Behavioural Systems Mapping
Read Lara’s piece for London Office of Technology & Innovation (Loti) on our behavioural systems mapping method.
Understand the issues, co-design solutions and deliver lasting change
Councils are facing complex, deep-rooted issues, from community safety to climate resilience, public health to participation in democracy. These aren’t problems with quick fixes, but local government is often expected to rapidly deliver on national priorities. And behavioural interventions that target individuals alone aren’t enough to shift the system.
Behavioural Systems Mapping is a tool for strategy, policy and service design teams who want to understand why people behave the way they do — and work out where to intervene for the greatest long-term impact.
Get to the heart of what’s really driving behaviour and what’s blocking change
Too often, public sector interventions miss the mark because they treat symptoms, not causes. Our mapping approach helps you see the behavioural dynamics across a whole system. We can help your teams spot the hidden barriers, gaps and misalignments that hold progress back then identify the most promising levers for change across services.
“Most importantly, this isn’t about manipulation or ‘nudge’ tactics. It’s about making change easier by designing environments, policies and partnerships that support how people and organisations actually behave. Using evidence and collaboration, not assumptions.”
What kind of issues can we tackle?
We have used this approach to support local authorities in diagnosing and tackling systemic issues, such as:
Low uptake of new active travel infrastructure – revealing where assumptions about residents’ priorities clashed with everyday realities.
Digital exclusion during the pandemic – where access alone wasn’t the issue, but trust and social connection mattered most, creating Community Champions made the difference.
Spikes in anti-social behaviour – mapping the behavioural root causes, from youth boredom to service gaps, not just treating the symptoms.
Fly-tipping hotspots – uncovering confusion and lack of alternatives as the key drivers and using nudges in combination with enforcement to reduce costly clean-up. The tech + behavioural innovation also helped to address other types of crime.
Read Ed Houghton’s piece on a systems approach critique of the limitations of ‘nudge’ to promote healthier eating.
A more inclusive, collaborative approach to change
Unlike ‘nudge’, Behavioural Systems Mapping is participatory. It brings together local partners, from voluntary and community groups and NHS bodies to schools and local businesses, around shared issues. Together, we map behaviours, drivers and barriers, helping to build a collective understanding of what’s going on and then co-design practical ideas to drive improvement.
This makes the method ideal for strategy, engagement and policy professionals who are tackling systemic issues with multiple stakeholders or exploring community-led or neighbourhood-focused approaches.
Keen to see how this could help you address challenges in your area?
You may have trialled behavioural science-led strategies or this may be a new approach. Whatever your experience, book an introductory session with us and we'll walk through the approach, share real examples and can even run a short live mapping exercise based on an issue you're facing.
Whether you're exploring climate action, health inequalities, public trust or something else entirely, we’ll help you uncover where to act for real, lasting system change. Get in touch by email - [email protected] - or fill in the form below and we’ll contact you.