Changing Public Behavior – Increase Citizen Involvement Using Target Audience Information
An USDA extension, national facilitation project

The Changing Public Behavior National Facilitation Project is designed to help water resource professionals apply education and social science research in new and creative ways to support public adoption of environmentally-friendly habits. The goal is to improve citizen understanding and involvement in community decision-making about water and other natural resources.


Project workshops train water educators to focus on local interests and conditions when encouraging people to take environmentally appropriate actions in their home, business, organization, or community. The project also provides resources that water professionals can use to investigate the needs and habits of specific or target audiences (farmers, homeowners, landowners, etc.) so they can offer more effective water management techniques and can assist in the local environmental decision process. Extensive online content and PDFs are available on the website.

Through training, peer support, and practice, resource professionals learn:
  • What questions to ask.
  • What tools to use to gather social science information.
  • How to use the tools and how to analyze results.
  • How to use results to select outreach techniques that satisfy audience needs.

The Changing Public Behavior Project and resources are based on work supported by the Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service (CSREES), U.S. Department of Agriculture. Content was developed in collaboration with experts from around the country, and built on content developed for the Water Outreach Education National Facilitation Project. Elaine served as the Principal Investigator. Institutional partners included: Iowa State University, The Ohio State University, Kansas State University, Utah State University, Washington State University, U. S. EPA, U.S. Forest Service, and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.