Behavioural Insights Projects
Discover projects applying behavioural science to policy from around the world. Add your own projects, whether completed or still ongoing, to contribute knowledge on BI applications across different countries, policy areas, and topics of interest.

Number of BI projects:
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Legend: Projects status
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It’s the end of April in Poland. While everyone
is happy the harsh winter weather is finally getting
milder, the Polish Tax Authority is worried because
62% of the country failed to pay their taxes on time.
Over the past decade, the use of behavioral principles
by tax administrations in different countries has been
gaining ground. Given the country’s tax compliance
rate, Polish authorities and the World Bank tested the
use of behaviorally informed letters to late taxpayers
in order to…
BI Project
Higher COVID-19 vaccination rates: did mobile vaccination units result in an increase in the number…
In an effort to boost COVID-19 vaccination rates, mobile vaccination units were rolled out in late 2021. This strategy proved successful: the number of vaccinations administered was between 1.1 and 14.5 times higher in neighbourhoods on the days they were visited by mobile units. The units were more effective in rural areas than in urban settings. In addition, they proved to be more effective than average in neighbourhoods with a higher proportion of SGP voters and still effective, although to a…
BI Project
Filing tax returns correctly and on time: Is there value in expressing thanks to citizens and…
Are people more likely to file their tax returns correctly if they receive a thank-you in advance or afterwards? Analyses show that thank-you messages have no effect on compliance behaviour.
Why this experiment was conducted: positive alternative sought
To encourage citizens' tax compliance (i.e., paying their taxes on time and correctly), it is occasional practice to emphasise the risk of checks and fines in case of non-compliance. One drawback of this deterrent method is that it can damage…
BI Project
Preparedness skills, sense of community and clear recommendations for action increase crisis…
The COVID-19 pandemic, the war in Ukraine, and other social and global political crises and incidents have increased the need to understand the mental resilience, preparedness, agency and sense of community of Finns in various crises and disruptions. This memorandum presents information related to these topics collected via the Citizens’ Pulse survey and citizen interviews commissioned by the Prime Minister’s Office in March and April 2022.
SIMPLESMENTE is an acronym formed by the initials of 12 mechanisms studied by the behavioral sciences. SIMPLESMENTE is an application to simplify and support the use of behavioral sciences in public policy designs. Based on a guided script, users define a problem of interest in public policies and are encouraged to assume the user's perspective. They are invited to apply a series of references, based on evidence and international practice, to improve their understanding of the situation and…
The Program of Applied Research on Climate Action in Canada (PARCA Canada) combines behavioural science (BeSci) insights and methods with robust policy analysis to promote climate action. One of the main areas of focus involves the launch of a longitudinal survey that will, over time, collect data on research questions of interest to the promotion of climate action in Canada (e.g. transportation, home energy use, waste management, engagement with nature, preparedness for extreme weather,…
Small businesses were sent behaviorally-informed emails encouraging them to apply to the Growth Vouchers program.
A key part of the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills’ (BIS) remit is to provide support to small businesses in the United Kingdom. BIS has explored a number of initiatives to help these businesses grow.
One of these initiatives was ‘Growth Vouchers’ – a program of matched funding with a £30 million budget. Businesses could apply for funding to help subsidize the…
BI Project
Using behavioural science to empower Canadians to reduce the risk of wildfire to their homes and…
In line with the Government of Canada's National Adaptation Strategy, this project seeks to further understanding of Canadians’ awareness and adoption of measures intended to mitigate wildfire risk toward the end of supporting and empowering more widespread action. The study is a survey with an embedded randomized controlled trial component.
The survey component of the study aims to address questions such as:
1. What are the barriers to more widespread adoption of wildland fire risk reduction…
Not all UWV clients who receive unemployment benefit post their CVs on werk.nl. This prevents them from being found or matched for a job. Would it help to send them a reminder to their personal Work Folder as well as a text message? Yes it would: this experiment shows that five times more clients are then prompted to put their CV online, compared to clients who are not sent a reminder.
Why this experiment was conducted: missing CVs
25% of jobseekers on unemployment benefit who are asked to post…
The Adult Migrant English Program (AMEP) is a government-funded program for all permanent visa holders and some temporary visa holders who have less than a vocational level of English. Not all people who are eligible for the AMEP participate in it. The Department of Home Affairs commissioned BETA to evaluate the effectiveness of communication in participants’ home languages on increasing participation in the AMEP.
Trial 1: We will send text messages to speakers of Mandarin, Cantonese,…