Our Behaviour Change Masterclass teaches the essentials of behaviour change solutions. A dynamic, in-person masterclass spanning 2.5 days, it’s designed to supercharge your ability to design, implement, and evaluate impactful behaviour change programs.
Here, two 2024 participants share their biggest takeaways from the course, and explain the influence it’s had on their work.
Ingrid Longley, head of Product and Corporate at Bullshift.
BehaviourWorks Australia: What drew you to the BehaviourWorks Australia Masterclass?
Ingrid: At Bullshift we teach conscious communication, empowering people to be happier, healthier and more effective at work. We are always interested in how we might support our clients and learners to embed the content we teach and achieve meaningful, sustainable, behavioural change.
Did you have any prior training in or knowledge of behavioural science?
No, no formal training in behavioural science.
How did you find the course overall? Did anything in particular stand out for you?
I found the scientific analysis of human behaviour to be an interesting lens through which to look at why people behave the way they do. Using various systems and frameworks to forensically map out likely behaviour encourages a ’no stone left unturned’ approach to behavioural change endeavours.
I think one of the key advantages of this approach is that it increases the likelihood of gaining early awareness of the potential pitfalls and problems of an idea, well in advance of roll-out.
How has this course changed or informed your work?
It’s validated for me that meaningful, sustained behaviour change is tricky, and that as a business, we have a relatively strong success rate. Our work to consistently seek, respond, and adapt; based on client and learner feedback; has been key in the development and improvement of our content.
The course was a reminder to always develop our content critically and forensically, to pay attention to the detail, and to look out for the multiple ways the content may be received — including unintentionally, and to adapt as needed.
What were the highlights of the course from your perspective?
I enjoyed the passion and enthusiasm with which the facilitators communicated the course. Their framing also helped to make sometimes complex concepts relatable and accessible.
Working through concepts with people in the room, from various professional backgrounds and industries, opened up the perspectives, encouraging us to look at our own focus areas from multiple perspectives. It was also encouraging to meet people from around the country that are working hard to create meaningful, sustainable, behaviour change.
Nicola Brandon is a consultant. She took the BehaviourWorks Masterclass last year when she was Head of Strategic Communications for WA Return Recycle Renew (Container Deposit Scheme, WA).
BehaviourWorks Australia: What drew you to the BehaviourWorks Australia Masterclass?
Nicola: In 2023, I led a behavioural science review into the effectiveness of initiatives for Containers for Change WA, working closely with BehaviourWorks Australia. That project opened my eyes further to the opportunities behavioural science offers, and I was able to lead the outcomes and recommendations for C4C.
The learnings, and the way I’ve continued to apply them, have been fascinating and highly effective, which made me keen to deepen my knowledge through this course.
Did you have any prior training in or knowledge of behavioural science?
I hadn’t undertaken any formal training before this course, but I had significant exposure through the C4C review project and my collaboration with BehaviourWorks Australia.
How did you find the course overall? Did anything in particular stand out for you?
I really enjoyed the course — it was practical, highly relevant to everyday challenges and delivered in an accessible way. It’s not one of those ‘big, scary’ academic courses; instead, it’s engaging for people at many different levels and stages of their careers.
How has this course changed or informed your work?
It’s given me more confidence to integrate behavioural science principles into the projects and strategies I lead. I can now draw on specific frameworks and approaches to design more effective interventions and communications.
Why do you feel behaviour-change skills are important?
Because real impact doesn’t come from simply raising awareness, it comes from helping people change what they do. Behaviour-change skills provide the tools to do exactly that.
What were the highlights of the course from your perspective?
The facilitators were excellent; they offered a wide range of perspectives and were incredibly engaging. The flexibility of being able to complete the course in my own time was a real bonus. Once I was into the content, it was genuinely addictive — you could say it was behaviour-changing in itself!
Breakout rooms and shared reflections with other attendees gave me the chance to see how others think and apply the learnings, which was also valuable.
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