Methodology

Cauce™

Water doesn't fight the terrain. It finds — or carves — the path of least resistance. Human behavior does the same. We design the channel.

Why traditional communication fails

Most safety, training, and culture-change programs assume the problem is information: if people knew what to do, they'd do it. So they produce instructional videos, training sessions, posters. And behavior doesn't change.

The real problem almost never is what people don't know. It's what their environment, their group, and their cognitive load make easy or hard. A safety protocol can compete directly against a veteran's automatic habits, peer pressure, or production timelines.

Communication that pushes people uphill — against those forces — doesn't change behavior. It informs. And information without behavioral design is noise.

Cauce™ starts from a different premise: first we understand the terrain. Then we design the path of least resistance.

The three pillars

Three pillars. One current.

01

Future Thinking

We read the terrain

Before designing an intervention, we need to understand where the organization is heading. Future Thinking (strategic foresight) lets us identify which behaviors will be critical in two or three years — not just today — ensuring what we design has lasting relevance.

In a safety project, this means asking: What new technologies, regulations, or workforce shifts will affect risks in the medium term? Will the protocol we're communicating still be relevant?

Strategy & Foresight

Storyboard planning — thinking the story before producing it
Field crew getting ready — understanding behavior where it happens

02

Behavioral Science

We map the current

COM-B (Capability, Opportunity, Motivation – Behavior) is the framework we use to diagnose why people don't do what they should. It lets us distinguish whether the problem is capability (they don't know how), opportunity (the environment doesn't support it or the group penalizes it), or motivation (they don't see it as relevant).

The diagnostic includes field observation, interviews with workers and supervisors, and analysis of situational factors. The result isn't an opinion survey: it's a map of the forces that determine actual behavior.

Behavioral Diagnosis

03

Creative Content

We trace the channel

The diagnostic tells us what to change. Creative Content is how we change it. It's not "making a beautiful video" — it's building a character, a story, and a narrative arc designed to move specific COM-B levers.

If the problem is social norm (peers penalize compliance), the intervention needs to reframe who the group's role model is. If the problem is automatic motivation (the shortcut is easier than the protocol), the story needs to make the protocol emotionally compelling, not just rationally correct.

Miguel Zuluaga

Creative Direction & Production

Character design exploration — variations of an Emerito character

The process

How Cauce works

01

LISTEN

Escuchar

Initial conversations, field observation, worker and supervisor interviews. We understand the context before drawing conclusions.

02

DIAGNOSE

Diagnosticar

We apply the COM-B framework + foresight overlay. The result: a behavioral map — which forces sustain the problem and where the leverage point is.

← Cauce Insight stops here

03

DESIGN

Diseñar

We develop the narrative concept, character, and story architecture. Everything validated against the diagnostic.

04

PRODUCE

Producir

Full audiovisual production, validation with end users, and delivery of finished assets.

← Cauce Studio stops here

The offer

Two ways to start

Cauce Insight

Diagnostic

4 – 6 weeks

We deliver the behavioral map and intervention strategy. Take it in-house or return for production.

  • ·Stakeholder interviews
  • ·Field observation
  • ·COM-B diagnostic
  • ·Behavioral map
  • ·Intervention strategy
  • ·Findings presentation

For companies that want to understand the behavioral problem before committing to production.

Let's talk about your project

Cauce Studio

Diagnostic + Production

12 – 20 weeks

The diagnostic plus full production of the intervention that goes into the field.

  • ·Everything in Cauce Insight
  • ·Concept & narrative architecture
  • ·Character and story design
  • ·Full audiovisual production
  • ·Validation with end users
  • ·Final deliverables

For companies ready to produce a behavior-change piece.

Let's talk about your project