Knowingisn’t doing.
Behaviour change for charities, funders, universities and sportcharities, funders, universities and sport
Most programmes change what people know. Very few change what they do. I’m a behavioural scientist and chartered psychologist, and I help you close that gap, and provide evidence of the difference it makes.
Where I help
Three areas, one way of working.
Behaviour change programmes
For charities, funders and mental health services
Programmes designed from the evidence, a theory of change your team will use, and evaluation your funders can trust.
Programme design and evaluationResearch culture and open research
For universities and research institutes
Training, recognition and rewards, REF and CoARA readiness, and an open research advisor on retainer.
Research culture supportPerformance and integrity in sport
For clubs, leagues, governing bodies and anti-doping organisations
Coaching effectiveness, career transitions, anti-doping and coaching culture, so people perform well and behave well.
Sport performance and integrityThree principles behind every project
These are the ideas I’ll argue for. They shape how I design, deliver and evaluate your work.
Context, behaviour and attitudes shape each other. Change the rules, structures and incentives and behaviour shifts. Do it well and, over time, attitudes follow.
See how I use itInspiring leaders can take people the wrong way. So I check who benefits and build integrity into the design. I’ve spent 16 years studying leadership, including with Premier League managers.
Read Authentic ArseholesA new policy, code or strategy changes little on its own, and goodwill fades without anything to back it. Whether you’re a university, a club or a charity, culture shifts when policy rewards the change and people see peers and leaders living it.
See how I work
Straight answers from someone who’s done the work.
I’ve coached for professional football teams, run a mental health non-profit and worked at seven universities. In 26 years of full-time work, I’ve taught more than 10,000 young people as their coach, teacher or professor. It all started at 14, when I set up my first football club because no one would give me a job.
You’ll get honest advice grounded in evidence, and everything I know, so your team can carry it on without me.
- Chartered psychologist and behavioural scientist
- Fellow of the Higher Education Academy
- APMG change management practitioner
- Over €1.6m in research funding secured
- Open and Responsible Science Advisor, Erasmus University Rotterdam
- PhD on leader integrity, University of Birmingham
- Research featured in the BBC documentary Do Black Lives Still Matter?
“Without John, it is difficult to imagine that the field would be as well-positioned as it is for advancing open science.”
Working together is simple.
Get in touch.
Tell me what you’re working on. If I’m not the right person, I’ll say so.
Get a plan.
We talk it through, then I send a short written plan and a fixed price. No surprises.
See what changes.
We design, deliver and evaluate it together.
Selected work
One example from each area.
Behaviour change programmes
Psychological first aid, built for gamers.
Play Aid developed and implemented a bespoke psychological first aid training programme for gamers through its Gamers vs. Depression project, funded by Movember since 2021. More than 2,100 people trained across the UK, Ireland and Australia, supporting their mates when it matters.
Read the case studyResearch culture and open research
From good intentions to university policy.
At Erasmus University Rotterdam: mandatory open science training for every PhD candidate, and ways to recognise and reward open science that respect each discipline’s norms.
Read the case studyPerformance and integrity in sport
Behaviour change in a football-based curriculum.
Advised Football Beyond Borders on its coaching and behaviour change curriculum, designed to improve attainment and reduce the risk of exclusion for around 3,000 young people across England.
Read the case studyFree: the theory of change template I use with clients
A one-page template and a worked example. Yours to use, adapt and share, whether or not we ever work together.
Download the free templateIs your university ready for SEP or SPRE?
A free self-assessment for research leaders. See where you’re ready and where the gaps are.
Take the readiness checkGet the next essay
I write about leadership, behaviour change, research culture and sport. Opinionated, practical and free.
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Tell me what you’re trying to change.
Tell me what you’re working on. I read and reply to every message myself.
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