Current and Future Priorities for UK Behavioural Research

What we did

One of BR-UK’s first activities was a multi-component scoping study to understand the current landscape of behavioural research, including where there are gaps and opportunities in relation to societal needs, and to establish a national network and a set of strategic priorities for our future work and management of a commissioning fund. You can read more about the work we have undertaken to map behavioural research in the UK in a previous blog post by Dr Jo Davan Wetton. 

Another part of this scoping study was to carry out a rapid review of existing documents that describe strategies or agendas for advancing behavioural research capability in the UK or internationally. This review synthesises the behavioural research used by UK organisations and highlights key areas for improvement and gaps. 

The review addressed four research questions:

1. What are current and future societal and scientific needs for UK behavioural research, as articulated in strategies from government and research funders?
2. In what ways do these strategies propose to strengthen behavioural research capability to meet societal and scientific needs?
3. What strengths, gaps and opportunities for behavioural research are highlighted by these strategies?
4. To what extent are equalities, diversity, inclusion and intersectionality (EDII) and open science principles incorporated and encouraged in these strategies?

To answer these questions, we searched for and reviewed documents published by UK government departments, public bodies, research funding bodies, and learned societies. International documents were also collected if signposted by BR-UK members and the BR-UK International Scientific Advisory Board. 

An exhaustive list of government departments and public bodies that were searched and included in the screening process can be found on the OSF protocol page for this work.

What we found

Strengths in behavioural research

From the documents reviewed, the strengths of behavioural research identified included well-established theories, frameworks, and tools for predicting and understanding behaviour. These assets are key for research translation, enhancing behaviour change strategies, service design, and policy.

Following completion of the review, we have synthesised a summary of areas that need to be further advanced to maintain and increase the strength of behavioural research in addressing societal needs within the UK and outline these below.

Core Development Areas

1. Transparent and Ethical Research Practices Enhanced ethical standards and transparent practices were highlighted as essential for research integrity and public trust. It was also suggested that researchers would benefit from clear guidelines for high ethical standards in research.
2. Integrating Emerging TechnologiesTechnologies like Artificial Intelligence (AI) and simulation models offer efficient approaches for designing and conducting research. The Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) identified an urgent need for social science PhDs to include more training in the use of emerging technology.
3. Interdisciplinary CollaborationMany reports emphasise collaboration with other fields to enhance research impact. For example Nesta, (an independent charity that works to increase innovation capacity of the UK), works with energy companies to test different business models that generate revenue by helping consumers reduce or shift their energy consumption behaviour.
4. Systems and Population Level ApproachesReports included in the review stated that behavioural research needs to focus more on the population - and systems - levels rather than on individual behaviours. 
5. Leadership and AdvocacyStrong leadership is needed to champion behavioural research. Support for senior roles and resources to cultivate a culture that values experimentation and research-informed solutions is required.
6. Innovative Funding ApproachesSome reports stated that gaps in behavioural research could be due to a lack of resources and funding. Public and private investment could be used more effectively to drive impact.
7. Capability and capacity to employ behavioural methods  Resource and capacity limitations restrict many organisations, particularly smaller ones, from conducting or using behavioural research. Providing accessible tools and tailored skills and competencies training in behavioural research methods across academia, government, and workplaces will help build behavioural research capability.

EDII in Behavioural Research

While many documents and strategies addressed equality, diversity, and inclusion (EDI), the idea of intersectionality (I) was not included in any of the documents. Initiatives to promote EDII principles across career stages - such as flexible work arrangements and mentorship - are needed. Learn more about how BR-UK is embedding EDII initiatives and polices in our work.  

Open Science and Knowledge Brokers

Many documents and strategies widely endorsed open science, advocating for the sharing of data, methods, and findings. In addition, many of the reports we reviewed suggested that knowledge brokers could play a crucial role in translating research insights for broader societal benefit.

Where Do We Go from Here

Our review identified the following key areas for development: 

• Integration of emerging technologies, including AI and large-scale modelling, for more efficient research design and analysis
• Enhance technological competency in behavioural research programmes
• Shift toward systems - and population-level approaches
• Building behavioural research capability through targeted skills training and leadership support
• Addressing the imbalance between funding demand and availability
• Address resource and capacity constraints that limit the use of behavioural research in smaller organisations

The review also identified key guidelines and principles that should be adopted whilst undertaking and/or using behavioural research including:

• Developing clear ethical guidelines and support for researchers to use these
• Embedding EDII principles throughout behavioural research career stages
• Promoting open science practices and wider dissemination of findings
• Using knowledge brokers to connect research findings to policy and practice.

How does this work shape BR-UK's future plans?

The findings from this review, in addition to the findings from our cross-sector survey, are being used to inform the next stages of BR-UK's capability scoping and building activities. For instance, findings from this review have informed the design of our cross-sector workshops to identify strengths, weaknesses and strategies in behavioural research.  

Find out more about this project on our OSF page.

Additional input: Linda Bauld (University of Edinburgh), Jo Davan-Wetton (University College London) and Maria Fomina (Zinc).