We work with researchers and organizations to advance and apply behavioral science in pursuit of poverty alleviation
As a non-profit organization, this mission guides everything we do. Yet, we are also continuously learning how to better pursue it. We now see our work as a learning journey with partners who want to increase the impact of their programs.
How we apply cutting-edge behavioral science
We develop and use the latest tools in behavioral science, but never put “insights” above our focus on helping organizations implement improvements to their programs, approach, or ways of working with the people they serve.
Our approach to international development is different, we are;
Behavioral
To truly impact people’s lives, we need more than ‘the right answer’. We need to understand, and usually change, behavior. Behavioral science helps us do that effectively and rigorously.
Contextual
Academic research and prior practice gives us a wide range of tools that might work. We look to the context – the given location, cultural setting, and decision making environment – to best determine what will actually work.
Human-centered
Our goal is to help improve people’s lives, not to force them to do what we think is best. This means involving them in the process, ensuring they benefit from participating, and designing for their reality and experience.
We strengthen the work of our partners by
Applying innovative and evidence-based behavioral science.
We develop and use the latest tools in behavioral science so that organizations can put them to use to improve their programs, approaches, or ways of working to provide benefits to the communities in which they work.
Partnering with those who are invested in the contexts they serve.
We work with academics, policymakers, funders, and implementing organizations of all shapes and sizes. What we share with our partners is a commitment to designing solutions embedded in the individual, socioeconomic, and environmental contexts of real people.
Being a voice for development in the Global South.
We are based in the so-called Global South, and advocate for investment in local perspectives, locally-owned programs, and homegrown talent. It is important to us to be rooted in the communities in which we work, and to utilise our local knowledge to develop and adapt relevant solutions.
Boutique
Supporting behavior change for poverty alleviation through applied research
Our approach to applied research seeks to directly help individuals towards more equitable and self-determined lives. We always ask: how will our work benefit whom this is supposed to help? How does their context shape their preferences? What does this mean for sustained and meaningful behavioral change?
We ground our research in context, and customize our recommendations to what that context requires. While we work on research insights that can be swiftly turned into action, much of our work uncovers deeper insights for the long term.
Our work might look broad—spanning diverse sectors such as agriculture, inclusive finance, individual and public health, and good governance. Yet it is our commitment to using rigorous behavioral science to alleviate poverty, coupled with a deep appreciation of the research and policy context, that makes us boutique.
Cutting-edge
Pushing the frontiers of knowledge in behavioral science and development
Most research on the Global South is based on research agendas, funding, and researchers in the Global North. A stark reminder of this is that less than 1% of published psychology research has African researchers as first authors in high-impact journals, or Africans in participant samples. This creates inequity in knowledge production today, and lessens the relevance of that knowledge tomorrow.
We place ourselves at the cutting-edge of research by centering the geographic boundaries of knowledge squarely where the knowledge will be applied; right here in the Global South.
Our research needs to contribute to our understanding of human behavior, and have relevance to decision-makers. This means a commitment to putting behavioral approaches center stage, while actively incorporating other methodologies, disciplines, and ways of thinking.
Vocal
Putting the Global South at the center of research, policy, and practice
While policymakers and practitioners are increasingly integrating behavioral insights into their programs, the field is still in its infancy. Much of applied behavioral science is still a translation of Global North perspectives into the Global South.
We see our role as amplifier for the voices of the people we serve, and to help our partners listen to, and respond to those voices.
To create a thriving behavioral science ecosystem in the Global South, we are building the community and capacity of researchers, practitioners, and policymakers who use behavioral science to identify and solve global problems. This happens through our support for North/South and South/South networks, internal and external capacity building (through sharing our resources and tools), and by building the next generation of behavioral scientists.