, make sure that you couple it with specific suggestions regarding what actions an individual can take. ~ Use a one-sided or two-sided message depending upon the knowledge of your audience regarding the particular issue. ~ Make your communication, especially instructions for a desired behavior, clear and specific. Make it easy for people to remember what to do, and how and when to do it. ~ Where possible, use personal contact to deliver your message. ~ Provide feedback at both the individual and community levels about the impact of the behavior. Examples: ~ Posting signs above aluminum can recycling containers, which provided feedback on the number of cans recycled during the previous weeks, increased recovery rates by 65%. ~ Households which received weekly group feedback on the total pounds of paper they had recycled increased the amount recycled by 26%. ------- ¦S Checklist for Using Incentives Research in behavior change underscores the importance and success of using incentives to reward behavior we would like people to engage in. The success of disincentives are often less predictable, since the punishment suppresses an unwanted behavior but does not directly encourage a positive alternative. ~ Closely pair the incentive and the behavior. ~ Use incentives to reward positive behavior. ~ Make the incentive visible. ~ Remove incentives only if you think people will continue the behavior eventually without it. ~ Prepare for people's attempts to avoid the associated disincentive. ~ Carefully consider the size of the incentive. ~ Use non-monetary incentives, such as public recognition. Examples: ~~~ Offer small credits to shoppers who bring their own bags or reuse store bags. ~> Charge for use of items such as plastic shopping bags and Styrofoam cups. ~> Attach a sizable deposit on household hazardous products to motivate individuals to bring leftover products to a proper HHVV collection. Reference: Doug McKenzie-Mohr, Fostering Sustainable Behavior: An Introduction to Community- Based Social Marketing (2011) ------- Tribal Community-Based Social Marketing (CBSM) Training Guide Resources for Promoting Sustainable Behaviors Learning about CBSM Fostering Sustainable Behavior This site includes a book by Doug McKenzie-Molir on liow to use community-based social marketing to increase sustainable behaviors as well as databases with articles, case studies, and strategies. http://www.cbsm. com Tools of Change This site offers detailed social marketing tools, case studies, a planning guide, and topic-specific resources. http://www.toolsofchange.com Electronic Data Information Source (EDIS) University of Florida IFAS Extension Fact Sheet This fact sheet explains the basic concepts and definitions of CBSM. http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/wcl 19 Using CBSM to Promote Sustainable Behaviors: Case Studies and Guidance Tools of Change Webinars Webinars that focus on CBSM case studies. http://webinars.cullbridge.coin/ Food: Too Good to Waste Toolkit This Toolkit developed by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is designed for families and individuals to reduce wasted food at home. Learn about the different CBSM strategies included in the toolkit, which can be customized and used by any interested tribe, local government or community group to reduce wasted food from households. https://www.epa.gov/sustainable-management-food/food-too-good-waste-iniplementation-guide-and-toolldt University of Oregon A searchable database of sustainability initiatives at the university. http://sustainabilitv.uoregon.edu/office-sustainabilitv/database A detailed report on surveying students' transportation behaviors. http://sustainabilitv.uoregon.edu/siles/sustainabilitT.uoregon.edu/files/os-reports/UO transp analysis O.pdf Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE) A searchable database of student research on sustainability. http://www.aashe.org/resources/student-research Aceti Associates Guidance documents and research publications from a CBSM consulting firm. http://www.acetiassociates.com/publications.html ------- |