Case Study: Applying Behaviour Change Economics to Complex Public Environments

This engagement demonstrates Luminaire’s repeatable approach in practice: Research → Engagement → Strategy → Behaviour Change → Programs & Systems → Outcomes

Categories: 

• Capability & Capacity Uplift

• Behaviour Change

• Pilots & Proof

This case study demonstrates Luminaire’s integrated approach — combining international research synthesis, strategy and behavioural economics — to inform evidence-led responses to persistent and complex challenges in complex public environments.

Through a structured discussion paper for a government organisation in the Middle East, Luminaire translated global best practice into a clear, pilot-ready behaviour change framework. The work identified behavioural drivers, intervention pathways and policy levers, creating a defensible foundation to support future testing, innovation and scalable place-based interventions.

---

Context

A government organisation in the Middle East responsible for large-scale public environments sought to explore evidence-based approaches to addressing persistent environmental behaviours, including littering and graffiti.

Rather than pursuing reactive or enforcement-led responses, the organisation was interested in understanding how international best-practice behaviour change methodologies could be applied to inform future policy, pilots and place-based interventions.

Luminaire was asked to develop a discussion paper to explore these opportunities and provide a defensible foundation for future decision-making.

The Challenge

The challenge was not identifying the issues, but how to address them at scale in a way that is credible, testable and aligned with global best practice.

Key considerations included:

• diverse user behaviours across large, complex public environments

• the limitations of awareness or enforcement-based approaches

• the need for solutions that could be piloted, evaluated and scaled

• positioning future interventions as both effective and globally leading

  
  

The organisation required a structured way to connect behavioural theory, real-world evidence and practical pathways for action.

Luminaire’s Role

Luminaire acted as behaviour change and solution design advisor, responsible for developing an evidence-led discussion paper to inform future intervention design.

This included:

• synthesising international academic and applied evidence

• applying recognised behaviour change frameworks

• translating theory into practical, place-based options

• outlining pilot-ready pathways suitable for future testing

  
  

What We Did

• Reviewed and synthesised international case studies addressing similar behavioural challenges

• Applied the Behaviour Change Wheel (BCW) — integrating 19 behaviour change models

• Mapped behavioural drivers using COM-B (Capability, Opportunity, Motivation)

• Identified appropriate intervention functions and policy levers

• Designed a structured framework to guide future pilots and trials

• Produced a clear, defensible discussion paper to support leadership and policy conversations

Pilots & Proof

The discussion paper was intentionally structured to support future piloting and testing, rather than prescribe solutions.

It demonstrated how:

• behaviour change economics can inform place-based design

• interventions can be staged, tested and refined before scale

• governments can move from reactive responses to evidence-led behavioural design

  
  

The output provided a pilot-ready foundation, without creating delivery or operational commitments.

Outcomes

A behaviour change framework aligned to international best practice

• Clear identification of behavioural drivers and leverage points

• A structured pathway for future pilots and trials

• Increased internal capability to apply behaviour change economics

• A defensible evidence base to inform future policy and intervention decisions

Why This Matters

This case demonstrates how Luminaire supports governments before commitments are made — applying international behaviour change expertise to create clarity, reduce risk and enable confident, evidence-led innovation.