EAST Framework

Developed by the Behavioural Insights Team, the framework has been recently updated.

The EAST framework offers a practical, evidence-based approach to influencing behaviour through policy, services, and communications.

Originally developed in 2014 and recently updated, this framework distills complex behavioural science research into four simple principles that guide effective interventions.

What is EAST?

EAST stands for Easy, Attractive, Social, and Timely - four key principles that can significantly influence whether people adopt a desired behaviour:

1. Make it Easy - Reduce the effort required to perform a behaviour. This might involve simplifying messages, reducing steps in a process, or setting helpful defaults. When New York City simplified court summons forms, failure-to-appear rates dropped by 13%, preventing thousands of arrest warrants annually.

2. Make it Attractive - Draw attention to your message and make the behaviour appealing. Personalisation, incentives, and visually striking elements can all help. Adding gold coin stickers to factory floors in China reduced waste by 20% when traditional incentives had failed.

3. Make it Social - Show that others are performing the desired behaviour. Leverage the powerful influence of social networks and reciprocity. BIT found that organ donation messaging based on reciprocity (If you needed an organ transplant, would you have one? If so, please help others) generated over 500,000 new registrations in the UK.

4. Make it Timely - Intervene at moments when people are most receptive to change. Consider immediate costs and benefits, and help people plan their actions. Diabetes screening stations set up during Ramadan in Qatar were successful because people were already fasting as required for the test.

Who created EAST?

The EAST framework was developed by the Behavioural Insights Team (BIT), often known as the Nudge Unit; BIT was initially created within the UK Cabinet Office in 2010 and later became an independent organisation. Today, it is a global organisation with offices across the world, applying behavioural science to address public policy challenges.

How is EAST used?

Communications professionals find EAST particularly valuable because it offers a straightforward approach to designing more effective messages and campaigns. The framework has been applied to challenges ranging from tax compliance and pension savings to healthcare adherence, climate action, and equitable service delivery.

The EAST model continues to evolve based on new research and real-world applications. While not comprehensive of all behavioural science approaches, it offers a practical starting point for applying evidence-based insights to behavior change challenges – making interventions more effective by working with human psychology rather than against it.