Behaviorally informed communication to drive civic engagement

Busara

SECTOR

Governance

PROJECT TYPE

Mobile-lab experiment

DOI

Location

Uganda

BEHAVIORAL THEME

Self-efficacy

OVERVIEW

What psychological factors motivate an individual to engage with issues affecting their communities?

Active engagement in community issues is a critical driver of accountable political systems. Civic engagement can be measured through a number of ways: direct political participation such as voting, expressing political opinion through rallies and signing petitions, or attending community meetings and other venues of discussion.

THEMATIC AREAS

While structural challenges are often to blame for impeding civic engagement, there are also many less obvious psychological drivers as well. Factors such as identity, perceptions of self–efficacy, and social signals all contribute to an individual’s willingness to engage comfortably with a community issue.