Using the Cultures Framework to guide the evaluation of interventions: policy practice implications

When assessing the effectiveness of an intervention, how do we decide what to measure? In this talk I introduce the Cultures Framework as an analytical lens for assisting with the design of policy interventions, focusing particularly on its use for evaluation. The Cultures Framework was first developed 14 years ago to support integrated research on energy-related behaviours, and has since been applied internationally in research and policy across a wide range of fields. Its value for policy development and evaluation has become evident through these multiple applications to different policy issues and contexts. Rather than seeing society are a mass of individuals driven by individualistic tendencies and ‘rational’ motives, it places a lens on shared motivators, similar activity patterns, and common material possessions, and how these interplay to form identifiable ‘cultures’ that have measurable outcomes. The Cultures Framework depicts interventions as an attempt to adjust cultural patterns to achieve outcomes that are desired by the policy designer. Evaluation should measure both proximal changes (i.e. changes to cultural elements) and distal changes (i.e. the sought-after changes to outcomes). If proximal changes are not assessed, evaluations may fail to capture how culture itself can be a barrier to the success of an intervention, nor capture the unintended consequences of interventions. Janet Stephenson is a research professor at the Centre for Sustainability, an interdisciplinary research centre at the University of Otago. A social scientist with a background in sociology, planning and cultural geography, she has a longstanding interest in the social determinants of the transition to a sustainable future. She has led multiple research programmes and serves on many advisory groups in Aotearoa and internationally. Much of her research examines the interplay between culture and sustainability in a variety of contexts. Her new book Culture and Sustainability – Exploring Stability and Transformation with the Cultures Framework will be published in March 2023. Her full profile can be found here - https://www.otago.ac.nz/centre-sustai... This seminar was organised & hosted by the New Zealand Regional Network of the Australian Evaluation Society. AES membership helps make sessions like this possible by supporting the infrastructure, technology and community connections that enable us to deliver high-quality professional learning across Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand. Join the Australian Evaluation Society today and be part or a community making a difference: www.aes.asn.au/become-a-member