STAVE Guide

The STAVE tool was developed in the context of the EU Pachelbel Project (Policy Addressing Climate Change and Learning about Consumer

Behaviour and Everyday Life) (GA 244024)www.pachelbel.eu

STAVESystematic Tool for Behavioral

Assumption Validation and Exploration

Good Practice Guide

A tool to support policy making and implementation for sustainable consumption

If you are interested in understanding and addressing citizens’ daily behavior in any policy context STAVE may suit you

What is the STAVE tool ? How can I know if it suits my

needs?

This guide aims at helping potential users of the STAVE tool to get a feel of what the tool does and how it can help in policy making and policy implementation for

sustainable consumption

The STAVE tool was developed and tested in the climate change and sustainability context in the framework of the EU funded project Pachelbel. Its characteristics and

capabilities enable the STAVE tool to serve meaningfully in other policy contexts where citizens’ daily behaviour is a fundamental concern

A detailed description of the STAVE tool can be found in the STAVE Manual

What is STAVE?


A strategy to link the sphere of policy-making with the sphere of everyday lay citizen behaviours

A set of procedures/methods to identify policy-makers’ concerns, engage citizens in reflecting

about the policy area, “capture” the related everyday behaviours and discourses, and feed

them back to the policy makers.

The STAVE trials carried out in the framework of the Pachelbel project in six EU countries focused on defining new policy initiatives and/or validating existing policy

measures dealing with the promotion of sustainable behaviors in 6 EU countries.

Yes

•Does your policy issue relate to “everyday citizen behaviours”?

No

•Is your policy issue a highly controversial one?

Yes

•Are you ready to commit to an “engagement” process?

Yes

•Are you ready to involve a “STAVE operator” (with social science skills) in the process?Is STAVE a suitable tool for me?

The evidence gathered through the STAVE trials indicate that it is a strong tool to deal with everyday citizen behaviors, especially in areas that do not involve highly polarized

issues (public opposition, demonstrations, conflicts of interests, etc.).

STAVE is a deceptively simple but sophisticated tool.

To make the best of it the owner of the process (policy maker) needs to be committed to it, and social science skills should be integrated through calling

upon a so-called “STAVE operator”.

4. Providing feedback

3. Implementing the process

2. Preparing the intervention

1. Clarifying objectives

If you are considering the possibility of implementing STAVE , these are the four key steps to be followed

The STAVE process

Meeting 1 Meeting 2 Meeting 3

Clarifying objectives Preparing the intervention

Implementing the process

1 2

3

Providing feedback4

TOOLKIT

x x

x x

The STAVE process

A visual representation of the key four steps to be followed if you are considering the use of STAVE

This very first step aims to help you clarify your needs and concerns = your demand


Characterize your policy context

Specify your “policy issue”

Characterize your citizen context

Clarifying objectives1

To this end, a so-called “Project Group” involving representatives of the policy maker and the STAVE operator should be established so your STAVE process can benefit from ,

and properly integrate, the most pertinent inputs.

A reflection focused on these three aspects will

facilitate the proper definition of your

objectives.




1 2

3

Providing feedback4

TOOLKIT

x x

x x

Characterize your policy context


Your demand will be closely linked to your own policy profile, so please place your institution in the following figure according to your level of government, and experience with social research as well as with public participation process.

The STAVE trials showed that your specific policy profile will influence greatly the type of intervention you will wish to prepare, and the type of feedback

that will be most useful to improving your policy design and implementation.

Experience with social research

Expe

rienc

e w

ith p

ublic

par

ticip

ation

Level of government

Unfamiliar Familiar

Unf

amili

arFa

mili

ar

Local Regional National

Specify your policy issue

Characterize your policy issue


Define the specific policy questions

Consider the exploratory/validatory dimension

This step will help you to specify the policy issue suitable for your STAVE process as well as the particular questions that may guide its appropriate design and implementation

The STAVE trials showed that the tool can properly address quite a wide range of “policy issues”, such as domestic energy savings – including citizens' interaction with smart

meters , transportation habits, recycling, buying domestic appliances, etc.

The specific questions STAVE can deal with include: Knowledge gaps? Need to know more about specific citizen behaviors, or gain evidence on lay persons' reasoning and actions? Acceptability of specific policies/strategies? Public views on specific policy options? Engaging specific groups in policy strategies (“access”)?

Depending on your “policy issue” and “questions” you may use STAVE to explore new policy options or to validate existing ones. Most of the STAVE trials entailed a combination of both.

Characterize your citizen context


You will engage pertinent groups of citizens to reflect (directly or indirectly) on your questions, in order to “capture” the related behaviours and discourses (step 3). Such knowledge will be then be fed back to you and your project group (step 4) so you can

consider/integrate/etc. it in your policy making & implementation .

Define your target group (“concerned public”): The STAVE trials engaged lay citizens living in relevant types of buildings, neighborhoods or areas (segmented across significant socio-demographic variables), or alternatively, identified stakeholders (such

as shopkeepers from a very specific neighborhood)

Define your target “behaviors” (the ones that policy seeks to foster): The STAVE trials dealt with daily behaviors related to energy consumption,

transportation, etc. STAVE also worked well with mundane but less FREQUENT behaviors, such as purchasing home appliances.

The STAVE Manual and Operator will help you to define your target groups and target behaviors

•Citizens

• Stakeholders

The target group

•Does it entail daily or infrequent behaviours?

•Does it entail controversy?

The target behaviour

The second step aims to help you design your STAVE intervention with the support of the STAVE operator and the STAVE Manual

2. Preparing the intervention (design and monitoring)

Defining the policy makers’ role

Deciding the sampling of concerned public

Deciding on research tactics

Preparing the intervention2

x x

x x




1 2

3

Providing feedback4

TOOLKIT

x x

x x

Be ready to engage with the feedback activities during the STAVE process Be ready to interact with the STAVE operator to refine your objectives and questions through the processDesignate a policy actor to be actively involved as a monitoring partner to the STAVE operator throughout the implementation process

Requirements for the Policy Group

Defining the role of policy makers2. Preparing the intervention

In Step 1 we mentioned the need to create the so-called “Project Group” involving representatives of the policy maker and the STAVE operator so your STAVE process

can benefit from , and properly integrate, the most pertinent inputs.

Now we specify the requirements for such a “project group” to perform properly.

In the STAVE trials one or two policy partners were consistently involved in dialogue with the operator through meetings, phone conversations or electronic interactions.

Findings from previous steps in the process can be analyzed, objectives can be reconsidered, and new (“external”) circumstances can be properly integrated.

During the STAVE trials, refinements of the intervention (adjusting the objectives or adapting the process) were driven by the policy partner and/or by the STAVE operator

How to make a decision on the most appropriate segmentation for your citizen group/s?

Deciding the sampling of the concerned public2. Preparing the intervention

Heterogeneous composition: members showing a wide range of socio-demographic (and other) characteristics

+ This will give access to a broad spectrum of everyday behaviours- It may inform more about individual idiosyncrasies, than about a social reality

There is no “perfect” solution so a careful trade-off of each option, considering its pros and cons, should be developed by the Project Group

A sample of citizens from your “concerned public” has to be defined in order to create you “citizen group/s”. Once your citizen group is arranged, the STAVE tool will “translate” your needs/demands to such group/s, “capture” the related every day lay behaviours and discourses, and feed them back to you in meaningful ways.

Homogeneous composition: members with similar socio-demographic (and other) characteristics

+ This will tap into socially shared ways of life- Conformity of contributions so different experiences may not be revealed

Deciding on research tactics2. Preparing the intervention

In line with other research, Pachelbel found that the way you “frame” your issue/question has an impact on the kind of answers you will get. For instance, you

can view “recycling” as a personal environmental commitment to address climate change, or as the efficient way to respect municipal trash collection arrangements, or as a combination of both. Citizen group members may offer a third or fourth view… The Project Group should consider the following STAVE options with the operator:

Research evidence suggests that if you frame STAVE as being explicitly about environmental issues, some participants may have a tendency to respond with

“aspirations”, rather than with actual practices.

Through the Project Groups, the STAVE operator (and Manual) would help in assessing the appropriate framing and approach for your case.

The third step aims to help you implement your investigation

3. Implementing the STAVE process

Pattern of implementation

The Tool Kit

Implementing the process3 Meeting 1 Meeting 2 Meeting 3



1 2

3

Providing feedback4

TOOLKIT

x x

x x


TOOLKITDiary 1 Diary 2

The STAVE trial “standard” sequence:

Pattern of implementation3. Implementing the process

Group 1

Group 2

Group 3

Once your process is designed , the next step entails engaging with citizens in order to capture their real behaviors and related discourses on your policy issue.

STAVE group activities are designed to generate discourse revealing the understandings and practices related to sustainability that are shared among lay

citizens.

Combining elements of research and of engagement, the STAVE process in our example is conducted with three separate groups of participants. It entails three

meetings of each single group of citizens (Reconvened Focus Groups), with an interval period of 7-10 days, during which a diary is produced by participants.







Pattern of implementation3. Implementing the process

Deciding the number of citizen groups:The STAVE standard “protocol”, as implemented in Project Pachelbel, was based

on 3 citizen groups for each STAVE implementation. This number proved convenient both in practical terms (resources required) and in terms of quality of

outputs (providing comparability and in-depth evidence).

Deciding the temporal sequence of your citizen groups:

The STAVE operator (and the STAVE Manual) would help in identifying the appropriate number of groups and temporal sequence for your specific policy

objectives.

Simultaneous: All three groups run in

parallel; allowing comparisons among groups

Sequential: Group 1 can be implemented in advance to test and refine the process to be then applied in

groups 2 and 3

• Diaries• EVOC/CAPA• Simulated news article• Oval mapping• Diaries feedback• Resource allocation task•Policy questions• Evaluation Questionnaire

The Tool Kit3. Implementing the process


TOOLKIT

The STAVE tool kit integrates a number of techniques and procedures (deceptively simple but sophisticated) to engage with your citizen groups.

A detailed description of the component parts of the tool kit, together with indications on its implementation, is included in the STAVE Manual.


* Particularly productive components according to the STAVE trials

Oval mapping is a powerful resource to illustrate the evolution from the abstract to the specific, bridge the gap between self-perception and real behaviour, and synthesize attitudes and reasoning

Simulated newspaper article provides information to the groups and stimulates discussions

Diaries deliver a richness of data on daily behaviours and focus participants’ attention on their day-to-day activities

Policy questions create “lay knowledge” usable in a strategic policy making process

Resource allocation exercise enables a straightforward ranking of potential policy measures

EVOC/CAPA questionnaire set confronts policy makers’ intuitions on citizens’ attitudes, and delivers information on individual profiles and awareness of the group participants

* Particularly productive combinations according to the STAVE trialsThe STAVE trials identified particularly productive combinations of the tool kit

components, such as the ones below


Oval mapping and diaries: The group-based oval mapping revealed

quite a lot of aspects related to the policy issue. The individually-produced diaries prompted participants to notice

what they “really do”, triggering self-reflection and making participants re-think what was already discussed. This combination is useful for bridging the gap between self-perception and real

behaviours.

CAPA and diaries:High scores on the CAPA

questionnaire (judging one’s own capability to act in favour of

sustainable consumption) may contrast with the limitations acknowledged in diaries. The combination of tools proves

meaningful for uncovering the gap between aspirations and real

behaviors

Diaries, resource allocation and policy questionsThis combination produced insight by situating citizens in their everyday life (diaries) and then inviting them to take the policy maker role (resource allocation and policy

question exercises)

The final step aims to help you draw the insight from the group process

4. Providing feedback

Characterizing feedback

Deciding the feedback strategy

Providing feedback4




1 2

3

Providing feedback4

TOOLKIT

x x

x x

Speedy mode Full report

Characterizing feedback4. Providing feedback

Building on the speedy feedback, the Full report

includes an elaborated (social sciences) analysis (by the STAVE operator) that also

captures the PM responses to the “speedy” mode, to draw

full insight

From a slightly elaborated “speedy mode” to the full report

This feedback mode provides findings right after a session or a complete STAVE intervention – responding to assumed policy

makers’ needs for quickly available and easy to understand information.

The “speedy” feedback relies primarily on the materials directly

produced by the citizens participating in the group

Once the experiences and discourses of your citizen groups have been captured, the next and final step deals with “translating” such evidence back to the Project Group in a

suitable way so you can consider it in your policy making & implementation

The figure below illustrates the different feedback modes applied during the STAVE trials. Your STAVE operator will help you to find the suitable one for you

The “speedy mode”


The “speedy mode” delivers to the Project Group a visual and easy to follow presentation of the citizen group participants’ direct outputs.

The STAVE operator will elaborate such a presentation for you.

Example of a “speedy feedback” including extracts from group transcriptions and diaries, as well as results from oval maps, resource allocation exercise and EVOC.


The Full Report

Building on the speedy mode, the “Full Report” mode includes an elaborated (social sciences) analysis (by the STAVE operator)

This feedback mode has a more social research oriented focus and will be elaborated by your STAVE operator.

It is based upon a qualitative analysis of the groups and diaries data (discourse analysis of transcriptions) and a quantitative analysis of EVOC/CAPA, resource

allocation and policy question exercises and evaluation questionnaire.

The full report provides findings to policy makers that may detail or adjust the “speedy” findings. Ideally, it will be discussed and considered by the Project

Group in interaction with the operator. This dialogue may lead to an expanded final report.

Deciding the feedback strategy4. Providing feedback

According to the STAVE trials, the kind of “evidence” you will require by the end of the process (in order to practically integrate the process findings in your design and/or

implementation of policy initiatives) would much depend on your specific policy profile.

Higher levels of government (National) and higher levels of experience with social research and/or public participation processes may seek more elaborated feedback (i.e., full report).

During the STAVE trials, Local government tended to prefer the “speedy” mode

The STAVE Operator will help to identify, and to elaborate, the most suitable feedback mode according to your policy profile.

Experience with social research

Expe

rienc

e w

ith p

ublic

par

ticip

ation

Level of government

Unfamiliar Familiar

Unf

amili

arFa

mili

ar

Local Regional National

Spain 1UK

Germnay

France

Sweden

Romania

Spain 2-3

STAVESystematic Tool for Behavioral

Assumption Validation and Exploration

Good Practice Guide


If you are interested in understanding and addressing citizens’ daily behaviors STAVE may suit you.

This Good Practice Guide gives simple, straightforward keys to planning, designing and conducting a STAVE process.

That process will call on the detailed STAVE Manual, and may benefit from the collaboration of a STAVE operator.

The STAVE tool was developed in the context of the EU Pachelbel Project (Policy Addressing Climate Change and Learning about Consumer

Behaviour and Everyday Life) (GA 244024)www.pachelbel.eu

Technology

STAVE Guide