Behavioural Science in Communication: Training the InformEU Network

Behavioural science is not a nice-to-have in communication. It is the missing link between a well-crafted message and real social impact. And yet, in institutional contexts, the default is often the awareness-only campaign: well-intentioned, carefully produced, and stopping just short of where it could go.

That conviction was at the heart of a training session on Behavioural Science in Communication that GOPA Com. delivered as part of the InformEU training programme. InformEU is an EU-wide network of communication officers responsible for communicating EU and Member State investments under shared management: the people on the frontlines of making EU funds visible, relevant, and trusted at national, regional, and local level.
 

The session opened with a simple question to participants: what does a truly successful campaign look like to you? The answers were telling. Something that makes a difference. Something that makes an impact. Unforgettable words and images. A campaign that reaches the right audience. One that evokes a reaction. Not one answer mentioned awareness. Every single one pointed, instinctively, to behaviour: to the idea that a campaign only truly succeeds when it moves people, not just informs them.
 

That gap between what communication professionals aspire to and what institutional communication typically delivers is exactly where behavioural science comes in. Designing communication that works with human behaviour, that accounts for the systems and incentives shaping how people decide and act, is not a radical idea. For the experts in the room, it turned out to be an obvious one. It just needed a framework.
 

49 participants joined the session, 39 via Teams and 10 via web streaming, a strong turnout that reflects a growing appetite for evidence-based communication approaches within the network. The recording and presentation slides are available on the InformEU website for one year, so the ideas explored will keep reaching new audiences well after the session ended.
 

At GOPA Com., this is exactly the kind of work we believe in: not just communicating about change, but designing communication that helps bring it about.