This project leverages an online survey experiment among federal employees involved in the process of translating information and evidence about a program into actionable policies and programs. The experiment’s primary aim is to test ways of presenting information to improve sensitivity to impact-relevant information about a program. The impact-relevant features tested are: the number of people impacted, the intermediate or final outcomes and the persistence of effects. In addition, the…
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.
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BI Project
Combining Incentives with Narratives: Online-Field Experiment with Tesco to Reduce Plastic Bag Use
The pervasive use of single-use plastic bags presents a growing environmental challenge globally. Despite legislative efforts, such as the mandatory 5p bag-charge introduced in England in October 2015, the problem persists. The issue took on renewed urgency in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic, which has seen a regression in consumer habits towards increased use of single-use plastics, driven by health and safety concerns (Adyel, 2020).
While traditional economic theory suggests that incentives…
In the study, the effectiveness of four reminder messages was evaluated through an online laboratory experiment involving 2,963 participants. The content of these messages was designed based on evidence from behavioural sciences, and their effect was contrasted with that of a simple, brief, and direct message (control message). The impact of the reminders was measured through four outcome variables: the action participants declared they would take after receiving the message, understanding and…
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.
This project (running from 2017-2022) led to the development of a free digital tool, allowing landholders to explore options in the regulated carbon farming market. By providing landholders access to relevant methods, carbon sequestration estimates, and a listing of possible co-benefits, the LOOC-C tool helped demystify a challenging legislative environment for a farming-friendly audience. https://looc-c.farm/
A human-centred design process was championed through the entire development process,…
BI Project
Comparing the impact of positive, negative, and graded sustainability labels on purchase decisions
An online experiment with EU consumers was run to assess the relative effectiveness of three sustainability labelling approaches: (1) positive labels - only identifying products with the best sustainability performance, (2) negative labels - only identifying products with the worst sustainability performance, and (3) graded labels - conveying the relative sustainability of all products. Results suggest that graded labels are the most effective to steer consumer toward more sustainable purchase…
This research shows that teacher and administration absences can negatively affect students’ reading and math abilities.Working with the Peruvian Ministry of Education (MINEDU) and the UK’s Behavioural Insights Team (BIT), we tested whether attendance could be influenced by sending different behaviorally informed messages by email. One email message conveyed the current level of attendance of one’s school district the “social norm” while the other built on teachers’ pro-social…
To support building the pipeline of skilled workers in Ontario, the Ministry of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development (MLITSD) introduced the Skilled Trades Strategy (STS) in 2020 which aims to modernize the skilled trades and apprenticeship system by breaking the stigma and attracting more young people to the skilled trades, simplifying the system, and encouraging employer participation. In collaboration with MLITSD, the Ontario Behavioural Insights Unit (BIU) plans to run a…
BI Project
Helping people get more out of language: How can you help individuals with limited literacy skills…
The 'Doe meer met taal' (Get more out of language) campaign was launched to reach out to individuals with limited literacy skills whose mother tongue is Dutch. At its conclusion, people in the target group said they felt more motivated to improve their language skills. They are also more inclined to take proactive steps, for example by engaging in language-related activities at home. 66,000 people visited the campaign website.
Why this experiment was conducted: everyone should be equipped with…