Global Alliance

Evidence & Impact Cluster

SBCC Evidence & Impact public database resource

Douglas Storey, Saori Ohkubo, Susan Krenn

Johns Hopkins Center for Communication Programs
Douglas Evans
George Washington University
Social and Behaviour Change and Climate Action Event
New York, NY
23 September 2019
 What is the Global Alliance?
2nd International Social & Behavior Change Summit
(Indonesia, 2018)

• International, regional NGOs

• Donor & UN agencies
• Professional associations
• Universities
• Local partners from Global South and North
 Goals
Advocate for more commitment to and effective use of communication for
social & behavior change to advance progress across the SDGs

Focal areas:

• Policy
• Ethics
• Networking & collaboration
• Evidence & Impact
o Global landscaping initiative—Identify, analyse, draw strategic
conclusions
o “Evidence & Impact” database—Share the compelling data
Evidence & Impact Database
Overarching Question
What are attributes of intervention approaches for social and behavior change showing
evidence of impact in the area of SDG13: climate action?

Concept Synonyms and Related Words (Examples)

communication, dialogue, outreach, empowerment, participation, campaign,

1. intervention approaches advocacy, media, marketing, network, learning, training, capacity strengthening

behavior modification or change, knowledge, attitude, social movement, social

2. Outcomes change, structural change

evidence, evaluation, effectiveness, impact, systematic review, experiment

3. Evidence of impact

climate change, global warming, greenhouse gas, risk management or

4. Climate action (SDG13) reduction, resilience, mitigation, adaptation, environmental literacy or health

Online Information Sources

● Bibliographic databases: GeoRef, Web of Science, Scopus
● Search engine: Google Scholar
● Related websites: Yale Program on Climate Change Communication, GMU Center for Climate
Change Communication, UNEP, World Bank, The Communication Initiative Network, etc.
Progress & Highlights
Building the database
● SDG13 review of climate action impact studies complete
● 1780 records screened
● 360 items identified for hand coding
● 85 items passed inclusion/exclusion criteria
● SDG16 coding complete, not analyzed

Sharing the database

● Database software licensed (Caspio)
● Allows public dissemination of link to database
● Automated rankings for “strength of evidence”
● User options to prioritize and focus search
Evidence Rating Rubric: Six Dimensions
Dimensions Score Range Criteria

Outcome 0 to 3 ● Pre-behavioral determinants

Continuum ● Individual Behaviors
● Beyond the individual

Effect Size 0 to 2 ● At least one outcome statistically significant (+1)

● Effect size significant and larger than average
meta-analysis results (+1)

Reach 0 to 4 ● Very low (less than 2%) (0)

● Low (3-10%) (+1)
● Medium (11-30%) (+2)
● High (30-50%) (+3)
● Very high (>50%) (+4)

Frequency 0 to 1 ● Dose effects analysis reported (+1)

Inferential 0 to 3 ● Used strong research design (+1)

Strength ● Used strong analysis design (+1)
● Degree of external validity (+1)

Theory of 0 to 2 ● Theory of change described (+1)

Change ● Theory of change described and tested (+2)
Evidence Database
Evidence Database
Search results page: Item details & links to full text
What can we learn? Where are the gaps?
Ten top-rated studies for SDG13
1. Geographic coverage
○ North America & Europe, one from East Asia/Pacific
2. Level of change
○ 7/10 measured change beyond individual level
3. Study design
○ Most studies controlled exposure to measure impact (RCTs, field experiments)
○ Two longitudinal studies
4. Outcomes sought
○ Perceived risk of climate change
○ Support for public action
○ Purchase of carbon offsets
○ Workplace conservation
○ Interpersonal advocacy
○ Use of public transportation
○ Electricity consumption
5. Intervention approaches
○ Social marketing, public campaigns, strategic communication, persuasion (7)
○ Advocacy (4)
○ Community-based, outreach (3)
○ Structural change, service improvement (3)
○ Mass media (2)
○ Digital media (2)
○ Interpersonal communication (2)
○ OTHERS: Behavioral economics, Entertainment Education, distance education, school-based
Next steps
● Analysis of SDG16 (Peaceful Inclusive Societies)
● Searches for other SDGs
● Secure partner support for continued coding
● Rotating database management
● Refine the user interface
● Publicize/encourage use of database as it expands
For more information

dstorey @jhu.edu

https://sbccsummit.org/en/