Behavioural Insights Projects

Despite the overwhelming medical evidence on the protection offered by the second, third and fourth doses of the Covid-19 vaccine, the acceptance of these doses remains low despite the existing supply. The problem is likely because there are currently no reminders in the province of Chaco, Argentina. This makes it difficult for residents to know if they are eligible for the next dose of the COVID-19 vaccine and where to access it. Booster vaccination is associated with a lower risk of mortality…

Institution: Other

Team: Behavioral Sciences and Public Policies Unit

Encouraging a more circular economy to lessen the impacts of climate change will require behavioural changes from Canadians. In partnership with Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC), we have launched a program of research to help meet some of Canada’s recycling targets—90% collection rate for plastic beverage containers, and these containers to have 50% recycled plastic content by 2030. This research will use insights and approaches from behavioural science to understand and increase…

Institution: Privy Council Office

Team: Impact and Innovation Unit (IIU)

Current psychological research has focused a great deal of studying susceptibility to misinformation across a single domain (e.g. COVID-19, Climate Change, etc...). It's not well understood if susceptibility is dependent on the content and context of misinformation. To address this, our team will investigate which predictors of susceptibility are consistent across topic areas.

Institution: Privy Council Office

Team: Impact and Innovation Unit (IIU)

Government agencies around the world struggle to retain frontline workers, as high job demands and low job resources contribute to persistently high rates of employee burnout. Although four decades of research have documented the predictors and potential costs of frontline worker burnout, we have limited causal evidence on strategies that reduce it. In this article, we report on a multicity field experiment (n = 536) aimed at increasing perceived social support and affirming belonging among 911…

Institution: University of California, Berkeley

Team: The People Lab

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 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 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)

In Haiti, more than 96 percent of the population is exposed to two or more natural hazards in theirlifetime. The human and economic impacts of these hazards, including hurricanes, floods, earthquakes, and landslides, have been severe. Between 1961 and 2012, the country experienced more than 180 disasters, causing the death of more than 240,000 people. Many disaster-related fatalities are preventable if people evacuate to a safer place in a timely fashion. However,in Haiti, due to a variety of…

Institution: World Bank

Team: eMBeD, Mind Behaviour and Development team

In a seven-week school-based field experiment using preadolescents’ physical activity as a proxy for estimating behavioural change, we test the hypothesis that boys’ and girls’ distinct networks are susceptible to different social incentives.

Institution: European Commission

Team: JRC Competence Centre on Behavioural Insights

In collaboration with USAID and The Colombian Ministry of Justice, the project aims to design a Communication Strategy for Social and Behavioral Change to transform public perceptions of the justice system. This approach will integrate principles of behavioral science and strategic communication to: Identify key barriers and beliefs that limit trust or appreciation of the justice system. Segment target audiences, mapping sociodemographic and behavioral profiles to design relevant and effective…

Institution: The Colombian Ministry of Justice

Team: Instintivo