Behavioural Insights Projects

This online experiment tested various ways in which sustainability measures for homeowners are presented on the website verbeterjehuis.nl, ‘improve your home’. The variant emphasising that the sustainability measures are 'recommended for your personal situation' proved to be most effective. This addition acts as an incentive to homeowners to install roof insulation or adopt other sustainability measures. Why this experiment was conducted: verbeterjehuis.nl website optimisation Homeowners…

Institution: Dutch Ministry of the Interior and Kingdom Relations and Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate Policy

Despite email alert systems having a large reach, email can be a difficult platform to spread awareness. BETA partnered with the Australian Cyber Security Centre (ACSC) to find ways of boosting the impact of an email alert system. We applied behavioural insights to the email design to bolster its effects, and tested these different design aspects using a randomised controlled trial. Subscribers were randomly assigned to receive an alert with one or more of our new design features (or a…

Institution: Prime Minister and Cabinet (PMC)

Team: Behavioural Economics Team of the Australian Government (BETA)

Institution: Privy Council Office

Team: Impact and Innovation Unit (IIU)

Parents within the Child Support Program can apply for a Change of Assessment (CoA) when they experience a change in their circumstances that might affect their child support payments or entitlements. This is done by lodging an application with the Department of Human Services (DHS). The aim of the study is to examine whether providing timely and salient information about the receipt and process of a claim improves process transparency and saves client time and effort by reducing the need for…

Institution: Prime Minister and Cabinet (PMC)

Team: Behavioural Economics Team of the Australian Government (BETA)

This project aims to improve the effectiveness of medicines policy, develop a strategy for the adaptation of new medicines entering the system, focus on the behavior of selected stakeholder groups, and improve the effectiveness of existing medicines in the system.

Institution: Ministry of Health of the Slovak Republic

Team: Behavioral and Experimental Economics Team (BEET)

The project has the objective of accompanying, complementing, and strengthening the jurisdictional efforts of re-linking and permanence of students in the educational system through the national program "Volvé a la escuela" (Go Back to School) and jurisdictional initiatives, based on simple and cost-effective behavioral science interventions such as cellphone messaging. A mobile messaging strategy (text message and/or Whatsapp) will be designed to encourage students and their families to…

Institution: Secretariat of Strategic Affairs of the Presidency of Argentina

Team: Behavioral Sciences and Public Policies Unit

The study investigates minimum requirements and options for standardisation of energy offers and bills that ensure increased clarity and comparability, and puts forward better alternative “bill designs”. The study also examines the main factors discouraging energy consumers from switching, with a focus on the impact of exit fees in this decision. Finally, price comparison tools (PCTs) in the energy sector are examined and (independent) verification schemes for such tools are identified.

Institution: European Commission

Team: JRC Competence Centre on Behavioural Insights

Among the education and psychology literature that looks at the role of beliefs and school outcomes, Growth Mindset theory (GM) posits that by helping students shift their theory of learning to one where intelligence isn’t a fixed state – but rather, that it’s malleable, and something you can improve and grow over time – students can become self-motivated to improve both academic effort and outcomes. Teaching youth how to foster a GM doesn’t just offer a potential solution at low cost…

Institution: World Bank

Team: eMBeD, Mind Behaviour and Development team

Normative messages have been shown to increase intention to do physical activity. Positive normative message say that most people like you are physically active. Negative normative message say that most people like you are NOT physically active. The study traces how “positive” and “negative” normative messages influence physical activity intention.

Institution: European Commission

Team: JRC Competence Centre on Behavioural Insights

The objective of the practice is to apply the behavioural lens (behavioural governance) on the Good Relations pilot-project. During the spring 2023 Finnish Centre for Economic Development, Transport and Environment will be hosting about 20 decision maker events as a part of their Good Relations –project. These events are organized to bring together local decision makers (city councils and public officials) and different population and language groups to discuss good relations among local…

Institution: Prime Minister's Office - Finland

Team: Finnish Behavioural Policy Unit