Research produced in a partnership between the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT), ACFID and The Behavioural Architects has won best global research paper at the ESOMAR awards – the international association on data, research and insights.
The paper – ‘The Real Story Ends in Landfill’ – tackles the challenges posed by goods sent overseas during humanitarian disasters and how best to reduce their numbers through public messaging.
Following the conclusion of the research, the project team at ACFID are now finalising a communications strategy and visual assets for the campaign. They will form part of sector-wide drive to deter unrequested goods being sent overseas from Australia during humanitarian crises.
ACFID’s Head of Government Relations and Communications, Tim Watkin, said: “Unrequested goods cause multiple problems for the humanitarian supply chain and ultimately end up in landfill. Applying behavioural science to this complex issue has generated new public messaging which can effectively reduce the quantity of goods being sent.
“The global award from ESOMAR is a ringing endorsement of the strength of this research. It’s creation was forged by a very powerful partnership of organisations and we are now reaping the rewards of that partnership.”
The project – funded and supported by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade – has brought together foundational research created by the Australian Red Cross; the rigorous research and insights of the Behavioural Architects; the knowledge and experience of ACFID’s membership; and the convening power of ACFID.
The project will now also act as a foundation stone for the World Food Programme’s work on unrequested goods in the Asia-Pacific as they invest in a public-facing website and resources to raise awareness of this issue.