Verian supported the City of Melbourne in assessing community and business attitudes towards extending smoke-free areas around major civic buildings, bringing together behavioural insights, public policy research and mixed-methods community engagement.

Using in-person surveys, business interviews, observational research and quantitative analysis, we generated robust evidence on public support, implementation considerations and the behavioural factors influencing compliance and acceptance.

The findings gave decision-makers confidence to proceed with the policy, contributing to the unanimous approval of new smoke-free areas and demonstrating Verian’s expertise in public health policy, prevention and evidence-based evaluation.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Verian supported the UK DfT to identify the most effective communications for increasing face-covering compliance on public transport, helping protect public health and maintain confidence in the transport network.

Using a 3,000-person, six-arm randomised controlled trial, we tested different behavioural messages within a simulated transport journey to understand how communications influenced compliance with face-covering guidance.

The research provided rapid, robust evidence for policy and communications decisions, identifying that messages based on social norms and positive reinforcement outperformed enforcement-focused approaches and were subsequently adopted across the network.

For more than a decade, Verian France has partnered with Santé publique France, delivering qualitative and behavioural research to support public health communications and prevention across areas including alcohol, tobacco, sexual health, mental health and behaviour change.

The work spans both communications testing and exploratory research, helping clients understand how public health messages are received and how harmful behaviours can be reduced. Our French team has particular expertise in qualitative research and behavioural insight, including work with vulnerable groups, pregnant women and other priority audiences.

Verian Brussels led a three-year project funded by the European Commission to understand the practical, physical and administrative barriers affecting vaccination uptake across EU Member States.

Working with expert partners, the team mapped citizens’ vaccination journeys, identified barriers around outreach, convenience and systems, and highlighted promising practices already being used across Europe. The project also supported nine pilots, including reminder schemes, mobile vaccination units and school-based vaccination, generating practical recommendations and blueprints to help policymakers and health authorities improve access, reduce friction and strengthen vaccination coverage.

Working with Public Health England, NHS England and the Department of Health and Social Care, Verian designed and delivered an innovative behavioural research study to understand how to maximise COVID-19 vaccine uptake among 18-29-year-olds.

Using a novel discrete choice experiment embedded within SMS vaccination invitations, the research challenged assumptions about what drives uptake, informed delivery decisions for the national vaccination programme, and provided evidence that closely predicted real-world vaccination behaviour.