SBC Resources & Tools

Essential toolkits, guides, and resource libraries curated for Social and Behavior Change practitioners worldwide.

Featured Resource Libraries

BBC Media Action

BBC's international development charity using media for social change. Expertise in radio drama, TV formats, and mobile engagement for behavior change.

Radio DramaTVEdutainmentMedia

Behaviour Change Wheel

Official resource for the COM-B model and Behaviour Change Wheel by Susan Michie et al. Provides the definitive guide to systematic intervention design, linking capability, opportunity, and motivation to 9 intervention functions and 93 behavior change techniques.

COM-B ModelIntervention DesignBCWEvidence-Based

Better Evaluation

Global M&E knowledge platform with the Rainbow Framework for evaluation planning. Offers complexity-aware tools, method guides, and resources for evaluating behavior change interventions rigorously.

M&E FrameworkEvaluation MethodsComplexityRainbow Framework

Breakthrough ACTION and RESEARCH

USAID flagship SBC project led by Johns Hopkins CCP. Provides implementation support, research, and capacity strengthening across 30+ countries.

ImplementationResearchCapacity BuildingUSAID

Community Tool Box (KU)

Free, comprehensive resource from University of Kansas with 46+ chapters and 7,000+ pages on community health and development. Covers assessment, intervention design, evaluation, and sustainability.

Community HealthCapacity BuildingEvaluationFree

Global Health Media Project

Library of free, open-access health videos in 100+ languages. Designed for frontline health workers and community education.

VideoHealth WorkersMultilingualFree

Internews

International nonprofit supporting independent media. Resources on media development, information ecosystems, and using journalism for social change.

Media DevelopmentJournalismInformation Ecosystems

Johns Hopkins Center for Communication Programs

World leader in SBC research and practice. Publishes cutting-edge studies, develops curricula, and shares decades of field experience.

ResearchTrainingGlobal Health Communication

Knowledge SUCCESS

USAID-funded project improving access to family planning and reproductive health knowledge. Offers curated collections, learning packages, and the K4Health platform.

Family PlanningReproductive HealthKnowledge Management

Population Services International (PSI)

Global health organization using consumer marketing approaches. Shares insights on human-centered design, market-based solutions, and health impact.

Human-Centered DesignMarketingHealth Products

RCCE Collective

Collaborative service for Risk Communication and Community Engagement in health emergencies. Partnership of IFRC, UNICEF, WHO, and GOARN offering a helpdesk, social science research, M&E tools, and thematic kits for cholera, Ebola, climate crises, and more.

Health EmergenciesCrisis CommunicationCommunity EngagementRCCE

SBCC Implementation Kits (HC3)

Step-by-step I-Kits from the Health Communication Capacity Collaborative. Covers strategy design, M&E planning, gender integration, and integrated SBCC programming with practical worksheets and templates.

M&EStrategy DesignGenderTemplates

The Compass for SBC

The go-to online collection of SBC resources, curated by Breakthrough ACTION. Features how-to guides, toolkits, case studies, and evidence summaries across health topics.

ToolkitsHow-To GuidesCase StudiesHealth

Think | BIG (USAID)

USAID-developed "behaviors first" methodology for SBC programs. Offers Behavior Profiles, program design tools, measurement frameworks, and 75+ sample behavior analyses for health, agriculture, and development.

Behavior AnalysisProgram DesignMeasurementUSAID

UNICEF SBC Guidance

Comprehensive SBC programming guidance from UNICEF. Features the CREATE framework, disability-inclusive M&E toolkit, indicator selection tools, and step-by-step guidance for designing and measuring SBC programs.

M&ECREATE FrameworkIndicatorsDisability Inclusion

UNICEF Social and Behavior Change

UNICEF's global SBC hub featuring research, program guidance, and resources on child health, nutrition, education, and protection.

Child HealthNutritionEducationUNICEF

SBC Frameworks & Theories

Foundational theoretical frameworks that guide Social and Behavior Change program design, implementation, and evaluation. Understanding these models helps practitioners select appropriate strategies for their target audiences and contexts.

Socio-Ecological Model (SEM)

A multi-level framework examining behavior across five nested levels: individual, interpersonal, community, organizational, and policy/enabling environment. Emphasizes that sustainable behavior change requires interventions at multiple levels simultaneously.

IndividualInterpersonalCommunityOrganizationalPolicy
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Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB)

Predicts behavioral intention based on three factors: attitudes toward the behavior (positive/negative evaluation), subjective norms (perceived social pressure), and perceived behavioral control (self-efficacy). Widely used in health promotion and environmental behavior.

AttitudesSubjective NormsPerceived Control
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Health Belief Model (HBM)

One of the oldest behavior change models, focusing on individual perceptions: perceived susceptibility to a health threat, perceived severity, perceived benefits of action, perceived barriers, cues to action, and self-efficacy.

SusceptibilitySeverityBenefitsBarriersCuesSelf-Efficacy
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Stages of Change (Transtheoretical Model)

Views behavior change as a process through stages: precontemplation (unaware), contemplation (aware but ambivalent), preparation (intending to act), action (practicing new behavior), and maintenance (sustaining change). Interventions should match the stage.

PrecontemplationContemplationPreparationActionMaintenance
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Social Cognitive Theory (SCT)

Bandura's theory emphasizing reciprocal determinism—behavior, personal factors, and environment continuously interact. Key constructs include observational learning, self-efficacy, outcome expectations, and behavioral capability.

Self-EfficacyObservational LearningOutcome ExpectationsEnvironment
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Communication for Development (C4D)

UNICEF's participatory approach integrating communication into development programs. Emphasizes community dialogue, social mobilization, media engagement, and advocacy to create enabling environments for sustainable change.

AdvocacySocial MobilizationBehavior Change CommunicationCommunity Dialogue
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Ideation Model

Developed by Johns Hopkins CCP, this model identifies cognitive, emotional, and social factors (ideational variables) that influence behavior: knowledge, attitudes, beliefs, perceived risk, self-efficacy, social norms, and interpersonal communication.

KnowledgeBeliefsValuesEmotionsSelf-ImageSocial Support
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Extended Parallel Process Model (EPPM)

Explains responses to fear appeals in health messaging. When threat perception is high and efficacy is also high, people engage in danger control (protective behavior). If efficacy is low, fear control (denial, avoidance) occurs instead.

Perceived ThreatPerceived EfficacyDanger ControlFear Control
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Theory of Change (ToC)

A comprehensive methodology for planning, participation, and evaluation that maps backward from a long-term goal to identify necessary preconditions and causal pathways. ToC articulates assumptions, identifies interventions, and defines measurable outcomes at each stage of change.

Long-Term GoalIntermediate OutcomesEarly OutcomesInterventionsAssumptions
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Logic Model

A visual representation linking program resources (inputs) to activities, outputs, and outcomes. Logic models provide a systematic way to present the "if-then" relationships in a program, helping planners identify what resources are needed, what activities will be conducted, and what results are expected.

InputsActivitiesOutputsShort-Term OutcomesLong-Term Impact
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COM-B Model & Behaviour Change Wheel

Comprehensive framework by Susan Michie et al. synthesizing 19 behavior theories. COM-B identifies that behavior requires Capability (physical/psychological), Opportunity (physical/social), and Motivation (reflective/automatic). The Wheel adds 9 intervention functions and 7 policy categories for systematic intervention design.

CapabilityOpportunityMotivationIntervention FunctionsPolicy Categories
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📚 Deep Dive Resources

For comprehensive coverage of these frameworks and more, explore these essential resources:

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