ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL RESEARCH COUNCIL
END OF AWARD REPORT

For awards ending on or after 1 November 2009

This End of Award Report should be completed and submitted using the grant reference as the email subject, to reportsofficer@esrc.ac.uk on or before the due date.

The final instalment of the grant will not be paid until an End of Award Report is completed in full and accepted by ESRC.
Grant holders whose End of Award Report is overdue or incomplete will not be eligible for further ESRC funding until the Report is accepted. ESRC reserves the right to recover a sum of the expenditure incurred on the grant if the End of Award Report is overdue. (Please see Section 5 of the ESRC Research Funding Guide for details.)

Please refer to the Guidance notes when completing this End of Award Report. 

Grant Reference	RES-061-25-0158	
Grant Title	Promoting Sustainable Travel: a social marketing approach	
Grant Start Date	1st January 2008	Total Amount Expended:	£ 197,967.86	
Grant End Date	31st July 2010			
Grant holding Institution	University of Exeter	
Grant Holder	Dr. Stewart Barr	
Grant Holder’s Contact Details	Address	Email	
	School of Geography
Amory Building
Rennes Drive
Exeter, EX4 4RJ	S.W.Barr@exeter.ac.uk 	
		Telephone	
		01392 723832	
Co-Investigators (as per project application):	Institution	

		

1. NON-TECHNICAL SUMMARY

Please provide below a project summary written in non-technical language. The summary may be used by ESRC to publicise your work and should explain the aims and findings of the project. [Max 250 words]

This research aimed to address the growth of individual and collective travel practices which are represented by an ever-growing reliance on unsustainable forms of travel, such as the private car and air travel. The research sought to identify and measure a series of 'sustainable travel behaviours' using a sample of individuals from the general public. Using both qualitative and quantitative methods, the research explored the links between different types of travel practices amongst the sample and identified a series of lifestyle groups based on reported behaviours and attitude data. These were used to identify the motivators and barriers for adopting different forms of behaviour for each lifestyle group and are currently being used to assist local and national policy makers to develop social marketing strategies for promoting greater use of sustainable modes of transport. The research found that major differences emerged between the barriers and motivations for adopting sustainable practices for daily travel and those for leisure and holidaymaking. In the first instance, adopting more sustainable forms of travel in daily life was largely uncontested and was often influenced by concerns of convenience, reliability and travel experience. By contrast, travel mode choices for holidays were often made with only limited reference to environmental sustainability concerns. These findings imply that policies to promote sustainable travel need to consider the importance of context, in particular the ways in which holidays are often regarded as beyond the concerns of sustainability, despite the potentially disproportionate impacts of related practices such as air travel. 

2. PROJECT OVERVIEW

a) Objectives
Please state the aims and objectives of your project as outlined in your proposal to the ESRC. [Max 200 words]

This research builds on existing ESRC-funded work and aimed to explore the barriers and motivations for adopting ‘sustainable travel behaviour’ using a framework of environmental behaviour developed by the applicant. These were examined through segmentation analysis in order to gain a broader and more applied understanding of ‘sustainable lifestyles’ and behaviour change using social marketing techniques. The objectives of the research were as follows:

•	First, to identify and measure a series of ‘sustainable travel behaviours’ using a sample of individuals from the general public;
•	Second, to explore the empirical and conceptual links between different types of  sustainable travel practices amongst the sample; 
•	Third, to use segmentation analysis to identify a series of lifestyle groups based on these behavioural data;
•	Fourth, to use an established framework of environmental behaviour to identify the motivators and barriers for adopting different forms of behaviour according to lifestyle group; 
•	Fifth, to use the results from objectives 1-4 to assist local and national policy makers in promoting sustainable lifestyle practices through social marketing techniques.

b) Project Changes
Please describe any changes made to the original aims and objectives, and confirm that these were agreed with the ESRC.  Please also detail any changes to the grant holder’s institutional affiliation, project staffing or funding. [Max 200 words]

No changes were made to the objectives outlined in section 2(a) of this form and there were no changes to the grant holder’s affiliation, the project staffing or funding. The ESRC granted a seven month extension to the grant period solely to permit the use of grant funds to give papers from the research at three international conferences. No other expenditure (including staff costs) was incurred during the extension period and the research as set out in the original proposal was complete by the end of the original project timetable. 

c) Methodology
Please describe the methodology that you employed in the project. Please also note any ethical issues that arose during the course of the work, the effects of this and any action taken. [Max. 500 words]

The research involved qualitative and quantitative methods to advance three major debates in travel behaviour research. First, the research sought to explore the role of segmentation analysis in defining stable and practically useful ‘lifestyle groups’ across different forms of travel behaviour. Second, the project aimed to further develop our understanding of the motivations and barriers for adopting different forms of environmentally sustainable practices. Third, the research was concerned to explore how these developments could be used to incorporate social marketing strategies into policies for changing travel behaviour. 

The research moved through the five objectives (section 2(a)) sequentially to examine the framing of sustainable travel practices. Primary data collection was based on research in five study locations in and around Exeter that sought to represent different residential environments. Three of these were in Exeter: high-density residential spaces (Polsloe Ward), traditional inter- and immediate post-war suburban development (Pennsylvania Ward), and new edge of city developments (St. Loyes Ward). In addition to these, the research also examined two localities within the city’s sphere of influence: a commuter town (Cullompton North Ward) and a rural centre (Crediton St. Lawrence Ward). The primary research involved three major stages:

Stage 1 aimed to explore the key issues for understanding travel behaviour, the influences acting on travel decisions and the contexts in which these choices were made. First, the research team convened a stakeholder panel to identify, from a practical perspective, the key challenges for promoting sustainable travel and the influences acting to change behaviours. Representatives from 18 organisations agreed to be part of the panel, comprising the Regional Assembly for the South West, Government Office for the South West, local authorities, social marketing organisations, the local bus company, climate action groups and transport campaign organisations. Second, the research team convened two focus groups in each of the five study locations using convenience based methods to explore key travel practices and key influences on behaviour with respondents.

Stage 2 involved using the results from the stakeholder panel and initial focus group discussions to design and implement a large scale questionnaire survey. This used a systematic random sampling technique to select 2000 households across the five study locations (400 in each area). The questionnaire instrument posed a series of questions related to travel behaviours, attitudes towards different modes of transport, opinions of climate change and related policy measures, and socio-demographic items. These data were analysed using multivariate statistical techniques to identify both a series of segments based on behavioural and attitudinal properties, alongside an analysis of the influences on travel practices for each cluster. 

Stage 3 sought to further contextualise the results from the quantitative survey by convening a focus group in each study location to explore the quantitative results in more detail and to examine specific policy options for promoting behavioural change. Participants were recruited from respondents to the survey who expressed an interest in participating in further research. Due to a small surplus of research funds, five in-depth interviews were also undertaken to explore these issues. 

d) Project Findings
Please summarise the findings of the project, referring where appropriate to outputs recorded on ESRC Society Today. Any future research plans should also be identified. [Max 500 words]
The following key findings are a summary of the intellectual and practical themes emerging from the research and they seek to explore three critical academic / policy imperatives. Details of the research findings can be obtained from the outputs on or subsequently being added to ESRC Society Today.

Siting travel practices
Debates concerning sustainable travel have emphasised the importance of understanding behaviour within particular consumption contexts, framed by the embedded nature of travel in everyday, normalised routines. Yet researchers have paid less attention to exploring the relationships between travel in and around the ‘home’ and the ways in which other forms of travel, in particular for leisure and tourism, have become equally embedded in often highly conspicuous consumption practices related to increased levels of mobility. Evidence from this project indicates that in this context, travel mode choice and the factors influencing such behaviours are different from the home environment, implying that seeking to create ‘sustainable travel lifestyles’ is deeply contingent on the site of practice in question and that spaces of ‘pleasure’ constitute valid and important sites for studying travel because of both the carbon emissions associated with tourism and the value individuals place on high levels of mobility. 

The challenge of climate change for sustainable travel
A second key theme to emerge from the research was the role of climate change in framing travel decisions, showing that despite the apparent scientific consensus, popular discourses on climate change continue to be volatile. The issue of climate change therefore represents a major problem for policy makers seeking to change travel behaviour, but it is particularly challenging when related to contexts of conspicuous consumption. Evidence from the research suggests that whilst sustainable travel practices in a daily context are often accepted in principle because of the benefits from reduced congestion, localised pollution and noise abatement, appeals to deal with problems like climate change through reductions in carbon-intensive practices like flying are problematic because individuals are confronted with the choice of reducing carbon emissions or the perceived sacrifice of (symbolically) valuable consumption. 

Marketing reduced mobility?
The role of travel contexts and their relationship to climate change discourses presents a challenge to current political frameworks for promoting (high impact) sustainable travel mode choices. First, this research questions whether the logic of ‘sustainable lifestyles’ can deliver the required ‘spillover’ effects between different travel practices, not least because pro-environmental behaviours at one site of practice can often lead to an inversion of such behaviours at other sites (e.g. individuals may opt to ‘trade-off’ sustainable travel at home with carbon-intensive holiday travel). Second, alongside other scholars in this field, the research leads us to question the ability of social marketing in its current form to promote the necessary reduced demand for certain types of travel because of its reliance on marketing different alternatives, rather than reductions in consumption overall. In this way current policy frameworks may be avoiding the much harder questions of how to tackle forms of behaviour that require major and sustained reductions in consumption.

e) Contributions to wider ESRC initiatives (eg Research Programmes or Networks)
If your project was part of a wider ESRC initiative, please describe your contributions to the initiative’s objectives and activities and note any effect on your project resulting from participation. [Max. 200 words]

This project was part of the ESRC’s First Grants Scheme.

3. EARLY AND ANTICIPATED IMPACTS

a) Summary of Impacts to date 
Please summarise any impacts of the project to date, referring where appropriate to associated outputs recorded on ESRC Society Today. This should include both scientific impacts (relevant to the academic community) and economic and societal impacts (relevant to broader society). The impact can be relevant to any organisation, community or individual. [Max. 400 words]

The research has had both scientific and wider socio-economic outputs and outcomes and will continue to do so for at least the next 12 months (see section 3(b)). 

Scientifically, the research has been presented through over 20 presentations since the commencement of the grant. This has included invitations to speak at two ESRC-funded seminar series (at the Universities of Liverpool and Manchester), departmental seminars (University of Plymouth, University of Nottingham and University of West of England), as well as four papers at the Association of American Geographers Conference (including co-organisation of a session on sustainable lifestyles), five papers at the Royal Geographical Society Conference (within sessions on travel, tourism and climate change), as well as papers at the International Sustainable Development Research Conference, the World Conference on Transport Research and the Institute of Social Marketing Conference. 

The completed research outputs currently include two working papers and one published academic paper. Submitted and drafted publications to date include: three academic papers, two invited book chapters and a policy note for Town and Country Planning. Details of planned outputs are in section 3(b). These publications are complemented by a project website: www.exeter.ac.uk/prost 

In terms of wider social and economic impact, the research engaged with 18 representatives of various organisations (including the Regional Assembly for the South West, Government Office for the South West, local authorities, social marketing organisations, the local bus company, climate action groups and transport campaign organisations) at three points during the project through stakeholder panel meetings, where the stakeholders took a valuable role in developing the research questions and study instruments. All participants have received a summary of the research findings and through the contacts made with these meetings, discussion of the results continues through presentations being made by the PI to various organisations (see below) and the developments of a focused strategy to use the survey and focus group data to devise practical social marketing campaigns (see section 3(b)), which is likely to have the greatest impact.

The research has been presented to a number of local campaigning groups, including the Campaign for Better Transport’s Exeter annual meeting and a specially convened conference on climate change by the United Nations Exeter branch. The research has also been featured in a number of local press articles. In addition, the research has also strengthened the relationship between the University and Transition Exeter, which has recently published its transport strategy. 

b) Anticipated/Potential Future Impacts
Please outline any anticipated or potential impacts (scientific or economic and societal) that you believe your project might have in future. [Max. 200 words]

The dissemination of the research to the scientific, policy and practitioner communities will continue during 2010 and into 2011. In terms of future scientific impact, the PI and former RA will be continuing to write-up aspects of the research. A further seven outputs are being prepared for a mix of general Geography / Environmental Social Science journals, specialist Transport publications and policy publications. The PI and RA will also be giving a further paper on the project at the Association of American Geographers Conference in April 2011 in a special session on climate change and travel. 

In terms of economic and social impacts, the PI has organised a meeting of key policy makers and practitioners on 10th November 2010 to plan the ways in which the social marketing impact of the research can be delivered. This meeting includes representatives from DEFRA, Strategic Social Marketing, the Social Marketing Practice, Uscreates and Hyder Consulting. The aim of the meeting will be to agree on a strategy for using the data collected from this ESRC project to formulate social marketing strategies to promote changes in tourist travel behaviour. The PI will subsequently apply for an ESRC Follow-on grant to support this work. 

You will be asked to complete an ESRC Impact Report 12 months after the end date of your award. The Impact Report will ask for details of any impacts that have arisen since the completion of the End of Award Report.

4. DECLARATIONS
Please ensure that sections A, B and C below are completed and signed by the appropriate individuals. The End of Award Report will not be accepted unless all sections are signed.
Please note hard copies are NOT required; electronic signatures are accepted and should be used.
A: To be completed by Grant Holder
Please read the following statements. Tick ONE statement under ii) and iii), then sign with an electronic signature at the end of the section.
i) The Project
This Report is an accurate overview of the project, its findings and impacts. All co-investigators named in the proposal to ESRC or appointed subsequently have seen and approved the Report.		

ii) Submissions to ESRC Society Today
Output and impact information has been submitted to ESRC Society Today.  Details of any future outputs and impacts will be submitted as soon as they become available.
OR
This grant has not yet produced any outputs or impacts. Details of any future outputs and impacts will be submitted to ESRC Society Today as soon as they become available.
OR
This grant is not listed on ESRC Society Today.	

	

iii) Submission of Datasets
Datasets arising from this grant have been offered for deposit with the Economic and Social Data Service.
OR
Datasets that were anticipated in the grant proposal have not been produced and the Economic and Social Data Service has been notified.
OR
No datasets were proposed or produced from this grant. 	

	

SIGNATURE:   
NAME:	Dr. Stewart Barr						DATE: 27/10/2010	

B: To be completed by Head of Department, School or Faculty

Please read the statement below then sign with an electronic signature to confirm your agreement.

This Report is an accurate overview of the project, its findings and impacts.
SIGNATURE:   
NAME: 		Professor Dan Charman
POSITION: 	Head of Geography					DATE:   26.10.2010	

C: To be completed by Finance Officer of Grant-Holding Research Organisation 

Please read the statement below then sign with an electronic signature to confirm your agreement.

ESRC funds have been used in accordance with the ESRC Research Funding Guide. All investigators named in the proposal to ESRC or appointed subsequently have seen and approved the Report.

SIGNATURE: 
NAME:                        Lauren Crowland
POSITION: 		Research Accountant				DATE: 27.10.10