Sam Moore

Behavioural Science is a diverse and exciting field with many career paths to explore, from shaping policy in government units to applying research in corporate settings and advancing knowledge in academia. This series features insights from professionals and academics, highlighting both the opportunities in the field and their journeys to their roles. Today, we hear from Sam Moore.

Sam Moore is a Senior Behavioural Scientist at Evidn and leads the company’s agriculture portfolio in Australia. Sam currently manages multiple agricultural projects across industries including grazing, cropping, viticulture, emerging industries, and intensive industries. A core component of his role is deep qualitative engagements with stakeholders to design and deliver meaningful solutions based on the unique needs and challenges of each community.

What motivated you to pursue behavioural science?

I've always been really interested in people—why we do or don’t do certain things. I knew I would end up in some kind of humanities field, but I leaned towards psychology from a young age. Initially, I thought I'd go into clinical psychology, which is quite a common path for people starting out in psychology. But once I started studying, I realised there were so many more applications beyond the clinical setting.

The aspect that resonated most with me was social psychology—understanding group norms, identities, and leadership. This focus ties directly into what we do at Evidn. It wasn’t until I got into the field that I truly realised how powerful these concepts could be in understanding and influencing human behaviour.

What does applying social psychology look like in practice at Evidn?

It applies in a few different areas. One key area is creating change through existing groups or leaders. One of the things we see time and time again, especially in our agriculture work, is quite literally the badge you have on your shirt —whether it's from a government body, an industry group, or a farmer—has a massive impact on how likely other people will be to engage with you.

We spend a lot of time understanding group dynamics—who the message or program should come from, what it should look like, and when it should be delivered. Leaders, especially informal ones who aren’t part of any ‘boards’ or leadership structures, are really important in farming populations. If people see a program or practice being championed by "someone like me" rather than a government or industry representative, they’re more likely to engage. Identifying these key people is a really important change pathway.

How did your responsibilities change as you transitioned from working as an intern to a Senior Behavioural Scientist at Evidn?

Starting as an intern, at the time we were still a relatively new company, which meant I got to work on a bit of everything—from social media posts and updating our website to helping on behavioural science projects. It was a great opportunity to get broad exposure to the company and also test my skillset in an applied setting to learn my strengths and where I needed to improve. Working across different projects initially helped me funnel more into the agriculture work which I particularly liked.

Now, as a Senior Behavioural Scientist, I’m involved in every stage of our projects. That includes business development, project inception, data collection, reporting, and evaluation. Travel is also a big part of the role, as we do a lot of deep, in-person qualitative engagements. My responsibilities now are much broader, but having that foundation as an intern gave me a solid understanding of all aspects of our work and the areas I needed to improve on over time.

What challenges did you face moving from university to an applied role in behavioural science?

In academia, survey development is very structured—there’s a lot of focus placed on reliability and consistency of different measures. But in the field, especially when dealing with farmers who might only have five minutes to answer a survey while working on their tractor, you have to be much more pragmatic. A really big learning is about knowing what is "just enough" to collect insights that are still being effective and impactful.

Another challenge was adapting my writing style. Academic writing can be lengthy, whereas in the industry, you need to communicate clearly and concisely to different audiences, such as farmers or government representatives. Learning to reduce content by 50-70% to be impactful was a big adjustment.

What makes Evidn unique in its approach compared to other behavioural science consultancies in Australia?

The biggest thing that stands out for me is our focus on the qualitative engagements and the way in which we do them which is very deep and genuine. For example, we often spend three or more hours with farmers, sitting around their kitchen table, getting a tour of their property, and really getting to know them. We get a rich level of insight that is simply not possible through surveys alone.

This process also helps with relationship-building and trust building with key stakeholders. Ultimately, any project we build needs to work for the community and to do that, we need to understand the real issues and gain their support and ownership of solutions.

Could you describe a specific project you've worked on that showcases Evidn’s approach?

One of the best examples is our "Project Cane Changer" in the sugar cane industry. We were brought in to help improve adoption of an agricultural best practice programme for sugar cane growers. There was already a lot in place—legislation, policy, incentives, and support from farm advisors—but uptake was slower than expected, and industry targets weren’t being met. Our role was to firstly understand the barriers to change and how they varied across different groups and regions, and to then build a project, dubbed Cane Changer, to overcome those barriers and boost adoption.

Being extremely systematic in understanding these barriers was probably the biggest factor that set the project up for success. So, being really precise in the analysis on what behaviour needs to change, by who, and by how much to have an impact on this program? It wasn't just about the farmers, but everyone in the system. So, what did the farmers need to do differently? What did the industry advisors need to do differently? Even right up to what the government needed to change and how they could more positively recognise and work with the industry. At the end of the day our behaviour occurs in a complex system, and working to address barriers across the whole system was really key to unlocking change. It was our first major project as a company, and there is a lot of data we have about the impact, so it serves as a really good case study.

What do you most enjoy about your role?

I really enjoy the variety and the meaningful relationships we build. No two days are the same, especially with the travel involved. I also love the structure of the company and the level of autonomy given to Senior Behavioural Scientists, while still having high quality support and guidance when required.

Another one for me is legacy. A big thing we try to do is with any project, if it's an initial analysis, right through to a change program, we'll always try to embed it locally with a particular group we've been engaged with or key leaders. It's been really pleasing to see some of the strategies and tools we've developed be continued in the long term and even continue to grow which is awesome.

What skills would you recommend someone focus on if they were preparing for a job at Evidn?

The first area would be general knowledge and skills in behavioural sciences. This includes some of the key theories and frameworks that underpin our work. Social identity theory is really important, as well as identity leadership, which is related. These are concepts we use every day.

Two particular behaviour change theories are also essential: Kurt Lewin's force field analysis and Bronfenbrenner's ecological systems theory. Despite their age, they are both powerful analysis tools when applied across a population. It’s useful to look at case study examples to see how they have been applied in the past.

Then there are industry-specific outcomes, like synthesising information into impactful, tangible, results. This is more about how to move from an academic style of writing, like a journal article, to something more suitable for industry. That writing style can be very challenging when you first come out of academia or university.

The other important skills are more about general demeanour and personality, which are very important for fieldwork. Being open, genuine, and warm, while being able to relate to a diverse group of people—from farmers to government representatives to industry groups—and remaining professional and neutral throughout. It’s something that’s harder to train but very important for successful fieldwork.

If there’s one piece of advice you could give to your younger self, what would it be?

The one thing that I would tell myself is to get more exposure to creative fields. The final stages of our work often involve turning research and stakeholder insights into something that drives action—whether it’s a campaign, a message, or large-scale behaviour change program. This requires a level of creativity that you don’t always get ‘trained’ in during university. Exposure to areas like marketing or advertising earlier on would have been really helpful, as they provide great examples of packaging messages or products in a way that resonates with people. So, I would advise getting a little bit more exposure to other creative disciplines and how they operate.

What advice would you give to current students interested in a career in behavioural science?

My biggest piece of advice is to stay curious and follow your passion. That’s always been one of the main things that’s driven me – whether it was to initially study psychology, or the work at Evidn. The field is constantly evolving, and there are many directions you can take, so try to be curious and make sure you’re able to blend that ongoing learning with your existing skills in behavioural science.

Thank you so much, Sam, for sharing your insights with us today