About Us
Key Strategies
Research Excellence
Collaboration and Integration
Experimentation and Testing
Capacity Building
Data Analytics
Advocacy
Mission
To be a center excellence in east Africa for providing leadership, evidence-based research, best practices, capacity assessment, capacity building and capacity strengthening for behavioral sciences related to all key sectors
Innovation lab to test new ideas, prototypes, tools, strategies, approaches
Vision
To become a recognized institution on behavioral insights that conducts cutting-edge research in behavioral science for Africa and beyond.
What is a BIRD lab?
A BIRD lab is a virtual and physical space of experimentation and innovation. It is also a collaborative space for researchers, development partners, and academia to come together and better understand human behavior that guides decisions and habits.
The BIRD lab is established in partnership with Addis Ababa University, the School of Public Health and the Ethiopian Health Education and Promotion Professionals Association (EHEPA). It will conduct behavioral insight diagnosis, designs, prototypes, incubation of innovation, experiments, research, and capacity building on behavioral science. Its vision is to become a recognized institution on behavioral insights that conducts cutting-edge research and implementation in behavioral science for eastern and southern Africa and beyond. It will contribute towards designing new or modifying existing interventions to address barriers to optimize effectiveness through understanding the variables that influence behaviors and practices.
How Does BIRD Lab Work?
The BIRD Lab draws on many existing frameworks for behavioral research and design. Researchers take time to identify a particular social problem and which specific behaviors are related to it. They also explore sociocultural, environmental, and psychological factors to draw human-centered solutions. Simply put, evidence from human behavior studies is used to inform decisions. The BIRD lab’s main activities encompass:
1. Capacity development:
The lab will provide Social behavioral change (SBC) experts with the knowledge they need to better understand the dynamics driving individuals and social change, which will help them come up with innovative solutions. The lab will also serve as a teaching and research facility, providing the opportunity for master’s and Ph.D. students to engage in hands-on research projects related to behavioral science development challenges.
2. Research & Designing Behavioral Solutions
The lab will carry out in-depth research to understand behavioral patterns, cognitive biases, and decision-making processes, design SBC interventions, prototype interventions, and test interventions, and provide a detailed recommendation with actionable insight for decision-makers
3. Collaboration and Partnership
The lab will create alliances with universities and ministries to advocate for the integration and application of behavioral insights in their respective programs and curricula and will advocate the application of behavioral insight
4. Scale-up Assistance:
The lab will provide technical assistance and advice to organizations in the adoption of behavioral insights, advising on scaling up behavioral solutions and sharing outcomes of behavioral trials and research projects