Journey 20 - Task 1

Nature for Life Hub

steps of Behavior-Centered Design

Task 1: Frame

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Frame Step Overview

Frame Step Overview (continued)

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Frame Step Overview (continued)

DEI considerations

Tools for the Frame step

What is Frame?

Why is Frame important?

Spotlight: Framing the Challenge

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Spotlight: Framing the Challenge

With the rise of commercial seeds, nitrogen fertilizers, and synthetic pesticides, many communities have abandoned ancestral farming methods. In Chiapas, Mexico, the decline of indigenous agricultural practices has negatively affected the country's biodiversity, climate resilience, nutrition, and public health.

Women in a cornfield in Chiapas, México

Spotlight: Framing the Challenge (continued)

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Spotlight: Framing the Challenge (continued)

Centro de Investigación y Servicios Profesionales A.C. (CISERP) used a conceptual model to outline the many factors contributing to these issues. They decided to focus on promoting the re-introduction of traditional milpa practices amongst farmers in the town of Tojtic. Through this process, CISERP was also able to link the milpa inter-cropping system to the program goals of enriching the soil, protecting natural ecosystems, and producing high-nutrient foods for community members. Check-out this conceptual model for the socio-ecological system in the community of Tojtic with various goals, direct threats, indirect threats, and contributing factors identified.

Want more? Learn more about this example through this case study on CISERP’s ancestral farming campaign.

See case study

Problem-Behavior-Actor Mapping

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Problem-Behavior-Actor Mapping

What is problem-behavior-actor mapping? This tool helps you to frame your behavioral challenge by identifying the key behaviors and actors for your environmental challenge. This tool is inspired by systems thinking, which explains problems through its many interconnected parts.

See an example of this tool

Creating a Problem-Behavior-Actor Map

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Creating a Problem-Behavior-Actor Map

Once you have information about the challenge, you are ready to begin drafting a systems map.

Step 1

State the problem. What environmental problem are you trying to address? You may want to start with something big like plastic pollution and then come back to narrow further as you list out different actor groups.

Decide on a behavior-actor pair.You’ll then want to evaluate your list of behaviors for impact. Review the diagram from left to right following the pathways that lead to the desired behaviors. The following questions may help you decide on an actor and behavior:

• What is most feasible for you to address in terms of your time, skills, and resources?
• Where do you have momentum, existing partnerships, trusted relationships, or expertise?
• Where are other groups already working and where are there gaps?
• What behaviors are most impactful for addressing the larger environmental problem?
• Where are there synergies between your set of behaviors or actors? What is the relative power or influence of the actors in your system?

Name actors who are responsible for or contributing to this problem. List out all the actors related to the problem (or possible solutions). Who is closest to the problem? Who has a direct impact? Who has an indirect impact?

Step 2

List the current behaviors. List the behaviors of what these actors are doing or not doing now that contribute to the problem. Remember that these are actions (use verbs!), not beliefs or attitudes.

List the target or desired behaviors. What do you want people to do differently? In some cases, there may be several actors doing a current behavior that you’d like to change. Make sure to record all of them, so you can later assess which ones to prioritize.

Step 3

Step 4

Step 5

Reflection

Activity: Develop a Problem-Behavior-Actor Map

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Activity: Develop a Problem-Behavior-Actor Map

Review your own behavior change challenge and fill out the problem-behavior actor map for one of the case study examples available here.

1. Identify your problem.
2. Identify the core actors who are contributing to the problem.
3. Identify current behaviors.
4. Identify target or desired behaviors that would address the problem.

Close this task and proceed on your journey

Task complete

Section overview

Start

Frame Step Overview

Frame Step Overview (continued)

Spotlight: Framing the Challenge

Spotlight: Framing the Challenge (continued)

Problem-Behavior-Actor Mapping

Creating a Problem-Behavior-Actor Map

Activity: Develop a Problem-Behavior-Actor Map

Review this example of a problem-behavior-actor map for reducing ocean plastic pollution:

Section overview

Start

Frame Step Overview

Frame Step Overview (continued)

Spotlight: Framing the Challenge

Spotlight: Framing the Challenge (continued)

Problem-Behavior-Actor Mapping

Creating a Problem-Behavior-Actor Map

Activity: Develop a Problem-Behavior-Actor Map

Try mapping your own environmental challenge that you’d like to solve for.

• State what the environmental problem is.

• Name actors who are responsible for or contributing to the problem.

• List the behaviors these actors are doing or not doing now.

• Identify the target behaviors of what you want them to do instead.

Section overview

Start

Frame Step Overview

Frame Step Overview (continued)

Spotlight: Framing the Challenge

Spotlight: Framing the Challenge (continued)

Problem-Behavior-Actor Mapping

Creating a Problem-Behavior-Actor Map

Activity: Develop a Problem-Behavior-Actor Map

A conceptual model is a type of systems diagram that shows the complex interaction of problems, actors, and behaviors related to the issue, and helped CISERP prioritize actions.

Section overview

Start

Frame Step Overview

Frame Step Overview (continued)

Spotlight: Framing the Challenge

Spotlight: Framing the Challenge (continued)

Problem-Behavior-Actor Mapping

Creating a Problem-Behavior-Actor Map

Activity: Develop a Problem-Behavior-Actor Map

Section overview

Start

Frame Step Overview

Frame Step Overview (continued)

Spotlight: Framing the Challenge

Spotlight: Framing the Challenge (continued)

Problem-Behavior-Actor Mapping

Creating a Problem-Behavior-Actor Map

Activity: Develop a Problem-Behavior-Actor Map

Section overview

Start

Frame Step Overview

Frame Step Overview (continued)

Spotlight: Framing the Challenge

Spotlight: Framing the Challenge (continued)

Problem-Behavior-Actor Mapping

Creating a Problem-Behavior-Actor Map

Activity: Develop a Problem-Behavior-Actor Map

Section overview

Start

Frame Step Overview

Frame Step Overview (continued)

Spotlight: Framing the Challenge

Spotlight: Framing the Challenge (continued)

Problem-Behavior-Actor Mapping

Creating a Problem-Behavior-Actor Map

Activity: Develop a Problem-Behavior-Actor Map