keynote #2 applying behavioural insights to public policy by rory gallagher
TRANSCRIPT
© Behavioural Insights ltd
Applying behavioural insights to public policy
Dr Rory Gallagher
© Behavioural Insights ltd
What are Behavioural
Insights (BI)? How can I apply BI? Where next?
© Behavioural Insights ltd
Attention depletion … Let’s start with a game
(Danziger et al. 2010)
© Behavioural Insights ltd
Memory game
© Behavioural Insights ltd
Memory test: How did you do?
1. Apple 2. Policeman 3. Cake
4. Helicopter 5. Doctor 6. Cow
7. Golfer 8. France 9. Music Notes
10. Wheat 11. Washing Machine 13. Money
14. Clock 15. Dog
© Behavioural Insights ltd
Ordering effects
Primacy Recency
Time
Rec
all
© Behavioural Insights ltd
System 1
Fast thinking/Automatic intuitive, effortless
2x2
Taking your daily commute
System 2
Slow thinking/Reflective deliberate, analytic
24x17
Planning a trip overseas
“It turns out that the environmental effects on behavior are a lot stronger than most people expect”
Daniel Kahneman
We need to think differently about behaviour
© Behavioural Insights ltd
Mental shortcuts or ‘heuristics’
© Behavioural Insights ltd
Choosing portion size
© Behavioural Insights ltd
Proximity and visibility
3.1 4.6
5.6
7.7
"far" and not visible
Close and not-visible
Far and visible Close and Visible
Number of Sweets Consumed
© Behavioural Insights ltd
Most policy involves behaviour, but we often focus on the wrong things
© Behavioural Insights ltd
Applying Behavioural Insights in government
Behavioural Insights
Psychology
Economics
Cognitive Sciences
Methods eg ethnography
& RCTs
Understanding how people behave in practice, so that we can design better policies & services
= Human centric services
© Behavioural Insights ltd
Both BehaviouraI Insights and Design Thinking support the development of more human-centric services
Behavioural Insights
Design Thinking &
UX
Human –centric
services
© Behavioural Insights ltd
BI: more nuanced understanding of human behaviour and additional tools for policymakers
Regulation
Incentives
Information
Behavioural Insights
© Behavioural Insights ltd
“Our government will find intelligent ways to encourage, support and enable people to make better choices for themselves.”
© Behavioural Insights ltd
“David Cameron’s Vanity Project”
© Behavioural Insights ltd
Press coverage
© Behavioural Insights ltd
BIT has grown from a small team in the heart of the UK Government…
© Behavioural Insights ltd
Now 80+staff in 5 offices – London, Manchester, Sydney, NY, and now … Singapore
© Behavioural Insights ltd
© Behavioural Insights ltd
Guatamala: Guatamalan tax administration
UK: (i) The Behavioural Insights Team (BIT) & (ii) nudge units in 10 departments
Singapore: (i) Prime Minister’s Office (ii) Ministry of Manpower iii) MHA + transport, HDB, HPB etc
‘Nudge Units’ around the world
Denmark: The Danish Nudging Network
Norway: Greenudge
Finland: Prime Minister’s Office
Sweden: Swedish Nudging Network
Netherlands: (i) Ministry of Economic Affairs & (ii) Ministry of Infrastructure & the Environment
Canada: Policy Horizons Canada
Chicago: Chicago Nudge Unit
US: White House Social and Behavioral Sciences Team
NYC: (i) BIT North America & (ii) ideas42
Commonwealth Government: BETA
Sydney: (i) BIT Australia & (ii) Behavioural Insights Unit, New South Wales
European Commission: Behavioural Science and Foresight Team World Bank:
Development Report and behavioural trials
OECD: Behavioural science coordination
Germany: Chancellor’s Office
Moldova: UNDP/BIT collaboration
Jamaica: Finance Ministry (UNDP/BIT) Rio de Jeneiro:
Mayor’s Office
Mexico: President’s Office
Victoria: DPC NZ?
© Behavioural Insights ltd
We have collaborated with a wide range of government agencies in Singapore
The image cannot be displayed. Your computer may not have enough memory to open the image, or the image may have been corrupted. Restart your computer, and then open the file again. If the red x still appears, you may have to delete the image and then insert it again.
The image cannot be displayed. Your computer may not have enough memory to open the image, or the image may have been corrupted. Restart your computer, and then open the file again. If the red x still appears, you may have to delete the image and then insert it again.
© Behavioural Insights ltd
Studying behaviour “can lead to better results for schemes and policies”
© Behavioural Insights ltd
What are Behavioural
Insights (BI)? How can I apply BI? Where next?
© Behavioural Insights ltd
Our methodology
© Behavioural Insights ltd
SOCIAL
TIMELY ATTRACTIVE
EASY
© Behavioural Insights ltd
Easy Defaults Simplification Remove friction
© Behavioural Insights ltd
Easy: Auto-enrolment in pensions
61% 83%
44%
76%
Before auto-enrolment After auto-enrolment
Large employers
Medium employers
22 percentage point increase
32 percentage point increase
© Behavioural Insights ltd
5.4 million people automatically enrolled so far …
…once fully rolled out: 8-9 million people
£11 billion additional savings
Easy: Auto-enrolment in pensions
© Behavioural Insights ltd
Easy: HDB redesigned letters to encourage channel migration
© Behavioural Insights ltd
Easy: The new reminders did not increase payment rates
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 110 120 No. of days after letter sent
1st Reminder 2nd Reminder
© Behavioural Insights ltd
Easy: But many more people paid online
N=2,510
11%
31%
Old Letter New Letter
© Behavioural Insights ltd
Easy: This was effective even in older age groups
46%
23%
15%
6% 6% 5%
71%
53%
35%
26% 21% 20%
25-34 35-44 45-54 55-64 65-74 >75
© Behavioural Insights ltd
SOCIAL
TIMELY ATTRACTIVE
EASY
© Behavioural Insights ltd
Attractive Salience Messenger Personalisation Affect Incentive design
© Behavioural Insights ltd
Attractive: placement of drinks in the hospital cafe
© Behavioural Insights ltd
Attractive: Changing prices of soft drinks in vending machines
49.1% 44.1%
Standard pricing 20% red drink price increase
© Behavioural Insights ltd
SOCIAL
TIMELY ATTRACTIVE
EASY
© Behavioural Insights ltd
Social Norms Networks Reciprocity Active commitments Eyes & faces
© Behavioural Insights ltd
Innovative use of data: reducing anti-microbial resistance by targeting over-prescribing GPs
100
110
120
130
140
150
160
July August September October November December January February March
Ant
ibio
tic it
ems
disp
ense
d p
er 1
000
wei
ghte
d po
pula
tion
(3,3
00 G
Ps )
Control Treatment
© Behavioural Insights ltd
SOCIAL
TIMELY ATTRACTIVE
EASY
© Behavioural Insights ltd
Timely Priming Framing Key moments
© Behavioural Insights ltd
Two different conversations between a parent and child
What homework do you have this
weekend? Not much, couple of
small things. Usual really.
Conversation 1 (no text condition) Conversation 2 (text condition)
So you have a Maths test on Friday. How
much revision will you need
to do?
© Behavioural Insights ltd
The impact of pre-informing parents about upcoming tests
• Texting parents about a Maths test improved grades by the equivalent of 1 month of schooling
• Effect for bottom ability quartile was twice as big
• The intervention created demand for its repetition: treatment group pupils more likely to say ‘text my parents next time’
© Behavioural Insights ltd
How can you help people to find employment?
© Behavioural Insights ltd
We started in Loughton JCP and co-designed interventions with front line staff
Combining EAST: Loughton JCP trial
© Behavioural Insights ltd
Increase in job seeker being off benefits at 13 weeks
51% 60%
Control Treatment Treatment Adjusted
4% Benefit history difference
5% Treatment effect
© Behavioural Insights ltd
BIT Coach
JCP Trainer
JCP Trainer
JCP Trainer
JCP Trainer
JCP Trainer
JCP Trainer
JCP Trainer Developed a training
model in NE England. And rolled it out
nationally to 25,000 workers
Successfully replicated and adapted in both Singapore and
Australia
Rolled out across the UK
© Behavioural Insights ltd
Replicated and adapted in Singapore
© Behavioural Insights ltd
With similarly impressive results
32%
49%
Control Intervention
This translates to about 4,000 more job seekers per year finding jobs within 3 months
© Behavioural Insights ltd
What are Behavioural
Insights (BI)? How can I apply BI? Where next?
© Behavioural Insights ltd
Data and personalisation
37.8
32.9 34.6
37.8
42.4
39.3
42.5
39.3 40
36.8
31.9
25.7
39.4
34.2 35.9
39.9
44.1
47
39.4
35.4 35.5
39.4
45.9
56.3
Bottom quartile
2nd quartile 3rd quartile Top quartile Top 5% Top 1%
Control Minority norm Gain-framed public services Loss-framed public services
Minority norm effective Minority norm backfires
© Behavioural Insights ltd
Public engagement and accountability
© Behavioural Insights ltd
‘Nudging’ ourselves
© Behavioural Insights ltd
Stronger together
Re-framing problems
Qual & quant data User & systems focus
Test, learn, adapt
Behavioural Insights
Design Thinking &
UX
Human –centric
services