How can we apply behavioural insights in public policy?

Sarah Ball (University of Queensland) presents her findings during the workshop.

On 25 August Institutions for Open Societies has organised a successful workshop with exciting insights from ethnographic research on Behavioral insight teams in Australia and the Netherlands.

Governments around the world are experimenting with the use of behavioural science in policymaking. Governments have installed ambitious Behavioural Insights Teams (BITs) aiming to improve public policies. Much remains unknown about these BITs: How can we explain their global spread? What do they actually do? What challenges do they face? What strategies do they employ to ‘make it work’ amidst everyday complexity and ambiguity?

Sarah Ball (University of Queensland) and Joram Feitsma (Utrecht university School of Governance) presented the latest insights. The findings were discussed with representatives from the municipality of Utrecht, the universities of Utrecht and Antwerp and the Council for Public Administration, an advisory body to the Dutch government.