Why telling people what to do doesn’t work

About this episode

This episode discusses community-led approaches to improving health behavior through incentives rather than traditional campaigns.

What if improving health didn’t start with another campaign telling people what to do? In this episode of Transform Gov, Maeve Kneafsey speaks with Stephen McPeake , founder of Civic Dollars , about a practical, community-led way councils and health bodies are encouraging healthier behaviour — and actually seeing results. Stephen explains why incentives often work better than awareness campaigns, why people push back when they’re told what to do, and how councils and health bodies are using Civic Dollars to improve wellbeing, support local businesses, and strengthen communities. A smart listen for anyone working in public health, local government, or digital transformation. Topics 00:00 – 01:00 Why public services struggle to change behaviour 01:00 – 03:00 A simple idea: rewarding people for time outdoors 03:00 – 05:30 How health activity turns into community impact 05:30 – 09:00 Using incentives instead of prescriptions 09:00 – 12:10 Why public health campaigns don’t work 12:10 – 15:00 Why place matters more than apps 15:00 – 19:00 How innovation gets stuck in pilot mode 19:00 – 27:00 What councils get, what it costs, and what’s next Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for…

People in this episode

Host: Maeve Kneafsey

Guest: Stephen McPeake

Topics covered

• public health
• community-led initiatives
• behavior change
• incentives
• local government
• digital transformation

Keywords

• health behavior
• Civic Dollars
• incentives
• public health campaigns
• local businesses
• community impact

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Civic Dollars

More episodes of Transform Gov - the digital government podcast

• The first COVID dashboard didn't exist... until Ireland had about two weeks to build it. · June 9, 2026 · 35 min
• How Galway digitised 1,000 townlands — and put local heritage on the world map · June 2, 2026 · 34 min
• What if the biggest barrier to suicide prevention is fear? · May 21, 2026 · 27 min
• From paper forms to AI: 23 years that completely rewired Ireland's Public Services · May 15, 2026 · 34 min
• From 3,000 to 18,000 applications — how the State rebuilt a system under pressure · May 8, 2026 · 41 min
• What judges actually look for — straight from the head judge · April 29, 2026 · 22 min