Behavioural science
We use research on how people think, make decisions and change behaviour.
Praxis Behaviour Lab CIC
Helping good research become useful action
Good research does not always lead to better care.
Sometimes the evidence exists. Sometimes the tool exists. Sometimes people know what should happen next.
But something gets in the way.
A person may not know where to start. A care provider may not know how to begin a difficult conversation. A useful tool may sit outside the way care is actually provided.
Praxis studies what helps close that gap.
We bring together behavioural science, digital health and research on how to put evidence into everyday care.
Our guiding question
How can we help the right person take the next appropriate step, at the right time, with the right support?
The problem
Good evidence is not enough
Healthcare has no shortage of research, guidance and digital tools.
The harder part can be using them in the right place, at the right time, in a way that works for real people.
A provider may know that they need to ask about a health risk.
But how do they start the conversation?
What happens after they ask?
How do they respond to what they hear?
What should happen next?
And what happens when a person's needs do not fit neatly into one condition or one service?
These are questions about translation: how we move from what we know to what people actually do.
Praxis is interested in this space between evidence and action.
What we do
We develop and test ways to turn evidence into action
Praxis brings together three areas of work:
Digital health
We explore how digital tools can support people and providers without replacing the care they need.
Putting research into care
We study what helps new ideas work in everyday services, not just in research settings.
Together, these help us ask a practical question:
What would make the next step easier, clearer and more useful?
How we work
Start with the problem
We begin by understanding the problem faced by people, providers and services.
Find what already works
We look for existing research, tools and ways of working that can be used or tested.
Work with the people who will use it
We involve people with relevant experience, providers and other partners early.
Build only what is needed
Where a digital or other tool is needed, we develop it around the problem rather than starting with technology.
Test it in practice
We ask whether it is useful, understandable, safe and workable in real settings.
Learn and improve
We use what we learn to improve the approach and decide what should happen next.
This approach reflects wider guidance on digital health: NICE recommends involving users early, considering how a tool fits existing care, and testing for problems such as digital exclusion.
Research
Our research
Praxis develops and tests methods for translating behavioural evidence into practice.
Our work currently explores questions such as:
- How can providers be better supported to talk about behavioural risks?
- How can digital tools fit into real care rather than sit alongside it?
- How can we support the next appropriate step without taking the place of a provider?
- How do we know whether an approach is useful, safe and acceptable?
- How can learning from one setting be used in another?
Our early work includes digital health, behaviour change and care for people with complex needs.
We are deliberately testing and refining these ideas.
We do not yet have all the answers.
For partners
Working with Praxis
We are interested in working with:
- Researchers
- Healthcare providers
- People with lived experience
- Health and care organisations
- Universities
- Technology partners
- Funders and research networks
We are particularly interested in partnerships that help us understand a real problem and test whether a practical solution could work.
What we bring
- Behavioural science
- Addiction education and training
- Research
- Putting research into practice
- Digital health
- Co-design
What we are looking for
We are looking for partners who can help us:
understand → design → test → learn → improve
About Praxis
Why Praxis?
Praxis Behaviour Lab CIC is a UK not-for-profit organisation.
We believe that better health does not come only from finding new evidence.
It also comes from helping people use good evidence well.
Our work sits between research, care and technology.
We are building Praxis as a place to develop, test and improve practical methods for making that connection stronger.
Contact
Let's talk
If you are working on a problem where good evidence exists but the next step is difficult, we'd be interested in hearing from you.
Praxis Behaviour Lab CIC
Email: praxis.behaviour@gmail.com
Current stage
Praxis is in early development. We are working with partners to test our approach and identify where it can add value.