Why is this focus on behavior so important?
SK: Learning is one of the most important tools we have to improve what we do and create an impact in our field. There is no lack of knowledge out there. But enabling people to optimally document, use, and share it amongst each other continues to be a challenge in all sectors—including family planning and reproductive health. Behavioral science allows us to really understand these challenges around how people find and share knowledge. It guides us to design solutions that are appropriate and relevant for our end-user [in this case, FP/RH professionals]. It involves working with the end-user to highlight and collaboratively design solutions that speak to their particular needs.
Have you encountered any surprising results from the research?
SK: One result we found interesting was that women were quite under represented in the list of people who responded to the survey. I think it’s up to us as researchers to try — in future initiatives — to make that more balanced in terms of opinions we receive.
SH: We also did a lot of thinking around how your learning style interacts with your knowledge seeking and sharing behaviors. Everyone has different preferences when it comes to taking in new information. For example, some people learn best by reading articles or reports, while others prefer watching videos, interpreting graphics and images, or listening to audio content. This is your learning style. When your behavior (how you search, what format of information you interact with, what platforms you use, etc.) matches your learning style, you are more likely to effectively process the information. You are more likely to share it as well.
Our research found that while some FP/RH professionals are interacting with information in a way that is very aligned with their learning style, others are not. For example, they might self-identify as a visual learner, but they are currently having to interact with information that is mostly text-based. And so moving forward, we want to think about what’s driving this disconnect. Why are some people currently receiving information in a way that is ideal for them and others aren’t? Is it because of their organization’s policies or because platforms don’t provide content in a variety of formats?
So that is an area we are going to leverage when it comes to design. How can we make sure more people match between their learning style and their behavior?
What are some of the biggest or most common hassle factors that people experience during the knowledge management cycle? [Hassle factors are seemingly minor inconveniences to taking a desired action.]
SH: Inertia. They can’t be bothered — especially when it comes to sharing. People are much better at searching for information because they have an intrinsic motivation to do it. They need something or they want something and so they’re going to search for it. Sharing is much harder unless you have an extrinsic motivation — for example, a donor is requesting information. It is quite altruistic to spend time sharing information for the greater good of the world without necessarily any reciprocity, without knowing you’ll get something back as a reward. So we definitely want to think about how we can better align motivation and incentives.
SK: There are also systemic hassle factors, which serve as barriers. For example, poor Internet access or browser incompatibility are hassle factors—especially for people who are using low-end devices. Those are challenges we heard frequently from people, especially in low- and middle-income countries.
SH: Interface is another one. First off, there are so many platforms and knowing which one to use is overwhelming. This creates choice overload. [Choice overload is a cognitive process in which people have a difficult time making a decision when faced with many options]. And then even within a platform, often the search function isn’t optimized. So it’s quite hard to quickly find that piece of information you want. You have to go through lots of documents and text.