Photo: © UNICEF/UN061370/

 

 


This course will introduce participants to Social and Behaviour Change (SBC) at UNICEF. SBC is defined as a set of processes, approaches, tools, strategies and tactics that promote positive and measurable changes in people’s environments, societies, and behaviours. Working with communities, individuals, and partners, SBC uses social and behavioural evidence and inclusive, participatory approaches to co-design solutions to development and humanitarian challenges. It prioritizes the fulfillment of human rights through systematic analysis of the cognitive, social and structural drivers of change and working with communities to address them.

Approaches to social and behavioural change have evolved rapidly in the past two decades and new opportunities for engaging people in social change processes have opened up. At the same time, factors such as changing demographics, globalization, armed conflicts, climate change, disease, pandemics and epidemics, movements of migrant and refugee populations, and rapid urbanization have posed new challenges and requirements for innovation in the development and humanitarian sectors. 

UNICEF’s online SBC course addresses the need for new and enhanced competencies to meet these challenges and leverage opportunities for innovation to achieve behavior and social change for children.   

This SBC course is based on UNICEF's highly successful C4D course, which was originally designed by UNICEF and Ohio University, a leading academic institution in the field. This newly updated version of the course has been redesigned to equip UNICEF staff with relevant knowledge, skills and tools to address the most pressing social and behavioural issues facing children. This Agora online, self-paced format has been created to make the course more accessible to a wider audience.

Audience

The course is open to everyone. It was designed with the following audiences in mind: UNICEF partners (including government partners, implementing partners, consultants and researchers),  SBC practitioners, students, and others with an interest in or responsibility for the design and implementation of social and behaviour change initiatives. 

Methodology

This online SBC course is self-paced and self-study.  The course follows a MOOC format, in which you are guided through required readings and videos.  Brief background text is provided as you navigate through the course to give you context for these required resources.  You will see suggested and supplemental readings and videos throughout. While these are not required for this course, you are encouraged to review them in your own time.    

We suggest that you review each SBC Module and its resources in sequence. Some of the print materials are lengthy and you may find it easier to download the content for reading offline.  

Duration

You can complete the course at your preferred pace. Please plan to allocate approximately 30-35 hours. 

Course Structure

The modules and units in the SBC course:

Module 1: SBC Principles and Planning

  • Unit 1: Concepts, models, and approaches
  • Unit 2: Systems and planning
  • Unit 3: Situation analysis

Module 2: SBC Programme Management, Theories, and Models

  • Unit 1: Management, partnerships, and media
  • Unit 2: Foundational theories and models
  • Unit 3: Applied Behavioural Science and social norms

Module 3: UNICEF's Programmmatic Approaches

  • Unit 1: Participant groups and systems strengthening
  • Unit 2: Service improvements, public policies, social movements, and community engagement
  • Unit 3: Social and Behaviour Change Communication

Module 4: SBC Research, External Contractors, and Documentation

  • Unit 1: Research, monitoring, and evaluation
  • Unit 2: Working with external contractors
  • Unit 3: Documenting and sharing

How to Navigate this Course

Here are a few tips to navigate the course. It’s self-paced, which means you work on your own schedule. There’s no time limit to complete it, but you’ll benefit most — and remember what you’ve learned — if you devote a few hours to it every week. How many hours? That’s up to you and it will vary because we all have different learning styles. Because it’s a self-paced course, there’s no one checking on your progress. You take responsibility for your own learning.

The course is divided into four modules, each with three units — a total of 12. Because Social and Behaviour Change is such a broad area, there was no way to keep each unit to a standard length. The units also vary in the number of resources, readings, and videos. However, for every long unit in a module, there’s a shorter one, so it should balance out.

The navigation menu displays the titles of modules, units, and sections within units. It is closed by default. 

Use the Next and Previous buttons to navigate between course pages.

Use the Terms and Abbreviations tab to view the course glossary.

The course includes video modules from UNICEF’s Building Blocks course — another Agora course designed to introduce staff and partners to SBC. You’ll join SBC specialists Leila and Kamari as they explain principles and practices. The Building Blocks course is organized differently from this course, so don’t worry that the numbers on the modules don’t correspond.

You can download all course readings as PDFs. You may want to save or print out some tables and lists of key points, and these are also available as downloads. 

Three kinds of items test your knowledge and understanding. Most units include checkpoints, with a question on content. At the end of each module, you’ll take a test with 15 close-ended questions (true/false, multiple choice, etc. before you move on to the next modules. In the discussion forum we ask a broader question or present a scenario. This is not a knowledge test and there are no right or wrong answers. Rather, it’s your opportunity to think about an SBC issue and how it applies in your own sector, country, or cultural context. We encourage you to read what others share in the discussion forum and, if possible, comment on their posts, offering your own perspectives. 

At the end of the course, you’ll receive a UNICEF Certificate of Completion. We wish you well on your own journey through SBC, and hope it not only expands your knowledge of the field but helps you to apply its principles and practices in your work for children.

Questions, content requests, contributions, or feedback

Contact sbc@unicef.org