How I help / Behaviour change programmes
Programmes that change what people do.
Funders want evidence of impact. Too many programmes are designed on intuition and evaluated after the fact. I help charities, funders and mental health services design behaviour change programmes from the evidence, build a theory of change your team will use, and evaluate so you can show what changed.
Where programmes get stuck
The problems I’m most often asked about.
- Your theory of change was written to win the funding. Nobody has opened it since.
- The evaluation was bolted on at the end, so it can’t tell you much.
- You know the programme helps people. You just can’t provide the evidence yet.
What I offer
Fixed fees wherever possible, agreed before we start.
Programme design from the evidence
Start from what is known to change behaviour, then fit it to your people, setting and budget.
Theory of change workshops
A half day with your team, built around your programme. You leave with a theory of change you’ll actually use.
Evaluation frameworks
Clear outcomes, sensible measures and preregistered evaluation plans, so results are trusted, good or bad.
Funding bid support
A stronger case for funders: the evidence, the theory of change and an evaluation plan that holds up.
Support for funders
A theory of change and evaluation framework for your fund or portfolio, help commissioning independent evaluations, and support for grantees to show what changed.
How I help people change: the OPEN model
Individual change is the foundation of every programme I design. People change when their attitudes, their behaviour and the context around them all move together, so OPEN works on all three. It’s informed by social cognitive theory and the ADKAR® model.
-
Open minds
Stage: Awareness and attitude
Help people see why the change matters to them, not just to the organisation. Champions and early adopters show it can be done.
-
Provide training
Stage: Knowledge
Practical training built around what people need to do differently, in their setting, not a generic course.
-
Embed knowledge
Stage: Ability
Practice, mentoring and peer learning until the new way of working becomes a skill people trust.
-
Normalise and reinforce
Stage: Reinforcement
Recognise and reward the change, and build it into roles, policies and everyday routines so it lasts.
ADKAR® is a registered trademark of Prosci, Inc.
Selected work
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.
Read the case studyHow it works
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.
Questions
What is a theory of change?
A clear picture of how your programme leads to the change you want: who needs to do what differently, what you’ll do to help, and what must be true for it to work. A good one guides decisions every week, not just the funding bid.
What change model do you use?
My own OPEN model for individual change: open minds, provide training, embed knowledge, and normalise and reinforce. It’s informed by social cognitive theory and the ADKAR® model, and sits inside a theory of change that also tackles culture, structures and infrastructure.
How do you show a programme changed behaviour?
We agree what success looks like before you start, then measure what people actually do, not just what they know or how they rated the session. Where it fits, I use validated measures and a comparison point, so you can show funders what changed.
Can you help with a funding bid?
Yes. I can help you build the evidence base, the theory of change and an evaluation plan, so your bid shows how and why the programme will work.
Do you work with funders directly?
Yes. I help funders set out what change a fund or portfolio is aiming for, design evaluation frameworks that grantees can realistically use, write evaluation briefs and review proposals from evaluators, and support grantees to build the evidence you’ll ask them for.
Planning a programme or an evaluation? Let’s talk.
Tell me about your programme and what your funders want to see.
Send me a message