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CabinetOffice Behavioural Insights Team

Applying Behavioural Insights to Public Policy ACI Research Think Tank, 28th October

Dr Rory Gallagher

CabinetOffice Behavioural Insights Team

BI can help change the way we think about and approach policy problems

CabinetOffice Behavioural Insights Team

Behavioural insights offers new evidence and frameworks for influencing behaviour

1. Regulation

2. Incentives

3. Information

Behavioural Insights

‘Behavioural insights can help us to

analyse problems better, and design more

effective and efficient ways of achieving

particular goals’ Australian Public Services Commission, 2009

CabinetOffice Behavioural Insights Team

Our approach has 4 key stages – iterative process

Define Diagnose Design Test,

Learn, Adapt

Context, Details, People & Evidence … matter

Example of large systems change: UK job centres

The intervention involved 3 main changes

1. Cut down process

2. Commitments 3. Strengths identification

Initial results = bigger impact than anticipated

55% 55% 57% 56%

58%

61%

53%

69%

66% 65%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

Feb Mar April May June July Aug

% off-flow from benefits after 13 weeks

CabinetOffice Behavioural Insights Team

Exciting range of projects & policy issues in NSW

Implementing

Scoping Advisory

CabinetOffice Behavioural Insights Team

Supporting patient choice re. use of Private Health Insurance in public hospital

CabinetOffice Behavioural Insights Team

• Growing interest in applying BI across NSW

• Context, Details, People, Evidence … matter

• Use of RCTs – driving ‘what works’

• Test, Learn, Adapt: ‘agile implementation’

• Still early days: just scratching surface, long way to go

• Next phase = sustainability, replication, segmentation, process to policy

• Future enablers = ‘big’ data, digital services, VfM

Final remarks