EIS at the Melbourne centre for behaviour change conference February 2023

On February 20-22nd 2023 three team members, Claire Bavor, Tessa Saunders and Lucy Boyd attended the Melbourne Centre for Behaviour Change 2023 conference: Behaviour Change: Challenges and Opportunities.

The conference featured keynote speakers, masterclasses and workshops from national and international experts. Two themes were covered over the 2.5 days: Harnessing technology for behaviour change and Behaviour change for health. Highlights included the launch evening for the Melbourne Centre of Behaviour Change which included a discussion about Using Behavioural Science to Overcome Global Challenges. Prof Susan Michie spoke of her experience working on the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (SAGE) expert advisory group for the response to COVID-19 in the UK and the World Health Organisation’s Behavioural Insights and Sciences Technical Advisory Group. Prof Michie discussed the importance of behaviour change for controlling a pandemic and how behavioural recommendations were implemented in some countries and not others during COVID-19. She was joined by Professor Brett Sutton, Adjunct Professor Terry Slevin and Professor Peter Radoll as A/Prof Michelle Jongenelis led the group to discuss some of the challenges they faced during the peak of COVID-19 outbreaks and lockdowns.

Another highlight of the conference was the workshop on the final day where Professor Susan Michie and Professor Robert West discussed the behaviour change wheel and methods for designing behaviour change interventions. During the workshop they presented real life examples and several resources to assist intervention development.

The final highlight of the conference was the opportunity to meet and build relationships with behavioural scientists, policy makers and researchers from the university, Australia and around the world.

L to R - Claire Bavor, Lucy Boyd