E85 - Embedding Behavioural Science in Your Organisation - Local Learning

Jan 21, 2026

Guest

Jo (Johanna Jefferies)

Guest

Jonathan Baker

Jo (Johanna Jefferies), public health consultant who embeds behavioural science into local services, and Jonathan Baker, senior insight lead specialising in social and consumer insight. They recount redesigning training for real-world use. They explain why follow-up support, simplicity, and designing for desired behaviours matter. They challenge the myth that training alone creates lasting change.

Ask episode

AI Snips

Chapters

Transcript

Episode notes

ANECDOTE

Fixed Dates For Treats

Jonathan limited sweet treats to fixed dates like birthdays and Christmas to avoid constant temptation.
He found this simple rule reduced decision fatigue and occasional lapses.

ANECDOTE

Phone Out Of The Bedroom

Jo removed her phone from the bedroom and bought a light-based alarm clock to avoid night scrolling.
This small change improved sleep hygiene and reduced temptation to use her phone at night.

INSIGHT

Use Behavioural Science On Your Own Rollout

Hampshire used behavioural science to design how they roll out behavioural science internally.
They applied the same mechanisms to their training strategy that they'd use for public programmes.

Get the Snipd Podcast app to discover more snips from this episode

Get the app

In this episode of BrainFuel, Ruth is joined by Johanna Jefferies, Public Health Consultant and Associate Director at Hampshire County Council, and Jonathan Baker, Senior Insight Lead, to share how they’ve successfully embedded behavioural science into council and public health work in a way that’s practical, memorable, and genuinely usable.

Jo and Jonathan unpack what it really takes to roll behavioural science out across an organisation iincluding what didn’t work at first, what they changed, and why training alone is never enough. You’ll hear how Hampshire redesigned its approach to focus on real-world application, post-training support, and building confidence (not overwhelm).

We also dive into their personal behaviour change stories, the biggest myth they’d throw into Room 101, and the three ingredients they believe every council needs if they want behavioural science to stick.

🧠 What You’ll Learn In This Episode

Why “good training” isn’t the same as behavioural science actually being used in day-to-day work
Why councils need to apply behavioural science to how they embed behavioural science
Why training should focus on mechanism and practice, not just theory
The biggest blocker: behavioural science being seen as “for frontline behaviour change”, not strategic council work
Why follow-up support matters more than templates
Three ingredients councils can copy if they want behavioural science to scale internally.

🚪 Room 101: Training Without Support

If Jo and Jonathan could throw one thing into Room 101 forever, it would be this:

The idea that you can train people in behavioural science and then leave them to figure it out alone.

Even great training doesn’t translate into real practice without follow-up support, confidence-building, and early case studies that show it working inside the organisation.

🎉 Free Event - Making Hidden Voices Heard - 26 March 2026

To celebrate five years of Hidden Voices Heard (and our much-loved Behaviour Change Marketing Bootcamp training), we’re hosting a free event dedicated to just that 'Making Hidden Voices Heard' on:

📅 26 March 2026
➡️ Head to www.hiddenvoicesheard.com to save your spot.