The Behavioural Insights Team have spent the last 10 years developing solutions that are informed by behavioural science. These insights do not emerge overnight. Instead, they are grounded by a firm understanding of the systems in which we operate. Reading academic (or policy) papers is an important step to developing evidence based interventions, but it will only get you so far if you want to understand the context in which you want to implement an intervention. Instead, we argue that you need to leave the office and try to experience the context as closely as you can, either by directly experiencing it, or by directly speaking to the people that do.

To try to convince you that you should step away from our desk, we’ve created a podcast which we think will give you a much better sense of why you can’t read your way out of a complex policy problem. In this podcast, Alex Gyani and Rory Gallagher from BIT’s Sydney office speak to Zoe Powell, Saul Wodak, Allison Wong, Edwina Crawford and Sophie Munroe about their experiences of going out into the field and some of the insights they took from that process. We’ll describe projects that have tackled domestic violence, unemployment and the health and safety of gig economy workers. If you want to know more about those specific projects, just follow the links posted in this description.

Note: that this podcast describes the court processes involved in domestic violence cases. While no acts of violence are described in the podcast, if you are affected by domestic violence or abuse, there are a number of services you can reach out to.

Australia: Call 000 if you are in immediate danger. To access 24/7 counselling and support call 1800RESPECT on 1800 737 732.

New Zealand: Call 111 if you are in immediate danger. Call 0800 456 450 free from any phone, 9am to 11pm every day.

UK: Call 000 if you are in immediate danger. For free and confidential advice, anytime call 0808 2000 247.

US: Call 911 if you are in immediate danger. For free and confidential advice, anytime call 1800 799 7233.

Musical credits

Intro: Next to you by Jessie Villa

Outro: Cassette Deck by Basketcase

Additional music by Enrize Studio

A decade ago, BIT’s EAST® framework made applying behavioural science Easy, Attractive, Social, and Timely. Now, just like the field itself, it’s evolved.

Join Michael Hallsworth, BIT’s Chief Behavioural Scientist and one of the authors of the original framework, as he explores how behavioural science has developed over the last 10 years, including the wins, the setbacks, and the future of the field.

In this episode Michael sits down with:

• Laura Litvine (Director, BIT France)

• Elspeth Kirkman (Chief Programmes Officer, Nesta & EAST® coauthor)

• Alex Gyani (Managing Director, BIT APAC & EAST® coauthor)

• Jared Peterson (Co-founder, Nuance Behavior & researcher at ShadowBox)

Tune in for a deep dive into the past, present, and future of one of behavioural science’s most influential frameworks.

The BIT podcast

Discover the fascinating and surprising world of behavioural insights by listening to the BIT podcast, brought to you by the Behavioural Insights Team. Find out how understanding the ways people really think and behave through behavioural science can help deliver a fairer society for us all.

Links

To learn more about BIT’s work visit our website: www.bi.team

To read the updated EAST® framework visit: https://www.bi.team/publications/east-four-simple-ways-to-apply-behavioural-insights/

Behavioural science has made a major impact on important issues over the past decade, such as antimicrobial resistance, educational attainment, and sustainability. But it’s also clear that applied behavioural science needs to evolve to fulfil its true potential.

BIT has just published A Manifesto for Applying Behavioral Science - a landmark guide to the future of applied behavioral science. This Manifesto takes a clear-eyed look at challenges facing the field and offers 10 proposals to address them:

Use behavioral science as a lens that can help us see all issues better, rather than as a tool for limited challenges.

Build behavioral science into the design of organizations’ standard processes, to give it scale and sustainability.

Step back, understand the system, and use behavioral science to make targeted changes that lead to wider results.

Improve randomized controlled trials to better deal with the complexity of the real world.

Approaches successful in one context can fail in another – find out why, and how we can adapt them better.

Don’t just think about biases in behavior – aim for practical theories that offer reliable ways of solving real-world problems.

Predict what people will do, confront when you were wrong, and change your views accordingly.

Be humble about what you know, more curious about why people do things, and help others use behavioral science to improve their own lives.

Use data science to identify, understand and reduce inequities. Be realistic – recognize that behavioral scientists always bring their own values to whatever they do, and help the field to broaden its range of perspectives.

In this episode the Manifesto's author and Managing Director of BIT in the Americas, Michael Hallsworth, takes to the streets of New York City to explain more about what point 3, the importance of 'understanding the system' means in the context of behavioural science. The journey will take him from Times Square to Governors Island, discussing oysters, pedestrian crossings, plastic bags and much more.

The full Manifesto for Applying Behavioural Science is available now for free on our website at https://www.bi.team/

Credits

This episode was recorded in and around New York City by Sabeena Singhani. Our thanks to Pete Malinowski of the Billion Oyster Project and Rebecca Taylor of the University of Sydney for kindly agreeing to be interviewed.