Three-step guide to encourage COVID-19 vaccinations

Working with The Behaviouralist we have developed a three-step guide to help councils.

• 1. Understand and define challenges related to vaccine uptake
• 2. Use behavioural insights to design and deliver solutions, and
• 3. Evaluate your work and capture important learnings. It has been developed for councils and recognises the time pressures and changing nature of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The diagram above shows three areas of applying behavioural insights that are covered in the guide. The first area is “Understand your challenge”. It entails identifying the behaviour to change, identifying a target audience and engaging with the audience to identify barriers to changing behaviour.

The second area is “Apply behavioural insights”. It entails designing a behavioural solution, finding the right messenger, and choosing the channel. The third area is “Evaluate your solution”. It includes defining your outcomes and metrics to track, choosing an evaluation method, and learning and adapting.

Understand your challenge

• Determine which behaviour to change
• Identify your target audience
• Understand group-specific barriers to vaccine take-up

Apply behavioural insights

• Design your behavioural solution
• Find the right messenger
• Choose your channel

Evaluate your solution

• Define your your outcomes and metrics
• Pick your evaluation method
• Learn, adapt and scale

You can work through the three steps sequentially, from Understand to Apply to Evaluate. Alternatively, you can focus on the sections that are most relevant to you and dip in and out of the material as necessary.

We have also provided some materials including: case studies; spotlights which can help you achieve some quick wins; materials which councils are using; detailed explanations of behavioural science theories and frameworks and finally a list of resources.