It's time to start nudging
Given the financial pressures facing many Councils they could learn a lot from the approach to problem solving that has been working for years in the NHS - namely behaviour change or 'social marketing'. It's not rocket science simply a realisation that treating the cause rather than the problem itself will prove much more cost effective at a later date.
Let's take littering as a casing point. It never fails to irritate me when I hear people talk about the need to get more litter pickers or street cleaners on the streets. Even when people recognise the financial pressures facing local government (particularly in the north) the knee jerk reaction is always to demand expensive interventions to deal with the cost of the problem (the litter) rather than the problem iteself (the people dropping the litter). Litter doesn't get there by itself, someone has to make the decision to ignore the bins that are provided and simply chuck it on the floor. Why not look at why people drop litter and then when we have this insight find a solution that will nudge or encourage them to change?
This is where the dilemma comes for councils and particularly councillors. For political reasons they need to be seen to be acting hence why they'll try and prioritise the costly but more visual interventions. However, clearly such an approach is always destined to fail - particularly during tough financial times when services are having to be cut back. Adopting a behaviour change approach will not necessarily deliver immediate and visual change - something important for any councillor.
The NHS at a local level has had the benefit of not being hamstrung by short-term political pressures so many PCTs have built up a strong track record of social marketing campaigns from tackling the reasons people eat and drink too much to 'nudging' them into exercising more. Whilst many regard such activity as nanny state gone mad it is simply redressing the huge imbalance that exists in modern society whereby companies like McDonalds spend millions of pounds each year marketing their products at families. It is impossible for the NHS to counter this on such a large scale but what it can do, and has done very well in many areas, is target specific 'problem lifestyles' in specific areas with targeted interventions. The reason for this is simple - we are all sitting on a ticking timebomb. Hospitals are already stretched dealing with the problems associated with unhealthy lifestyles and this is set to get much worse. Just this week in The Lancet doctors have predicted that by 2030 almost half of all adults will be classified as obese. It is unlikely that the state will be able to afford the health consequences of this and other lifestyle choices in 20-30 years time so it makes perfect sense to try and address it now before they present themselves as acute problems in our hospitals.
Therein lies the problems for many councils. They do not have the same time. Their cycles are electoral cycles. Some great behaviour change work has been commissioned by some councils, especially on issues such as fostering or domestic violence but generally they lag behind the NHS. Unfortunately, unless they begin to recognise this we will continue to see the same problems on many of our streets with the same costly short-term responses.
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David Bartlett
City editor of the Post and Echo covering politics, regeneration, and urban affairs.
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Completely agree that tackling the root cause and a focus on prevention to save the need for more costlier interventions is always the right approach. However, the model of local government you describe of being unable or unwilling to adopt these approaches is simply not one I recognise - to the contrary, local government is very much at the forefront of this agenda.
There is also a large body of evidence which seems to challenge the effectiveness of 'social marketing' at influencing behaviour change at the community level. 'Nudging' has had little or no impact in relation to the behavioural issues you describe and associated problems such as obesity or alcohol consumption and their consequent costs. Targeted preventative interventions alongside proper strategic planning focused on prevention; engaging with individuals and communities; fostering more collective responsibility; 'co-producing' outcomes with communities are all potentially much more cost effective than hollow marketing, which can never compete with the vast marketing resources of companies whose vested interest lies only in wanting us all to consume more. These are all approaches being taken forward and championed by local government, working in partnership with all sectors, including the NHS.
Completely agree that tackling the root cause and a focus on prevention to save the need for more costlier interventions is always the right approach. However, the model of local government you describe of being unable or unwilling to adopt these approaches is simply not one I recognise - to the contrary, local government is very much at the forefront of this agenda.
There is also a large body of evidence which seems to challenge the effectiveness of 'social marketing' at influencing behaviour change at the community level. 'Nudging' has had little or no impact in relation to the behavioural issues you describe and associated problems such as obesity or alcohol consumption and their consequent costs. Targeted preventative interventions alongside proper strategic planning focused on prevention; engaging with individuals and communities; fostering more collective responsibility; 'co-producing' outcomes with communities are all potentially much more cost effective than hollow marketing, which can never compete with the vast marketing resources of companies whose vested interest lies only in wanting us all to consume more. These are all approaches being taken forward and championed by local government, working in partnership with all sectors, including the NHS.
Completely agree that tackling the root cause and a focus on prevention to save the need for more costlier interventions is always the right approach. However, the model of local government you describe of being unable or unwilling to adopt these approaches is simply not one I recognise - to the contrary, local government is very much at the forefront of this agenda.
There is also a large body of evidence which seems to challenge the effectiveness of 'social marketing' at influencing behaviour change at the community level. 'Nudging' has had little or no impact in relation to the behavioural issues you describe and associated problems such as obesity or alcohol consumption and their consequent costs. Targeted preventative interventions alongside proper strategic planning focused on prevention; engaging with individuals and communities; fostering more collective responsibility; 'co-producing' outcomes with communities are all potentially much more cost effective than hollow marketing, which can never compete with the vast marketing resources of companies whose vested interest lies only in wanting us all to consume more. These are all approaches being taken forward and championed by local government, working in partnership with all sectors, including the NHS.
Completely agree that tackling the root cause and a focus on prevention to save the need for more costlier interventions is always the right approach. However, the model of local government you describe of being unable or unwilling to adopt these approaches is simply not one I recognise - to the contrary, local government is very much at the forefront of this agenda.
There is also a large body of evidence which seems to challenge the effectiveness of 'social marketing' at influencing behaviour change at the community level. 'Nudging' has had little or no impact in relation to the behavioural issues you describe and associated problems such as obesity or alcohol consumption and their consequent costs. Targeted preventative interventions alongside proper strategic planning focused on prevention; engaging with individuals and communities; fostering more collective responsibility; 'co-producing' outcomes with communities are all potentially much more cost effective than hollow marketing, which can never compete with the vast marketing resources of companies whose vested interest lies only in wanting us all to consume more. These are all approaches being taken forward and championed by local government, working in partnership with all sectors, including the NHS.