Unrequested and often unsuitable goods sent to humanitarian disaster zones, often classified as Unsolicited Bilateral Donations (UBDs), cause disruption. In June 2017, a project was launched to reduce the number of UBDs from Australia. At the time, there was no existing research on motivations for this phenomenon, and so the crucial first step was to gain an in-depth understanding of the behaviour. The unique and impactful findings from this study now offer new foundations for public messaging to effectively reduce the number of UBDs sent from Australia. Next steps are to raise global awareness of the findings and translate into communications to reduce the disruptive impact of UBDs sent to humanitarian crises zones.
This case study takes place amidst a familiar backdrop sector funding cuts driving service reform. In this instance, this meant the proposed integration of separate behaviour change support services- for smoking, excessive alcohol consumption, inactivity, and poor diet- into a holistic, healthy lifestyle service offer.
Few novels tell a novel story. Behavioural science can shine new light on the age-old stories of lived experience. Stories are as important as they ever were: they open the door into people's inner worlds, and reveal the other characters and forces 'pulling the strings'. Stories form the narrative arc, eliciting empathy in practitioners and clients alike. Leveraging behavioural science can turn empathetic connection into tangible action, enabling decision makers to see the wood for the trees - a challenge in today's increasingly complex world. This case study demonstrates how leveraging behavioural science alongside the truth of lived experience surfaced through qualitative enquiry, can present new opportunities to connect, disrupt, engage, and empower the protagonists of the story.