Abstract
There is growing recognition that a narrow focus on downstream policy outcomes and behaviours risks yielding only incremental change, without addressing the root causes of complex socio-ecological challenges such as climate change (Chater & Loewenstein, 2023). Shifting attention towards upstream actors and policy processes may allow behavioural research to contribute more meaningfully to transformational change towards sustainability (Read & Selinske, 2024; Singh, 2025).
Water security and climate adaptation policies exemplify this gap. While the importance of understanding the drivers of political (in)action is well recognised (Pardoe et al., 2018), behavioural research remains limited (Conway, 2024; Singh, 2025). Existing work highlights the need to understand how barriers are situated within policy processes and decision-making contexts (Lee et al., 2022).Applying behavioural research to policy processes remains challenging due to the lack of suitable tools, capable of dealing with complexity, non-linearity and multiple actors. (Hallsworth, 2023).
We present the application of a new qualitative tool – the Multi-Actor Behavioural Journey (MABEJ) – which integrates behavioural science, systems thinking and design thinking to diagnose behavioural barriers in complex policy processes. Using key informant interviews and document analysis in Tanzania, we applied MABEJ to national planning and budgeting processes for water security and climate adaptation. We mapped process stages, actors, intended and actual outcomes, and intervention opportunities, and show how this analysis informed the co-design of behaviourally grounded, context-specific advocacy strategies to strengthen political action and leadership. MABEJ demonstrates how behavioural research can engage upstream policy processes, not just downstream impacts.