Behavioural Insights Projects

Five large cities in Noord-Brabant and the provincial authorities investigated how to improve cycling safety through behavioural interventions. They placed signs and markings along cycle routes in 's-Hertogenbosch, Breda, Eindhoven, Helmond and Tilburg. Half of the interventions had an effect; the number of dangerous situations decreased. Why this experiment was conducted: redesigning road layouts is not always possible Six locations in towns and cities in Noord-Brabant were identified as…

Institution: Noord-Brabant

Online experiment tested two novel public health messages on social distancing. •Messages focused on potential to infect vulnerable people or many people. •Participants (N = 500) randomized to see control or (one of two) treatment posters. •Behavioral intentions and acceptability judgements of behaviors measured later. •Both posters increased caution with respect to social distancing.

Institution: Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI)

Team: ESRI Behavioural Research Unit

Water scarcity remains common in Brazil, especially in the Recife Metropolitan Region (RMR) in the State of Pernambuco. The RMR is subject to particularly high levels of non-revenue water—which occur when high volumes of water produced do not generate revenue for the supplier. While some losses may be due to structural and operational inefficiencies such as leaky pipes, clients also play a key role by defaulting on their water payments or installing bypasses to consume water free of charge.…

Institution: World Bank

Team: eMBeD, Mind Behaviour and Development team

In connection with the 2022 county elections, an experiment was conducted in Finland for the first time to examine the impact of text message reminders on the voting turnout of young people. In the experiment, young people (aged 18 to 29) were messaged twice about the schedule of the county elections and their right to vote. The aim of the study was to find out whether a text message reminder increases voting turnout. The experiment was carried out in cooperation with the Ministry of Justice and…

Institution: Prime Minister's Office - Finland

Team: Finnish Behavioural Policy Unit

Small and Medium-sized Enterprises are particularly vulnerable to cyberattacks. A large-scale field experiment amongst SME employees showed that a phishing test is effective in the short term, but not in the medium or long term. Why this experiment was conducted: SMEs are vulnerable to cyberattacks Phishing is one of the most common types of cybercrime and is frequently the precursor to additional cyber threats, including malware and ransomware attacks. SMEs are vulnerable, with many of them…

Institution: Netherlands Regional Platform of Crime Control North-Holland and the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate Policy

PROJECT SUMMARY Teachers in a summer school program for high school students provided brief, individualized, messages for parents with information about their child’s performance and behavior in school on a weekly basis. IMPACT Providing parents with individualized messages increased the probability a student earned credit for each class by 6.5 percentage points – a 41% reduction in failure rates.

Institution: Harvard Kennedy School

Team: Behavioural Insights Group

To gain insight into citizen perspectives on the themes of energy and climate, the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate periodically conducts public research. The Public Monitor Climate and Energy 2021 focuses on knowledge, attitude and behaviour of citizens in the field of the climate and energy transition.

Institution: Ministry of Economic Affairs (MinEZ)

Team: Behavioural Insights Network (BIN NL)

The Ministry of Finance of the Republic of Latvia collaborated with the World Bank on a holistic review of the country's tax system, an input to the design of a new, improved tax strategy. The State Revenue Service (SRS), Latvia's tax authority, worked with the Mind, Behavior, and Development (eMBeD) Unit at the World Bank to pilot a field experiment to increase tax compliance. The experiment involved sending preemptive, behaviorally-informed email messages to taxpayers with a share of income…

Institution: World Bank

Team: eMBeD, Mind Behaviour and Development team

The Netherlands Authority for Consumers & Markets (ACM) conducted an experiment to investigate the effect of incomplete prices when booking a holiday home. Websites that display incomplete prices cause greater uncertainty, make choosing more difficult, undermine trust and give the feeling of deception compared to websites displaying transparent prices. Why this experiment was conducted: unclear picture of actual costs In 2021, the ACM conducted a study into effective transparency. The aim was…

Institution: Netherlands Authority for Consumers & Markets (ACM)

This study aims to: 1) Use a Discrete Choice Experiment (or DCE) to explore and estimate Canadians’ preferences for different attributes of a potential ZEV purchase or lease. 2) Use an online RCT to explore the impact of varying messengers (government vs. personal testimonial) and varying messages (about driving range vs. affordability) on individuals' intent to switch to a ZEV 3) Explore Canadians’ knowledge of ZEVs 4) Generate baseline evidence other elements of decarbonized transport not…

Institution: Privy Council Office

Team: Impact and Innovation Unit (IIU)