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.

Number of BI projects:
0
Legend: Projects status
- Pre-registered project
- Completed project
This website, as well as any data and map included herein, are without prejudice to the status of or sovereignty over any territory, to the delimitation of international frontiers and boundaries and to the name of any territory, city or area.
In 2015 the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) released recommendations to move towards impact-based weather forecasts and warnings. These impact-based warnings will help increase lead-time for decision makers and the public, to ensure they are making the best choices to prepare for different types of weather events. Canada is currently in the process of adopting these recommendations by moving towards an impact-based tiered warning system for severe weather events. To assist in the…
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…
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…
Behavioural science in the context of climate change at its related health risks has mainly focused on understanding and changing individual behaviours. However, effectively addressing the climate crisis requires broadening the focus on systemic societal change. This level of change is required to mitigate the negative effects of climate change as well as help people adapt to the associated (health) risks. Fostering systemic societal change requires situation-specific, large-scale data that can…
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…
30% of the requests CNAM (Primary health care institution in France) receives by phone or email could be made and treated online. In order to encourage use of online services, the CNAM solicited help from the DITP. This dematerialization would benefit the user by easing the access to services, to the administration workers by improving their work conditions and to the institutions through gains in efficience.
We chose to target a precise procedure: ordering a Carte Vitale (Health Care card) for…
SIMPLESMENTE is an acronym formed by the initials of 12 mechanisms studied by the behavioral sciences. SIMPLESMENTE is an application to simplify and support the use of behavioral sciences in public policy designs. Based on a guided script, users define a problem of interest in public policies and are encouraged to assume the user's perspective. They are invited to apply a series of references, based on evidence and international practice, to improve their understanding of the situation and…
BI Project
Applying behavioural science to decrease air contamination from woodheating in Ile de France
More than 480 000 people in Ile de France use an inefficient woodheating device releasing high quantities of particulate matters in the environment but do not always link air pollution and woodheating.
This project aimed to inform the inhabitants about this link and encourage them to renew their ancient devices and adopt good practices around woodheating.
281 households were equiped with particulate matter sensors and the DITP compared the evolution of contamination between groups, divided in…
We all know that if a 13-year-old has his mind set on
something, it is quite difficult to try to change it. This
is exactly the type of challenge that the Ministry of
Education in Peru is approaching with students in
public schools and high schools, targeting those from
low-income households in particular.
Teenagers often have pre-conceived ideas about their
own intelligence, which influences how they react to
academic challenges. If a student thinks he is not smart
enough, he believes there is…
BI Project
Can interventions in supermarkets reduce household food waste? A randomised controlled trial of…
The study was conducted in collaboration with eight supermarkets from two of the largest Swedish supermarket chains. The stores provided the natural environment in which to conduct an experiment using real shoppers and real purchases, without shoppers being aware of the study. Four different interventions (different price displays) were designed, based on insights from behavioural science. These signs were tested in a randomised controlled study for two common and perishable vegetables –…