Our Work at a Glance

Our Work

Flagship Projects

The Centre applies Behavioural Insights and Human-Centred Design to address complex challenges in nutrition, child protection, sanitation, and civil registration systems.

Centre for Behavioural Sciences (CBS)

Improving Maternal Nutrition through Behavioural Insights and Human-Centred Design

Partner: UNICEF Rajasthan & HCL Foundation

CBS developed and evaluated a package of behavioural interventions to improve maternal nutrition and healthy gestational weight gain. The project combined behavioural insights, Human-Centred Design, and implementation research to develop interventions to improve maternal nutrition.

Interventions Developed

  • Colour-coded Gestational Weight-Gain Card
  • Doctors’ Prescription Pad
  • WhatsApp media pack for spousal engagement
  • Gestational Weight Gain Calculator

Strengthening Foster Parenting through Behavioural Science

Partner: UNICEF Rajasthan & HCL Foundation

CBS applied Behavioural Insights and Human-Centred Design to understand the foster parenting journey and co-design evidence-based parenting resources that strengthen support for foster families and improve caregiving experiences.

Key Outputs

  • Foster Parenting Journey Mapping
  • Behavioural Diagnostic Review
  • Resource collation across the journey phases
  • Adaptation/development of Parenting Package
  • SBC Parenting Package Developed

Promoting ODF+ Behaviours and Visual Cleanliness through Behavioural Science

Partner: UNICEF Rajasthan & HCL Foundation

CBS applied Behavioural Insights and Human-Centred Design to strengthen ODF+ sustainability, Solid and Liquid Waste Management (SLWM), and visual cleanliness under Swachh Bharat Mission (Grameen), Rajasthan. The initiative built the capacity of District Project Coordinators to understand behavioural drivers, apply HCD tools, and co-design contextually relevant solutions for sustained sanitation behaviours.

Key Outputs

  • Capacity building of District Project Coordinators across Rajasthan
  • Behavioural diagnosis of ODF+ and visual cleanliness challenges
  • Persona and journey mapping
  • Field immersion and community-based inquiry
  • Behaviourally informed solution ideation and prioritisation
  • Co-development of prototypes for sustained sanitation behaviours

Understanding Barriers and Enablers to Timely and Complete Birth Registration under the CRVS System in Rajasthan

Partner: UNICEF Rajasthan & HCL Foundation

CBS is undertaking a qualitative study to understand the behavioural, social, and system-level factors influencing timely and complete birth registration under the Civil Registration and Vital Statistics (CRVS) system in Rajasthan. The study combines Behavioural Insights and qualitative research to identify behavioural barriers and enablers, generate actionable evidence, and inform strategies to strengthen birth registration services.

Progress and Key Outputs

  • Comprehensive literature review on behavioural barriers and enablers to birth registration
  • Development of qualitative research tools and study protocols
  • Stakeholder consultation with the Government of Rajasthan, the Department of Economics & Statistics (CRVS), and UNICEF Rajasthan
  • Qualitative inquiry to understand behavioural drivers and implementation challenges (upcoming)
  • Behaviourally informed recommendations to strengthen the CRVS system (planned)
CRVS project activity CRVS stakeholder consultation CRVS behavioural research activity
Recent Highlight

SOCH: Systems Optimizing Choices and Habits – Institutionalizing Behavioural Insights in India

CBS presented project learnings on the application of Behavioural Insights and Human-Centred Design at SOCH: Systems Optimizing Choices and Habits – Institutionalizing Behavioural Insights in India, a national knowledge-sharing platform jointly convened by UNICEF India and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. The event brought together senior government officials, policymakers, Behavioural Insights units, researchers, and development partners from across India to exchange experiences on institutionalising behavioural approaches within public policy and programme implementation.

SOCH national knowledge-sharing platform
Portfolio

Research

On-going Projects

Project Title/Domain Supported by
Improving Maternal Nutrition among Pregnant Women - A study to improve dietary practices among pregnant women in Karauli district of Rajasthan. UNICEF
A Human-Centred Approach to Understand the Foster Parenting Journey UNICEF

Completed Projects

The CBS team at IIHMR assisted in conducting a study to “Identify strategies to increase visibility and outreach” for a special school in Jaipur.

Knowledge into Practice

Capacity Building

01

Elective Course on Behavioural Insights and Human-Centred Design

A week-long elective course on Behavioural Insights (BI) and Human Centred Design (HCD) was conducted in February 2025 for students pursuing Masters in different schools under the IIHMR University.

Behavioural Insights elective course session Students participating in the Behavioural Insights elective course Human-Centred Design elective course activity
02

Capacity Building for Rajeevika Field Personnel

A two-day Residential Capacity Building workshop for Rajeevika field personnel on Evaluation using Digital tools was conducted in February 2025 as part of on-going behavioural intervention on Maternal Nutrition.

Rajeevika capacity-building workshop Digital tools workshop activity Rajeevika field personnel at the workshop
03

Qualitative Inquiries through Behavioural Insights and Human-Centred Design

Three-day residential workshop for research scholars and young professionals on “Using Qualitative Inquiries through Behavioral Insights and Human-Centred Design”.

Qualitative inquiries workshop session Workshop participants applying Human-Centred Design
04

Behavioural Insights-informed Parenting Package

Conceptualization of Behavioural Insights (BI) informed parenting package for families of children in non-institutional care (Foster Care) – Jaipur, Rajasthan.

Behavioural Insights-informed parenting package
05

Validation Workshop on the Foster Parenting Package Design in India

Centre for Behavioural Sciences (CBS), IIHMR University, Jaipur, in collaboration with UNICEF India Country Office, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh Field Offices (SBCC & Child Protection teams), organized a validation workshop with stakeholders and foster parents on 08–09 September 2025 in Raipur, Chhattisgarh.

Foster parenting package validation workshop
06

WhatsApp Media Pack for Enhancing Maternal Nutrition

Design of a WhatsApp Media Pack aimed at improving pregnant women’s husbands’ role in enhancing maternal nutrition – Karauli, Rajasthan.

Enhancing maternal nutrition media resource Enhancing maternal nutrition media resource Enhancing maternal nutrition media resource
Maternal nutrition WhatsApp media pack design Maternal nutrition WhatsApp media pack design Maternal nutrition WhatsApp media pack design Maternal nutrition WhatsApp media pack design
07

National BI Unit Network Meeting – Behavioural Insights for Public Policy Collaboratory

Organizer: UNICEF, India

Knowledge sharing meeting with the BIU network comprising Centre for Behavioural Sciences, IIHMR University (Rajasthan), IIT Gandhinagar, SHSRC (Gujarat), University of Hyderabad (Telangana), Don Bosco University (Assam), NIT Raipur (Chhattisgarh), Institute for Human Development (Jharkhand), Central University of Gujarat, and government partners.

Date: 17–18 June 2025 | Location: Ahmedabad, Gujarat

National BI Unit Network Meeting
08

Human-Centred Design and Behavioural Insights for Visual Cleanliness

Two-day residential workshop on using Human-Centred Design and Behavioural Insights for enhancing visual cleanliness in Gram Panchayats.

Participants: District Program Coordinators, Swachh Bharat Mission (Gramin), Rajasthan

Date: 17–18 December 2025 | Location: IIHMR University, Jaipur, Rajasthan

Residential workshop on visual cleanliness

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Last Updated on: 31-08-2026

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