How do you motivate residents of Rotterdam to stop smoking near tram- and bus stops? And how can the sexual safety of students on campus be improved? These and other questions were posed by Rotterdam organisations to students of the minor Positive behavioural change in the digital age. For 10 weeks, 52 students set to work on various societal problems of eight different organisations. After immersing themselves in various behavioural and communication theories and working intensively with the organisations, students were able to present useful solutions. One of the participating organisations, MEgood (MEgood is a start-up that specializes in creating (serious) games based on Sustainable Development Goals and Corporate Social Responsiblity), asked students to help them with the question 'How can blood bank Sanquin motivate (future) donors to donate plasma?'. They asked the students to investigate whether gamification (using game elements to stimulate behavioural change) is a suitable method for this.
What solutions did the students come up with?
The students came up with several ideas for a possible app for donors. For example, they recommended the use of role models and the use of a point system and push notifications for the app. They also came up with the idea of a buddy system, so you can donate with a friend. Finally, they suggested letting donors know after donation how their plasma was used. In short, many different ideas that MEgood can apply in the game challenges for Sanquin.
What was it like to collaborate with students?
Dana Dosset and Adriaan den Ouden, founders of MEgood, talk about the collaboration with students: "It was very refreshing! A total of ten students worked on this research and all of them had different backgrounds. Some chose the subject for the (psychological) behavioural or medical aspect and others simply from the motivation to save lives. You notice that in ten weeks the students get a good overview of the latest scientific knowledge on behaviour change. We also liked to see the enthusiasm with which they work to deliver a good result for their clients. We would highly recommend it!"
