ABSTRACT

Applying behavioural science to complex issues, like water demand management, requires behaviour prioritisation for focused program design. This requires tools and data to support decision-making. Some sectors obtain expert-derived data to fill gaps for statistical modelling. However, there is an ongoing debate over use of expert, versus lay, stakeholder perspectives. We extend previous research by examining perceptions held by expert water professionals (n = 44), and lay householder (n = 151) stakeholders, regarding household water-saving behaviours and barriers to participation. We find consistency between expert and lay perceptions on behavioural participation rates and impact on water saving, but less agreement on the effort required for behaviour adoption. Such inconsistency on perceptions of effort could have implications for behaviour selection and intervention design. Our findings suggest that expert-derived data could be used for behaviour prioritisation, but lay input is valuable when everyday (curtailment) or maintenance type water-saving behaviours are under consideration.

摘要

将行为科学应用于诸如用水需求管理之类的复杂问题时，需要对行为进行优先级排序，以进行有针对性的程序设计。这需要工具和数据来支持决策。一些部门获取专家得出的数据来填补统计建模的空白。但是，关于使用专家和非专业利益相关者观点的争论一直在进行。我们通过检查专家级水专业人士（n = 44）和非住户（n = 151）利益相关者对家庭节水行为和参与障碍的看法来扩展以前的研究。我们发现专家和非专业人士对行为参与率及其对节水的影响之间存在一致性，但在采取行为所需的努力上却缺乏共识。这种对努力意识的不一致可能会影响行为选择和干预设计。我们的发现表明，可以将专家得出的数据用于行为优先级排序，但是当考虑日常（缩减）或维护型节水行为时，非专业输入是有价值的。