Real Work · Real Impact
Case Studies
by Sector
Six examples of measurable behaviour change, across policing, justice, energy, healthcare, creative industries and tech.
Why These Six
Different Sectors,
Same Method
Each case below is a real engagement. We anonymise client outcomes where confidentiality requires it, and quote published feedback where available. The pattern across sectors is consistent: change the format, change the result. See the full engagement walkthrough →
The Death of Jane Doe
The challenge: Police officers and frontline staff routinely encounter people in mental health crisis but receive limited training in how stigma and snap judgements distort their interventions. Standard awareness training was failing to shift on-the-job behaviour.
The Accused
The challenge: Decades of policy training has not removed gender bias from the legal system. Decision-makers, barristers, juries, HR leaders, still apply double standards under pressure, often without realising it.
The Sellafield Simulation
The challenge: Energy transition decisions involve regulators, nuclear experts, NGOs, investors and unions, each with conflicting incentives. Policy workshops fail because no one experiences the negotiation pressure or the consequences of getting it wrong.
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Future-Proofing
Entertainment
The challenge: Senior leaders in entertainment knew AI was coming, but couldn't agree on what regulation, talent development or commercial strategy looked like under five different futures. Disagreement was being misread as inertia.
MARVELous Ideas
The challenge: A scale-up team had to pitch a Marvel-series concept to a major studio, but their pitches kept dying in the room. Investor feedback was polite. Their founders couldn't see why.
Top of the Cops
The challenge: Mid-career leaders rarely get to practise crisis management with anything at stake. Tabletop exercises are sanitised; real crises are too late to learn from. The gap costs organisations dearly when it matters.
See It in Action
Five Minutes Inside
an Immersive Session
Reading about behaviour change and seeing it are different things. The clip captures an actual Sidestream debrief, actors holding character, participants visibly shifting, the moment the room realises the lesson is about them.
"The judges loved the creative approach to building awareness, well executed and an excellent mix of theatre and immersive work."
, Helen Dunne, CorpComms Awards Panel"When else can you have an honest talk with someone living with a serious mental health condition, except through immersive theatre?"
, Programme Participant, The Death of Jane DoeHow an Engagement Runs
The Optimal Workflow
Inside Your Organisation
Most consultancies show you their process. Below is the other side: what an optimal Sidestream engagement looks like from inside your calendar, what we do, what we need from you, and what your team is doing during each phase.
A 30-minute call to understand the people problem in your own words. We tell you honestly whether we are the right fit before any cost is incurred.
- Listens to the problem in your words
- Shares relevant case-study patterns
- Confirms fit, or refers you elsewhere
- The executive sponsor & budget envelope
- A rough cohort size & level (manager / leader / exec)
- Any failed previous interventions to learn from
We measure what's really happening, so you have a benchmark to compare against later. This is what separates a Sidestream engagement from a one-off workshop.
- Validated psychometric tools (e.g. team psychological-safety index)
- 1:1 leader interviews (45 min each)
- Two structured focus groups across levels
- Baseline report mapped to COM-B targets
- Nominates 4–6 leaders for interviews
- Distributes the survey link & nudges completion
- Briefs participants on confidentiality
- Identifies any sensitive topics to handle carefully
We build the immersive intervention. Your team has light-touch involvement here, but two key alignments matter.
- Drafts narrative, character dossiers, facilitation plan
- Casts professional actors from our trained ensemble
- 5 internal QA simulations to test pacing & logic
- Produces all materials, props & on-screen media
- Reviews narrative for sector authenticity (1 hr)
- Confirms venue, catering & AV requirements
- Decides the communication strategy: blind cohort or briefed?
- Issues calendar invites with the agreed framing
The day participants will still be talking about. We arrive a day early for full dress rehearsal, non-negotiable for production quality.
- Full on-site dress rehearsal day
- 3–4 hour live immersive experience
- Structured debrief with COM-B-mapped reflection
- Co-facilitator support for complex cohorts
- Hosts space and looks after logistics
- Ensures sponsor presence at debrief (critical signal)
- Captures own observations for post-event review
- Releases manager toolkit ahead of week 13
Behaviour change dies in week 4 without reinforcement. This is where most consultancies leave you, and where we stay.
- Two virtual booster sessions (60 min each)
- Manager toolkit walkthroughs
- Helpline access for difficult applications
- Line managers run weekly 15-min behavioural rituals
- HR captures qualitative shifts in 1:1s
- Sponsor reinforces at all-hands or town halls
90 days post-launch we re-measure against the baseline. The number you cared about in week 0 is the number we report on.
- Re-runs validated baseline measures
- Delivers behaviour-change impact report to sponsor
- Recommends Wave 2 cohorts or programme extension
- Co-presents results to executive leadership
- Decides scaling: which cohorts go through Wave 2
- Embeds the programme into onboarding / promotion criteria
Behaviour Change Case Studies in Brief
These six case studies show the same Sidestream method working across very different sectors, from policing and justice to energy, tech, creative scale-ups and leadership. Each is a real engagement, anonymised where confidentiality requires it and quoting published feedback where it exists. The pattern holds across every behaviour change case study here: change the format and you change the result.
- Award-recognised work includes The Death of Jane Doe (CorpComms Award) and The Accused (Goldsmiths Public Engagement recognition).
- Formats range from immersive crime-scene narratives to week-long multi-stakeholder simulations and pitch tear-downs.
- Each case pairs lived experience with a structured debrief mapped to specific behaviours.
- The engagement timeline runs from a free diagnostic call through baseline, build, delivery, embedding and re-measurement.
Your Sector Next?
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Your Case Study
If your sector isn't shown above, that's because we haven't worked with you yet. Most case studies start with a 30-minute call.