title: Facilitating adaptive management in a government program: A household energy efficiency case study.
abstract: Interim evaluations of government programs can sometimes reveal lower than expected outcomes, leading to the question of how adjustments can be made while the program is still underway. Although adaptive management frameworks can provide a practical roadmap to address this question, a lack of successful learnings and poor implementation have hampered the progress and wider application of adaptive management. Using a case study involving an energy efficiency government program targeting low-income households, this article provides supporting evidence on how adaptive management can be facilitated and applied. Factors such as proactive and responsive leadership, establishing a research-practice interface, and recognizing the skills, expertise, and contributions of multiple stakeholders guided adjustments to the program, and later paved the way for longer-term organizational learning that impacted how other programs are delivered. Implications for knowledge and practice, and a discussion of the challenges faced in the program, advance current thinking in adaptive management.
authors.affiliation: BehaviourWorks Australia, Monash Sustainable Development Institute, 8 Scenic Boulevard, Monash University 3800, Victoria, Australia. Electronic address: james.curtis@monash.edu.
authors.forename: Jim
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Curtis
authors.affiliation: Office of Environment and Heritage, PO Box A290, Sydney South 1232, New South Wales, Australia.
authors.forename: Alex
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Graham
authors.affiliation: BehaviourWorks Australia, Monash Sustainable Development Institute, 8 Scenic Boulevard, Monash University 3800, Victoria, Australia.
authors.forename: Eraj
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Ghafoori
authors.affiliation: Office for Environmental Programs, Wilson Avenue, The University of Melbourne, Parkville 3010, Victoria, Australia.
authors.forename: Susan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Pyke
authors.affiliation: Environment Protection Authority Victoria, GPO Box 4395, Melbourne 3001, Victoria, Australia.
authors.forename: Stefan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kaufman
authors.affiliation: BehaviourWorks Australia, Monash Sustainable Development Institute, 8 Scenic Boulevard, Monash University 3800, Victoria, Australia.
authors.forename: Mark
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Boulet
mesh_terms: D003246:Conservation of Energy Resources / Q000379:methods*; D017598:Efficiency, Organizational; D005191:Family Characteristics; D006078:Government Programs; D006801:Humans; D007182:Income; D019359:Knowledge; D007857:Leadership; D009517:New South Wales
keywords: Adaptive management; Behavior change; Household energy efficiency; Public policy