Projects per year
Personal profile
Biography
Liam is Director and co-founder of BehaviourWorks Australia (BWA) and one of Australia’s leading authorities on behaviour change.
Liam is committed to using behavioural science to tackle public policy issues for the benefit of individuals and society at large and, since establishing BWA in 2011, he has overseen significant growth in the enterprise, which now employes nearly 20 researchers, and been directly involved in conducting and/or overseeing more than 100 behaviour change research projects.
By design, the BWA team consists of researchers from different backgrounds and disciplines who use their collective expertise to undertake applied behaviour change research in collaboration with government and industry professionals. BWA therefore acts as a bridge between academic research and practical real-world solutions.
Liam has also led the developement of a research methodology that is used to inform, develop and design behaviour change interventions – and improve their efficacy.
He has published numerous research reports, research papers and public discussion pieces (e.g. white papers and opinion pieces in The Conversation) and is an active contributor on Zoos Victoria’s Science Committee, South East Water’s Customer Engagement Council and VicHealth’s Leading Thinker Taskforce.
An exceptional public speaker, Liam believes that education and training is vital to wider uptake and application of behavioural insights. As such, he has delivered accredited education, executive education and public presentations to audiences around Australia and the world.
He regularly delivers training to government professionals through the Australian and New Zealand School of Government and the Department of Premier and Cabinet (Vic)’s Behavioural Insights Unit.
Related Links:
Expertise related to UN Sustainable Development Goals
In 2015, UN member states agreed to 17 global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure prosperity for all. This person’s work contributes towards the following SDG(s):
Research area keywords
- Behaviour Change
- Social Inclusion
- pro-environmental behaviour
- Zoos
- Public Policy
- Innovation
- Behavioural Economics
Collaborations and top research areas from the last five years
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Developing a shared understanding of bushfire risk in Victoria
Plant, B., Boulet, M. & Smith, L.
31/08/24 → 31/01/26
Project: Research
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Incorporating a Behavioural Approach to ReefClean
Tait, H., Borg, K., Smith, L., Boulet, M. & Klemm, C.
4/03/24 → 30/09/27
Project: Research
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TSC - BWA Consortium 2023 to 2026
Goodwin, D., Smith, L. & Gomes Da Mata, F.
1/07/23 → 30/06/26
Project: Research
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RACE 2030 ENERGY UPGRADES FOR AUSTRALIAN HOMES - Theme H2: Enhancing home thermal efficiency
Raven, R., Smith, L., Hadfield, P., Milligan, B., Northrop, E., Holley, C., Morgan, B., Langham, E., Wilmot, K., Thomas, L. E., Niklas, S., Beloria, N., Chen, D., Ambrose, M., James, M., Sadeghi, M., Susilawati, C., Drogemuller, R., Mishra, Y., Hoang, V., Omrani, S., Abdulrahman , M., Rajagopalan, P., Lau, C., Thai, V., Ahsan, K., Chowdhury , P., Shahparvari , S., Yadlapalli , A., Xing, K., Barros, A., Coffey, V., Volz, K., Taylor, H., Riedy, C., Whelan, B., Nakimichi, N., Hyne, J. & Vines, K.
University of New South Wales (UNSW), University of Technology (UTS) Sydney, University of South Australia, RMIT University, CSIRO - Building, Construction & Engineering (Victoria), Climate-KIC, Knauf Insulation Pty Ltd, Queensland University of Technology (QUT)
1/06/23 → 30/05/26
Project: Research
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ANZSOG - Bridging public opinion & policy
Mendoza Alcantara, A., Bragge, P., Saeri, A., Smith, L. & Glover, R.
Australia and New Zealand School of Government
29/11/23 → 28/06/24
Project: Research
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2024 Biodiversity Concerns Report: A Survey of Community Attitudes to Nature Conservation
Biodiversity Council, Mar 2024, Melbourne Vic Australia: The Biodiversity Council. 12 p.Research output: Book/Report › Other Report › Research
Open Access -
A researcher-practitioner driven framework and research agenda for promoting conservation behaviours
van Eeden, L. M., Borg, K., Gregg, E. A., Hatty, M., Kaufman, S., Kneebone, S., Kusmanoff, A. M., Lauren, N., Lee, K., Lentini, P. E., Renowden, C., Selinske, M., Squires, Z. E., Bekessy, S., Smith, L. & Hames, F., Aug 2024, In: Biological Conservation. 296, 9 p., 110710.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Research › peer-review
Open AccessFile -
Backing biodiversity: understanding nature conservation behaviour and policy support in Australia
Borg, K., Hatty, M., Klebl, C., Wibisono, S., Smith, L., Louis, W. & Dean, A. J., 2024, In: Biodiversity and Conservation. 33, p. 2593-2613 21 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Research › peer-review
Open AccessFile2 Citations (Scopus) -
Conclusion
Smith, L., 2024, Inspiring Change: How to Influence Behaviour for a Better World. Smith, L., Curtis, J., Bragge, P. & Kellner, P. (eds.). 1st ed. Melbourne Vic Australia: Monash University Publishing, p. 257-259 3 p.Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Chapter (Book) › Other
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Eliciting diverse perspectives to prioritize community actions for biodiversity conservation
Dean, A. J., Fielding, K. S., Smith, L. D. G., Church, E. K. & Wilson, K. A., 2024, (Accepted/In press) In: Conservation Biology. 16 p., e14372.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Research › peer-review
Open Access
Prizes
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Australian Council of Graduate Research Award for Excellence in Promoting Industry Engagement in Graduate Research
Smith, Liam (Recipient), 24 Mar 2020
Prize: Prize (including medals and awards)
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One behaviour at a time - transforming the work of Industry through the "Applying Behavioural Science to Create Change" micro-credential
Garivaldis, Filia (Recipient), Wild, Abby (Recipient), Saeri, Alexander (Recipient), Bos, Annette (Recipient), Goodwin, Denise (Recipient), Riley, Emmy (Recipient), Tull, Fraser (Recipient), Paine, Geoff (Recipient), Raj, Kavya (Recipient), Aubanty, Kazi (Recipient), Jungbluth, Lena (Recipient), Smith, Liam (Recipient), Jaovisidha, Malaika (Recipient), Boulet, Mark (Recipient), Santoso, Melissa (Recipient), Fadelli, Michelle (Recipient), Kneebone, Sarah (Recipient) & Kaufman, Stefan (Recipient), 14 Nov 2023
Prize: Prize (including medals and awards)
Activities
- 1 Contribution to workshop, seminar, course
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Monash Nature Positive Network Webinar Series: A Nature Positive Australia - Why does it matter and how do we get there?
Anita Foerster (Organiser), Ella Vines (Organiser), Liam Smith (Speaker), Melodie McGeoch (Speaker), Gerry Nagtzaam (Speaker), Saxbee Affleck (Speaker), Liam Walsh (Speaker), Stefan Kaufman (Speaker) & Nga Pham (Speaker)
30 Sept 2024 → 2 Oct 2024Activity: Participating in or organising an event types › Contribution to workshop, seminar, course
Press/Media
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How to boost community and stakeholder support for the use of psychedelic medicines
Brea Kunstler, Melissa Hatty, Liam Smith, Breanna Wright & Christopher Langmead
14/02/23
1 Media contribution
Press/Media: Article/Feature
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Can Victorians stick to the stage 4 rules? Our perception of what others are doing might be the key
Liam Smith & Jim Curtis
6/08/20
1 Media contribution
Press/Media: Article/Feature
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This is how we nudged Victoria’s parents to get their kids the HPV vaccine.
Peter Bragge, Fraser Tull, Liam Smith, Jessica Kaufman, Justin Halliday, Cameron Knott, Stephen Pellissier, Kim Sutton & Megan Beasley
14/05/18
1 Media contribution
Press/Media: Article/Feature
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Is the introduction of a carbon tax a ‘teachable moment’ to change habits?
Liam Smith, Bas Verplanken & Jim Curtis
18/07/12
1 Media contribution
Press/Media: Article/Feature
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Simple steps to save the environment may not make much difference
John Thogersen, Jim Curtis & Liam Smith
20/04/12
1 Media contribution
Press/Media: Article/Feature