# Read: From barriers to interventions - The EAST framework
*Activity type: page*

Once we have honed in on a circular procurement barrier we want to address, it’s time to think about an intervention we could develop to overcome it. A useful resource to utilise to help brainstorm is the EAST framework. EAST stands for Easy, Attractive, Social and Timely.  These are good guiding principles for how to encourage a behaviour. 

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Figure: EAST framework*

Ask yourself, how can I make this behaviour…

- **Easier?** - Shorten the number of steps, pre-fill information, develop guides or templates.

- **Attractive?** - Show influential people participating, build-in incentives, showcase successful case studies.

- **Social?** – Create friendly competitions, leaderboards, public disclosures or commitments.

- **Timely?** - Intervene at key decision points, make it faster or more efficient. 

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##### Some examples of EAST-informed interventions

**EAST technique**
**Examples of what you can do**

**Social norms**

- Share a short internal news post showing other councils already specifying recycled materials in tenders, signalling that this is becoming the expected norm. This helps staff feel that considering circular options and involving other teams early is “what people like us do.”

- Include a “normative statement” in tender packs such as “Most councils in Victoria are now assessing circular requirements,” or “more and more councils…” making visible an injunctive norm for suppliers. This reassures suppliers that addressing circular criteria is standard practice rather than an optional extra.

**Changing the system, not the individual**

- Build a mandatory early-stage “Circularity Review” checkpoint into the project workflow so cross team involvement becomes part of the system rather than an individual remembering to engage others. This reduces reliance on individual motivation and removes a systemic barrier cited across councils.

- Update procurement documentation to automatically include circularity content criteria so evaluators don’t need to redesign or remember these requirements each time. This shifts the organisational environment so circular assessment is the default process.

- Prepopulate RFQ/RFT templates with standard circular criteria and questions making circular criteria the default rather than an add-on. Evaluators can still opt out, but the default nudges higher quality assessments. href="https://assets.sustainability.vic.gov.au/susvic/buy-circular-tender-criteria-and-questions-database.xlsx" target="_blank" rel="noopener" (https://assets.sustainability.vic.gov.au/susvic/buy-circular-tender-criteria-and-questions-database.xlsx) may assist with this.

- The ordering of lists can influence behaviours. If possible, configure procurement systems so recycled or circular suppliers appear first or they are ranked in order of recycled content used in search results. This harnesses primacy effect to increase staff exposure to credible circular suppliers.

**Making it easy/simple**

- Provide a one-page “circular specs cheat sheet” and an auto-fillable assessment rubric so officers can quickly assess circular tender responses without digging through guidance. Reducing effort helps overcome capability and time barriers repeatedly identified in COMB analysis. SV’s href="https://assets.sustainability.vic.gov.au/susvic/buy-circular-circular-economy-matrix-tool.png" target="_blank" rel="noopener" (https://assets.sustainability.vic.gov.au/susvic/buy-circular-circular-economy-matrix-tool.png) and href="https://assets.sustainability.vic.gov.au/susvic/Circular-Economy-Matrix-Backgound-Document.docx" target="_blank" rel="noopener" (https://assets.sustainability.vic.gov.au/susvic/Circular-Economy-Matrix-Backgound-Document.docx) may assist with this.  

- Create a short supplier evidence template (tickbox and brief prompts) to simplify how suppliers demonstrate circularity, especially helpful for regional SMEs under tendering burden. This lowers friction and increases the likelihood suppliers submit. href="https://assets.sustainability.vic.gov.au/susvic/buy-circular-tender-criteria-and-questions-database.xlsx" target="_blank" rel="noopener" (https://assets.sustainability.vic.gov.au/susvic/buy-circular-tender-criteria-and-questions-database.xlsx) may assist with this.
