3 results
6 - Behavioural insights teams in practice: nudge missions and methods on trial
- Edited by Benjamin Ewert, Hochschule Fulda – University of Applied Sciences, Germany, Kathrin Loer, Hochschule Osnabrück, Germany, Eva Thomann, Universität Konstanz, Germany
-
- Book:
- Beyond Nudge
- Published by:
- Bristol University Press
- Published online:
- 28 March 2024
- Print publication:
- 15 December 2023, pp 108-126
-
- Chapter
- Export citation
-
Summary
Introduction: the rise of behavioural insights in government
Understanding how incentives and constraints influence the behaviour of citizens and social groups has always been fundamental to the theory and practice of good governance and regulatory systems. The distinctive contribution of behavioural sciences in recent decades (based especially in social psychology, criminology, marketing and economics) has been to sharpen our appreciation that habitual and emotive factors shape the actual choices of citizens (Kahneman, 2011; Halpern, 2015; Thaler, 2016). Citizens’ responses to the rules and options devised by lawmakers are not only diverse, but also often against the interests of the citizens themselves. Thus, empirical research to improve policy makers’ understanding of citizen behaviour was championed as an evidence-based pathway towards improving policies and service systems. These behavioural studies gradually became more influential as the cost-effectiveness of mainstream programmes came under heavy criticism.
In government, the application of this particular framework of behavioural science is often undertaken by specialised teams. These teams have rapidly emerged all over the world – in Europe, the US, Canada, Japan, Singapore, Saudi Arabia, Peru, Australia, New Zealand and many more countries (OECD, 2017). There is no dominant model across these diverse contexts. Behavioural teams have been working in many policy domains and with a variety of partner organisations across government, industry and civil society. A recent World Bank report has highlighted the different ways in which ten countries have implemented behavioural policies. These behavioural initiatives included both centralised and decentralised organisational models, and were managed through either formal arrangements or more networked approaches. Some initiatives focused on the early stages in policy design, while others considered implementation issues and programme evaluation (World Bank, 2018). This variety illustrates both the broad intellectual foundations of the behavioural sciences and the wide spectrum of possible applications across issues and problems.
Among the variety of initiatives inspired by the behavioural sciences in government, a notable model that attracted global attention was the UK Behavioural Insights Team (BIT UK), initially developed in the UK Cabinet Office. This team, led by David Halpern, has become a distinctive and successful model; indeed, in 2014, it evolved into a not-for-profit consulting company (Halpern, 2015; John, 2018).
Strengths and vulnerabilities of Australian networks for conservation of threatened birds
- Tim Q. Holmes, Brian W. Head, Hugh P. Possingham, Stephen T. Garnett
-
- Article
-
- You have access Access
- HTML
- Export citation
-
We analysed the supportive social networks associated with the conservation of six threatened Australian bird taxa, in one of the first network analyses of threatened species conservation programmes. Each example showed contrasting vulnerabilities. The Alligator Rivers yellow chat Epthianura crocea tunneyi had the smallest social network and no real action was supported. For the Capricorn yellow chat Epthianura crocea macgregori the network was centred on one knowledgeable and committed actor. The orange-bellied parrot Neophema chrysogaster had a strongly connected recovery team but gaps in the overall network could limit communication. The recovery teams for the swift parrot Lathamus discolor and Baudin's black-cockatoo Calyptorhynchus baudinii had strong links among most stakeholders but had weak ties to the timber industry and orchardists, respectively, limiting their capacity to manage threatening processes. Carnaby's black cockatoo Calyptorhynchus latirostris seemed to have the most effective social network of any of the taxa studied but may be vulnerable to skill shortages. In each case the network analysis pointed to gaps that could be filled to enhance the conservation effort, and highlighted the importance of recovery teams. The research suggests that formal network analysis could assist in the design of more effective support mechanisms for the conservation of threatened species.
Contributors
-
- By Waiel Almoustadi, Brian J. Anderson, David B. Auyong, Michael Avidan, Michael J. Avram, Roland J. Bainton, Jeffrey R. Balser, Juliana Barr, W. Scott Beattie, Manfred Blobner, T. Andrew Bowdle, Walter A. Boyle, Eugene B. Campbell, Laura F. Cavallone, Mario Cibelli, C. Michael Crowder, Ola Dale, M. Frances Davies, Mark Dershwitz, George Despotis, Clifford S. Deutschman, Brian S. Donahue, Marcel E. Durieux, Thomas J. Ebert, Talmage D. Egan, Helge Eilers, E. Wesley Ely, Charles W. Emala, Alex S. Evers, Heidrun Fink, Pierre Foëx, Stuart A. Forman, Helen F. Galley, Josephine M. Garcia-Ferrer, Robert W. Gereau, Tony Gin, David Glick, B. Joseph Guglielmo, Dhanesh K. Gupta, Howard B. Gutstein, Robert G. Hahn, Greg B. Hammer, Brian P. Head, Helen Higham, Laureen Hill, Kirk Hogan, Charles W. Hogue, Christopher G. Hughes, Eric Jacobsohn, Roger A. Johns, Dean R. Jones, Max Kelz, Evan D. Kharasch, Ellen W. King, W. Andrew Kofke, Tom C. Krejcie, Richard M. Langford, H. T. Lee, Isobel Lever, Jerrold H. Levy, J. Lance Lichtor, Larry Lindenbaum, Hung Pin Liu, Geoff Lockwood, Alex Macario, Conan MacDougall, M. B. MacIver, Aman Mahajan, Nándor Marczin, J. A. Jeevendra Martyn, George A. Mashour, Mervyn Maze, Thomas McDowell, Stuart McGrane, Berend Mets, Patrick Meybohm, Charles F. Minto, Jonathan Moss, Mohamed Naguib, Istvan Nagy, Nick Oliver, Paul S. Pagel, Pratik P. Pandharipande, Piyush Patel, Andrew J. Patterson, Robert A. Pearce, Ronald G. Pearl, Misha Perouansky, Kristof Racz, Chinniampalayam Rajamohan, Nilesh Randive, Imre Redai, Stephen Robinson, Richard W. Rosenquist, Carl E. Rosow, Uwe Rudolph, Francis V. Salinas, Robert D. Sanders, Sunita Sastry, Michael Schäfer, Jens Scholz, Thomas W. Schnider, Mark A. Schumacher, John W. Sear, Frédérique S. Servin, Jeffrey H. Silverstein, Tom De Smet, Martin Smith, Joe Henry Steinbach, Markus Steinfath, David F. Stowe, Gary R. Strichartz, Michel M. R. F. Struys, Isao Tsuneyoshi, Robert A. Veselis, Arthur Wallace, Robert P. Walt, David C. Warltier, Nigel R. Webster, Jeanine Wiener-Kronish, Troy Wildes, Paul Wischmeyer, Ling-Gang Wu, Stephen Yang
- Edited by Alex S. Evers, Washington University School of Medicine, St Louis, Mervyn Maze, University of California, San Francisco, Evan D. Kharasch, Washington University School of Medicine, St Louis
-
- Book:
- Anesthetic Pharmacology
- Published online:
- 11 April 2011
- Print publication:
- 10 March 2011, pp viii-xiv
-
- Chapter
- Export citation