Advancing Human Security
What role do social norms play in interactions between civil servants when it comes to administrative sanctions? Cheyanne Scharbatke-Church explores this question, based on a participatory systems analysis of Ugandan civil servants (commissioned by SUGAR).
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In this post, Alexandra De Filippo and Humma Sheikh talk about how practitioners can make edutainment effective to change corrupt behaviors with underlying complex motivations. The post throws light on a three step based approach based on behavioral science to develop effective communication content aimed at shifting behaviors.
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Research Associate Cori Simmons curates a list of key resources exploring the role of social norms among public authorities. We know that public authorities, like anyone else, are influenced by pressures and expectations – but if it’s your boss pressuring you, can we call that a social norm? Read more for what the literature has to say on this.
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In this post, Dhaval Kothari provides a curated list of published literature which will give you an insight into different M&E tools and methods adopted in various projects focusing on social norms change. This list is intended to help practitioners and organizations use the existing wisdom as a starting point to formulate their respective M&E frameworks for social norms change.
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What exactly do we mean when we talk about values as a part of culture? Where and how do they fit into this web of factors we’ve painstakingly researched, defined, and amplified in our Social Norms work? Read on to find out our new thinking around values.
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Social norms theory is picking up steam in the anti-corruption sector, appearing more widely and deeply in the anti-corruption ecosystem of workshops, conferences, literature, and blogs. We’re excited and intrigued by the questions being raised – read on to hear our thoughts on it.
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Top-down, structural approaches are only one way to address corruption, but it ignores a critical element of the problem: the behaviors of those who engage in corruption. Social and behavior change (SBCC) offers a new way of thinking about this element.
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Are all ‘normal’ behaviors social norms driven? CJL Co-Directors disentangle three common mistakes and points of confusion they observe from people who are new to social norms.
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Did you know social norms can act as a brake to sustainable behavior change? That there’s a body of research on how social norms influence behavior? We didn’t either – until now. Read our new Social Norms Reference Guide to see what we’ve learned.
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By Diana Chigas and Cheyanne Scharbatke-Church. Those of us who work to stop abuse of power – in the form of corruption, criminal activity, violence, state capture, etc. – are increasingly recognizing that social norms are key to achieving sustainable behavior change. We assert that in fragile and conflict-affected states (FCAS) social norms — the mutual expectations about what is typical and appropriate for members of a group — are even more important. Given their critical role in driving behavioral choices, programming that ignores social norms can have serious negative consequences.
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