From the Mekong to the Mediterranean: AIT shares global lessons on turning public policy into public action

Why do well-designed public policies sometimes fail to change public behavior?

A cluster of studies involving researchers from the Asian Institute of Technology (AIT) offers one answer: policy does not translate into action simply because governments provide more information, build new systems, or introduce new rules. Drawing on AIT-linked research and reviews from Thailand, Vietnam, Italy, and Tunisia, the studies suggest that public action depends on whether people trust institutions, recognize problems in their daily lives, and have practical ways to respond.

Although the studies focus on different sectors and countries, they point to a shared lesson for governments facing climate change, rapid urbanization, water insecurity, digital transformation, and public trust challenges: evidence must be translated into systems that people can understand, trust, and use.

In Thailand's Khon Kaen province, AIT-linked studies on groundwater governance show that rapid urbanization, business growth, tourism, and climate pressures are increasing demand for groundwater. The findings suggest that even when policies exist, groundwater extraction may continue to rise if responsibilities are unclear, local data are limited, and users are not fully included in decision-making. The research shows that groundwater sustainability is not only a technical issue of wells, monitoring, or infrastructure. It is also a governance issue involving fairness, coordination, participation, and trust.

In Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, another study shows why lived experience matters. Young people expressed concern about future urban water resources not primarily because of abstract climate-change beliefs, but because they had directly seen water bodies become polluted, encroached upon, and transformed by rapid urban expansion. Their perceptions were consistent with long-term land-use and climate data. For urban water policy, the finding suggests that public communication becomes more meaningful when it links environmental risks to visible changes in people's own cities.

The same insight applies to agricultural adaptation. Research with farmers in Italy found that awareness of climate change alone is not enough to change farming practices. Farmers may understand the causes and effects of climate change, but adaptation depends more on procedural knowledge: the practical know-how to adjust methods, use available resources, learn from peers, and work within supportive institutions. This underscores the importance of social learning spaces where farmers can share tested practices, rather than only receiving climate-awareness messages or top down adaptation policies

A study of digital public services in Northern Tunisia extends the lesson to e-government. Digital services can improve efficiency, but public trust depends on more than a functioning online platform. Citizens judge digital services based on security, transparency, responsiveness, offline service experience, digital literacy, and cultural expectations. The findings suggest that governments should design public digital services around users, including hybrid online-offline models for citizens who may be digitally excluded.

The climate communication review provides the broader framework. Behavior change is shaped not only by individual knowledge but also by families, peers, communities, media platforms, institutions, and political environments. In an age of digital media and misinformation, message design and the credibility of communication channels can influence whether people adopt climate-friendly and adaptive behaviors. Taken together, the studies offer an experience from AIT to the world: public policy must shift from information delivery to trust-building and action-enabling design.

“Across very different settings, we see the same challenge: scientific evidence alone does not create action,” said Thi Phuoc Lai Nguyen of AIT's Faculty of Public Policy and Sustainable Development. “Building resilient communities and fostering public actions requires more than technical solutions. Effective policies depend on local knowledge, trust, communication, and behavioral change.. That is where policy design, communication, and local participation must come together.”

The implications extend beyond the study sites. Whether governments are managing and planning water systems, promoting climate-resilient agriculture, digitizing services, or communicating climate risks, citizens cannot be treated as passive recipients of policy. They are partners in implementation. The lesson is not that people need more information, but that policy must be designed around how people live, trust, learn, and act.