PR Institute of New Zealand Conference 26 May 2017
Memory Game
How did you do?
Ordering effects: primacy and recency bias Opening (primacy) Closing (recency) Attention / Retention Time
What are Behavioural Insights?
Most of what we do concerns behaviour
Academic underpinning for Behavioural Insights
How we think: Two systems System 1 System 2 FAST 2 x 2 Taking your daily commute SLOW 17 x 13 Planning a trip abroad
Choice architecture: Helping people make better choices by designing the environment As designers of policies and services, how can we act on these heuristics and biases?
What are behavioural insights?
What are behavioural insights? Behavioural insights are empirical findings about human behaviour that can be used to make public policy more effective
What are behavioural insights? People can be unpredictable, so we are interested in insights that have been tested and shown to be effective. Behavioural insights are empirical findings about human behaviour that can be used to make public policy more effective
What are behavioural insights? People can be unpredictable, so we are interested in insights that have been tested and shown to be effective. Behavioural insights are empirical findings about human behaviour that can be used to make public policy more effective We do not focus on what changes attitudes or beliefs.
What are behavioural insights? People can be unpredictable, so we are interested in insights that have been tested and shown to be effective. Behavioural insights are empirical findings about human behaviour that can be used to make public policy more effective We do not focus on what changes attitudes or beliefs. Insights should be useful and practical for policymakers.
A realistic understanding of behaviour: biases affect us all Meal Breaks Time of day Source: Danziger et al. 2010
Testing is essential
David Cameron s Vanity Project
So how can Behavioural insights make a difference??
How can you get people to pay their taxes and fines on time?
Be clear about what you want Original letter Trial intervention
Being clear helps people help themselves Penalty Notices Paid by Due date Nearly 9,000 fewer people lost their driving licences as a result 53.5% 60.4% Control Trial
Use descriptive social norms Nine out of ten people pay their tax on time.
Social norms increased tax payment rates Control Local norm Debt norm Local norm + Debt norm
Lottery incentives can be disproportionately effective A locally-themed prize draw to encourage citizens to pay their rates in full and on time.
Using a prize draw to encourage people to pay their rates The intervention increased the number of households paying on time by 2,688, or 70%. This equates to an increase in on-time payments of over $5 million. $5 million more paid on time Rolled out across the Council as standard practice
How to encourage investment bankers to give to charity
Proportion giving away a day s salary to charity 17% 5% 7% 11% 12% Control Group Celebrity Sweets Personal email Sweets + Personal
How to reduce GP antibiotic prescription rates?
GPs in high-prescribing practices were sent feedback letters The great majority (80%) of practices in Birmingham prescribe fewer antibiotics per head than yours. Specific actions the GP could take (e.g. postdated prescriptions). Please join us in reducing antibiotic use.
Antibiotic items dispensed per 1000 weighted population Effect of Chief Medical Officer letter on antibiotic prescribing 160 Control Treatment 150 140 130 120 110 100 September (pre) October November December January February March April (post) n=1,581 Month
Antibiotic items dispensed per 1000 weighted population Effect of Chief Medical Officer letter on antibiotic prescribing 160 Control Treatment 150 140 130 120 110 100 September (pre) October November December January February March April (post) Month
So how do we know what works??
We test, using randomised controlled trials Normal Rollout INTERVENTION INTERVENTION Randomised Controlled Trial CONTROL
Applying behavioural insights to increase organ donation
1 Control 2 1000s 3 People 4 Heart
5 3 Die 6 9 Lives 7 Would you 8 Action
Proportion joining the organ donor register after a simple online prompt Control Take action 1000s Heart Lives 3 Die Would you People
Encouraging home insulation
Using thermal images to increase take-up of a 4,200 insulation scheme Control letter Basic image letter Thermal image letter
Trial: Our letter reduced the numbers who called about the scheme
So how does this add up to a seismic shift??
We share our methods and results
Behavioural insights has gone global Canada: Policy Horizons Canada UK: (i) The Behavioural Insights Team (BIT) & (ii) nudge units in 10 departments Norway: Greenudge Sweden: Swedish Nudging Network Finland: Prime Minister s Office Denmark: The Danish Nudging Network Germany: Chancellor s Office Chicago: Chicago Nudge Unit NYC: (i) BIT North America & (ii) ideas42 Netherlands: (i) Ministry of Economic Affairs & (ii) Ministry of Infrastructure & the Environment US: White House Social and Behavioral Sciences Team Mexico: President s Office World Bank: Development Report and behavioural trials Guatamala: Guatamalan tax administration Jamaica: Finance Ministry (UNDP/BIT) European Commission: Behavioural Science and Foresight Team OECD: Behavioural science coordination Rio de Jeneiro: Mayor s Office Commonwealth Government: BETA Victoria: DPC NZ Moldova: UNDP/BIT collaboration Singapore: (i) Prime Minister s Office & (ii) Ministry of Manpower Sydney: (i) BIT Australia & (ii) Behavioural Insights Unit, New South Wales
And BI is being used to tackle more challenging problems
lee.mccauley@bi.team