Behavioural Insights Projects

Washing your hands regularly with soap and water is an effective and easy way of reducing the risk of people falling ill with COVID-19, influenzas or a cold, or contracting other viral illnesses. Stickers and posters were developed focusing on reframing, nudging and habit stacking. Displaying the posters in the office environment led to an increase in handwashing amongst employees. Soap consumption went up. Why this experiment was conducted: improved hygiene standards in the workplace is the…

Institution: Netherlands Ministry of Justice and Security; Netherlands Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sport; and RIVM

In early 2022, various kinds of text messages were sent to over 100,000 residents of Brabant-Zuidoost who had not yet received a booster jab from the GGD. The results show that the most effective variant − in the 6 days after receiving the text message − led to a 3.2% increase in the number of vaccinations administered. This was the text message saying 'Jouw boosterprik ligt voor je klaar' (You can now book your booster vaccination) plus a randomly allocated date, time and location. Why…

Institution: Netherlands Public Health Service

Pacific Island Nations are facing a crisis of Non-Communicable Diseases (NCDs) - chronic diseases which are the result of a combination of genetic, physiological, environmental and behavioural facts. NCDs are the leading cause of mortality in the region, accounting for 75% of deaths. Unhealthy diets in particular have been recognized as a risk factor for high rates of obesity. Residents of the Pacific Island Nations have some of the highest rates of obesity in the world, with 92.9% and 80.7% of…

Institution: Busara Center for Behavioral Economics

Team: Busara Center for Behavioral Economics

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,…

Institution: Privy Council Office

Team: Impact and Innovation Unit (IIU)

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 collecting data over time 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, disaster recovery, etc.) using a large and…

Institution: Impact and Innovation Hub (IIU)- Impact Canada

Team: Impact and Innovation Unit (IIU)

The project’s goal was to increase voter turnout among potential voters: registered voters who participated in one or fewer primary elections since 2000. Voting is a high-salience, socially important behavior that is essential to a functioning democratic society. While campaigns and organizations spend millions of dollars to increase voter turnout, recent research suggests that simple interventions like facilitating plan-making can help people follow through on their intentions.

Institution: Harvard Kennedy School

Team: Behavioural Insights Group

In Germany there are significant gaps in measles vaccination which lead to repeated outbreaks of the disease. Vaccinations do more than just protect the recipient against infection. They also protect people who cannot be vaccinated, for example infants or people with certain chronic illnesses. However, many adults do not know that they are not completely vaccinated against measles. In order to close this information and vaccination gap, wirksam regieren compared various possible ways to provide…

Institution: Federal Chancellery- Germany

Team: Wirksam Regieren- Citizen-centered government

SERNAC designed and tested Key Fact Sheets to help consumer decision-making on quoting car insurance. The study evaluated options to standardize the car insurance quotation sheet's design through a randomized online experiment with 3,008 consumers. Three prototypes were designed and tested in contrast to a representative quotation sheet currently provided by insurance companies in Chile to achieve this objective. Each prototype considered simplifying the language and standardization of the…

Institution: Servicio Nacional del Consumidor (SERNAC)

Team: Servicio Nacional del Consumidor (SERNAC)

BETA Survey Series: Towards Net Zero – BETA will conduct a survey series to fill current information gaps and better understand barriers and enablers to making high impact household decisions that limit greenhouse gas emissions.

Institution: Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet

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

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