- Groundwork
Context as a process: how we define and gain an appreciation of context at Busara
Chaning Jang, Steve Wendel and Morgan Kabeer
- July 15, 2024
- 9:45 am
SECTOR
PROJECT TYPE
Location
BEHAVIORAL THEME
OVERVIEW
At Busara, we talk about ‘context’ all the time. And we’re not the only ones. It’s widely acknowledged and accepted in Behavioral Science that ‘context’ matters. We often hear that those in the context know better and can create better behavioral science than those who don’t understand ‘the context.’ But what do we mean when we talk about context, and how does one achieve that ‘contextual knowledge’ or know when one has it? This article will be a primer on context and what it means for Busara. It’s a starting point for us to discuss, examine, and further develop ideas about context.
THEMATIC AREAS
In this article, we defined context as the internal and external setting that affects a person’s decision-making and behavior. Context comprises three elements: people, place, and mindspace. Context is important because it plays four critical roles in our field. It is something we explore to ask the right questions, something we change as an intervention, something we leverage to improve our interventions, and something we vary to test for generalizability. Context is more than a backdrop, a characteristic, or a demographic. It is the essence of what we do in behavioral science, from asking the right questions to creating meaningful interventions, ensuring that they are well received, impactful, and respectful of the communities we make them with.