Behavioural Science at Ipsos
Ipsos' approach to behavioural science is based on leading academic research combined with an evidence base of delivering sustainable change
Behavioural science has a valuable role to play to in supporting brands, governments and public bodies to facilitate change, a critical issue in today’s unpredictable and unstable world. Working alongside a wide range of leading market research and social research methods, the behavioural science team at Ipsos supports organisations around the world to successfully navigate uncertain times, offering skills and tools that deliver positive business and policy outcomes.
Our approach involves a model of behaviour, MAPPS, that is based on leading academic research combined with an evidence base of delivering sustainable change. We also use other tools that our clients are familiar with (such as COM-B and ISM). We ensure that the tools are presented in a way that is easy to understand, so teams across client organisations can pick up and apply in their everyday challenges. It is through this approachable manner that we aim to ensure teams are empowered to make change happen.
Our work
We work across the breadth of the Ipsos client base, both the public and private sector, and on a wide variety of questions and contexts. This means we bring a richness of cross category experience to inform the way in which we help our clients design and implement behaviour change programmes. Recent work includes:
- Healthcare practitioner prescribing: Challenging current prescribing behaviours and finding ways to encourage consideration of alternatives
- Public health ‘risky’ behaviours: Covering smoking, alcohol, physical activity and drugs in low-income areas.
- Travel & transport: How we can encourage responsible, safe driving behaviour as well as increased usage of public transport.
- Financial wellbeing: Programmes that encourage savings, reduced spending and supporting people to take steps to manage their finances effectively
- Sustainability: A range of projects from the development of digital tools to support green choices in everyday shopping and programmes that support the fashion circular economy to flood prevention and community solutions for sustainable behaviours.
- Risk management: A wide range of projects to encourage vaccine take-up as well as other projects on risk mitigation, such as finance and driving behaviour
- Misinformation: Range of projects to understand the mechanisms underpinning misinformation and conspiracy theories and finding solutions to support people to make effective decisions
- Health & Wellness: Supporting people to manage their physical and mental wellbeing, taking up products and solutions that meet their needs
We work collaboratively with Ipsos account and policy teams to ensure every project in which we are involved is informed by behavioural science thinking.
Our approach
We provide a straightforward yet robust approach to behavioural science by following our 4D process:
- Define: Set out clearly the behaviour we are seeking to change and the outcomes we are aiming for
- Diagnose: Using the MAPPS framework, we work with Ipsos' extensive range of research methods to identify the mechanisms that are shaping current and desired behaviour
- Design: Our model connects design guidance to the Diagnosis, meaning we can develop effective interventions for behaviour change
- Deliver: This is about how we activate the Design using existing touchpoints, and how they work together to Deliver behaviour change programmes
Within this we use a range of methods (including literature reviews, co-design intervention workshops) to develop effective solutions that can be optimised and then tested using a range of tools such as behavioural sandpit (longitudinal agile optimisation of designs) and testing tools.
What we offer
Our approach is customised consultancy, tailored to business or policy challenge and Client need. Activities often include:
- Training: We work with teams to embed behavioural science skills into the organisation, equipping teams to deliver behaviour change
- Advisory: We will often be engaged in supporting the development of behaviour change programmes, designing solutions for long-standing challenges
- Audit: Working alongside the Ipsos account teams, we provide behavioural science expertise to inform the research tools but also to review current touchpoints to assess ways in which they can be optimised to drive positive outcomes
Who we are
The behavioural science team at Ipsos is a core team of experts with trained consultants across the organisation. We operate both in the UK but also globally, supporting our clients across their footprint. The team’s skill set does not only revolve around a deep understanding of behavioural science but we also have a breadth of commercial and policy experience that we bring to bear in addition to communication and advisory skills.
Our thought leadership
We bring our thinking to bear to our client challenges, challenging received wisdom and pushing the boundaries to provide fresh thinking and new solutions. For examples of our thinking see:
