Is 'doing your bit' enough?

Some time ago I produced a paper for ChangeStar questioning whether the strategy of seeking small changes in behaviour from the public on issues such as climate change was the most effective way for environmental and social justice organisations to achieve their (very urgent) goals. You can read it here.

This article is worth dusting off and putting out again, as our goals as a movement have become ever more urgent and our methods of public engagement are in need of a serious rethink. My thinking in this area shares some similarities with Tom Crompton's work at WWF in his capacity as climate change strategist. Check out his home page and, in particular, his report 'Weathercocks and Signposts'.

A new approach to supporter engagement

Environmental and other charities are not gaining the change in behaviour from the public that they need, and the time has come for a change in our approach to how we communicate with the public.

The ChangeStar article in this link argues that we need to take a ‘whole person’ approach to seeking change and influencing the public on these issues. We need to recognise that caring about the environment is just one aspect of an individual’s worldviews and motivations – both within their ethical values and more broadly within their lives. To motivate people on issues such as climate change and protecting the environment we therefore not only need to tackle these issues themselves, but also offer a vision of a more just and sustainable world generally, including one in which everyone has better lives and greater well-being. We also need to empower people to understand the world better, become more effective at identifying and living their values and enable people to live happier and more self-determined lives.

In summary - we need a radical re-think in our supporter communication strategies to achieve this, and the article provides some initial ideas as to how charities could do this.

Britain's unmet needs

The Young Foundation has recently published an interesting report called ‘Sinking not swimming: Understanding Britain’s Unmet Needs’. Its findings are summed up by their Director, Geoff Mulgan, as follows:

"Our survey shows that Britain is a rich country but with many poor people; a generally happy country but with many unhappy people. It’s not broken. But it is brittle, anxious and stressed. To the public it is obvious that psychological needs are as important as material ones, that love, care, peace of mind are as vital to a good life as having enough heating or enough clothes to wear. Yet there is an odd gulf between this common knowledge and public policy. Whoever can bridge that gap may win the battle to convince the public that they understand poverty and what to do about it."

This pulls together some of the themes I have been working on - the need to not only move towards a more just, equal and sustainable society with stronger communities, but at the same time the need to build the capacities of individuals to flourish in their lives. See my book 'Modern life - as good as it gets' for more thoughts on this, and Life² for an organisation that aims to begin this process of building people's capacities to flourish.

Why is it so hard to change people's behaviour?

At certain points on this blog, I'll be telling you about output and ideas that have been produced some time ago, as they contain important advice that is not yet being followed by people and organisations seeking change.

One such piece of output is the ChangeStar report 'Why is it so hard to change people's behaviour?', which identifies a number of factors that make it difficult for many people in the western world to change their attitudes and behaviour on global issues such as sustainability and social justice. It provides some far-reaching recommendations for organisations seeking to engage people in behaviour change, including the need to empower the public with the intellectual tools they need to become ethical global citizens and the need to establish a new movement for global change. Download it from here.

Prosperity without growth?

As a first post for this blog, and to give you an idea of some of the themes I work on, here is a link to a report from Tim Jackson at the Sustainable Development Commission which is well worth reading. It provides some commentary on the current economic crisis, but its main aim is to consider whether economic growth is essential to achieve a society in which we all flourish. The report has been updated and expanded and turned into a book - 'Prosperity without growth' - click here for more details. This idea of 'human flourishing' is a theme running through a lot of my work and no doubt I'll return to it in later posts! Check out my own book for some more ideas on this theme.