A novel and technology driven approach to understanding and fostering social cohesion through a SBC approach (SDG 16)
Summary:
Historic events are unfolding in Lebanon. In a country where political apathy has prevailed to safeguard peace over the past decade, the revolution brings hope to a country that has been riveted by sectarian tensions. A few weeks before the first protesters took on the streets, MAGENTA, supported by Mercy Corps, started rolling out an innovative research approach aiming at understanding if and how behavioural sciences driven approaches could help us better comprehend the drivers of social cohesion and how to engineer it. Our initial research revealed two gaps: (1) lack of research and thus evidence on cohesion as an intra-Lebanese issue (in opposition to a host community vs refugee issue), and (2) limited depth of analysis due to the high level of complexity of the concepts examined. Upon further analysis, we decided to further explore three complex and interwoven issues - leadership, governance and social cohesion to unpack psychological, sociological and structural factors underpinning local-level tensions in two areas of Lebanon. To do so we designed a phased and participatory research methodology employing mixed-methods and utilizing innovative technologies. Our research will be finalised in January 2020, but preliminary findings are already demonstrating opportunities for SBC programming to encourage social cohesion: communications environment conducive to social tensions, increase in youth depression leading to low self-efficacy in changing the status quo, heightened emotional response and pervasive social influence. However, the revolution provides a window for change, and we will have the data to back up innovative programming.
Background/Objectives:
To promote a culture of peace in Lebanon, MAGENTA set up to gain a better understanding of what drives social cohesion. Utilizing a range of SBC theories and models such as the social network model, diffusion of innovation theory and attribution theories. Our approach is underpinned by a strong theoretical framework but lacked the nuanced understanding of each concept we were trying to explore. We thus devised a participatory approach to our tools design, ensuring that our research captured valuable insights that were not undermined by the difficulty for our participants to understand the concepts we were discussing.
Description of the Big Idea/Experience/Innovation and Its Importance to the SBCC Field:
The three topics we decided to explore, leadership, governance and social cohesion, are challenging concepts to define in English and amongst practitioners. We worried that so much of the substance of our discussions with research participants might be overshadowed by conceptual discussions, or that we wouldn't be able to identify trends if people projected their own definition on each concept and in order to design effective SBC programming we needed to understand the behaviours associated with those concepts at a granular level. We decided to use two technology-driven tools (social media analysis software and an app-based surveying tool) to understand how people in Lebanon define and talk about those three topics. Instead of applying our researcher lens, we listen to people talking about those topics in their own words, and crafted our research tools using their voices at a time where people's voice in Lebanon had never been so loud! Garnering those insights took us two weeks, and it allowed us to ensure that our research speaks the same language as our participants, and can be useful on the ground at an exciting time for the country.
Discussion/Implications for the Field:
With this talk, we aim to make the audience reflect on the enormous potential of our collective strength, applying SBCC theories, frameworks and tools to non-traditional areas, such as social cohesion, that feed into SDGs often overlooked by SBC practitioner (in our case SDG16). We also hope to stir a productive discussion on how to design our research interventions differently to allow for quick and reliable insights that reflect the voices of the communities we are serving.
Abstract submitted by:
Clemence Quint - MAGENTA
Historic events are unfolding in Lebanon. In a country where political apathy has prevailed to safeguard peace over the past decade, the revolution brings hope to a country that has been riveted by sectarian tensions. A few weeks before the first protesters took on the streets, MAGENTA, supported by Mercy Corps, started rolling out an innovative research approach aiming at understanding if and how behavioural sciences driven approaches could help us better comprehend the drivers of social cohesion and how to engineer it. Our initial research revealed two gaps: (1) lack of research and thus evidence on cohesion as an intra-Lebanese issue (in opposition to a host community vs refugee issue), and (2) limited depth of analysis due to the high level of complexity of the concepts examined. Upon further analysis, we decided to further explore three complex and interwoven issues - leadership, governance and social cohesion to unpack psychological, sociological and structural factors underpinning local-level tensions in two areas of Lebanon. To do so we designed a phased and participatory research methodology employing mixed-methods and utilizing innovative technologies. Our research will be finalised in January 2020, but preliminary findings are already demonstrating opportunities for SBC programming to encourage social cohesion: communications environment conducive to social tensions, increase in youth depression leading to low self-efficacy in changing the status quo, heightened emotional response and pervasive social influence. However, the revolution provides a window for change, and we will have the data to back up innovative programming.
Background/Objectives:
To promote a culture of peace in Lebanon, MAGENTA set up to gain a better understanding of what drives social cohesion. Utilizing a range of SBC theories and models such as the social network model, diffusion of innovation theory and attribution theories. Our approach is underpinned by a strong theoretical framework but lacked the nuanced understanding of each concept we were trying to explore. We thus devised a participatory approach to our tools design, ensuring that our research captured valuable insights that were not undermined by the difficulty for our participants to understand the concepts we were discussing.
Description of the Big Idea/Experience/Innovation and Its Importance to the SBCC Field:
The three topics we decided to explore, leadership, governance and social cohesion, are challenging concepts to define in English and amongst practitioners. We worried that so much of the substance of our discussions with research participants might be overshadowed by conceptual discussions, or that we wouldn't be able to identify trends if people projected their own definition on each concept and in order to design effective SBC programming we needed to understand the behaviours associated with those concepts at a granular level. We decided to use two technology-driven tools (social media analysis software and an app-based surveying tool) to understand how people in Lebanon define and talk about those three topics. Instead of applying our researcher lens, we listen to people talking about those topics in their own words, and crafted our research tools using their voices at a time where people's voice in Lebanon had never been so loud! Garnering those insights took us two weeks, and it allowed us to ensure that our research speaks the same language as our participants, and can be useful on the ground at an exciting time for the country.
Discussion/Implications for the Field:
With this talk, we aim to make the audience reflect on the enormous potential of our collective strength, applying SBCC theories, frameworks and tools to non-traditional areas, such as social cohesion, that feed into SDGs often overlooked by SBC practitioner (in our case SDG16). We also hope to stir a productive discussion on how to design our research interventions differently to allow for quick and reliable insights that reflect the voices of the communities we are serving.
Abstract submitted by:
Clemence Quint - MAGENTA
Source
Approved abstract for the postponed 2020 SBCC Summit in Marrakech, Morocco. Provided by the International Steering Committee for the Summit. Image credit: S. Agha/Mercy Corps