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 on emerging topics related to the promotion of climate action in Canada (e.g., transportation, energy use, waste management, etc.) using a large and nationally representative sample of Canadians.
The current project is the second wave of a repeated…
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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Legend: Projects status
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BI Project
Can Visual Cues to Portion Size Reduce the Number of Portions of Consumed? Two Randomized Controlled…
Methods
Two preregistered randomized controlled trials (N = 253 and N = 674) measured consumption in a lab and the home environment. Cues were salient, labeled stripes that demarcated single portions. Participants were randomized to cue condition or control. Consumption was measured without awareness.
Results
The main preregistered effect of the visual cue was not statistically significant. There was some variation by subgroup. In Study 1, men were more likely to eat the whole can of potato…
Building on BETA’s work with the Australian Financial Security Authority (AFSA) on applying behaviour science to the Personal Property Securities Register, BETA and AFSA are evaluating whether select recommendations make the registration process easier and if they lead to more accurate registrations.
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…
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,…
BI Project
Making sure that young people get vaccinated against HPV: How do you encourage both boys and girls…
A campaign was launched to encourage young people to get the catch-up vaccination against Human Papillomavirus (HPV). The campaign succeeded in promoting discussion and increased awareness of HPV as well as persuading young people to get vaccinated.
Why this experiment was conducted: provide boys and girls with a vaccine they might not have received
In 2022 and 2023, boys were invited for the first time and girls were invited again to get vaccinated against the Human Papillomavirus (HPV). HPV…
BETA partnered with AFSA on two projects to determine how to best communicate about the consequences of bankruptcy.
In the first project, over 6,500 Australians completed one of six educational tools online that explain the consequences of bankruptcy and then assessed their levels of understanding. A pop-quiz and video were most effective, improving people’s understanding by 27 percentage points above the group that saw no educational tool.
In the second project, we introduced five additional…
The Charter of Rights and Responsibilities of Financial Consumers is an initiative designed to counteract consumers' optimism bias and the information asymmetry that typically favors banks over users.
To address these behavioral and structural challenges, the initiative employs smart disclosure techniques, including the use of visual prominence and icons to guide users' attention when interacting with the document.
This charter is mandated to be displayed physically at bank branches, digitally…
BI Project
Promising circular business models: what options for a sustainable purchase are acceptable to…
A circular business model promotes reuse of products and materials. A case in point is a model where consumers return their jeans to the manufacturer after use. Which circular business model characteristics are consumers willing to accept right now, and what do they refuse? Acceptance of these models seems to increase if companies offer effective or appealing option combinations, such as monthly payment schedules and discounted returns.
Why this experiment was conducted: to promote the circular…
To help improve the impact of cyber security advice for individuals and small businesses, BETA partnered with the Australian Cyber Security Centre (ACSC) to design and test different formats of advice. We conducted focus groups and two survey experiments (surveys with embedded randomised controlled trials) to understand whether behavioural insights concepts are effective in shifting people’s intentions to enact safer cyber security practices. We surveyed small and medium business (SMB) owners…