Rotman Management — Spring 2017

rotmanmagazine.ca / 11

Hasti Rahbar, research advisor at Employment and Social
Development Canada (EDSC) told us that often, the data re-
quired for designing an appropriate nudge for a particular prob-
lem is not readily available — or is not even being compiled.
In British Columbia, where the provincial government re-
cently launched its own behavioural unit, this was one of the
key challenges it faced as it started on its initial roster of proj-
ects. For understandable privacy reasons, data is often held
separately and securely, and this means that “the process to
acquire data can take a longer than anticipated,” says Heather
Devine, Head of BC’s Behavioural Insights Group.
Governments may also struggle with the existence of
‘touchpoints’, or points of contact between a government
and its citizens, which can include mail, phone and face-to-
face. Behaviourally-informed approaches can most easily be

implemented at these touchpoints. At the federal and provin-

cial levels, there are limitations to the number and variety of

touchpoints with citizens. Sometimes, the results of a proposed

behavioural intervention cannot be analyzed simply because

the touchpoints are not there.

Despite these limitations, the world of behavioural in-

sights and choice architecture design offers a number of other

avenues to test. If an RCT is not possible, perhaps a laboratory

experiment, a series of design workshops or a natural experi-

ment might be possible. As long as data is collected to compare

multiple nudges with the status-quo (i.e control) condition,

governments can learn, iterate, adapt and launch tested inter-

ventions.

Even though governments the world over have started to

embrace the power of applying behavioural insights to policy

Behavioural Units: Sample Projects

UK Behavioural

Insights Team (BIT)

White House Social

and Behavioural Sciences

Team (SBST)

Organization for

Economic Cooperation

and Development (OECD)

Privy Council Office

(PCO) – Innovation Hub

Employment and Social

Development Canada

(ESDC)

Canada Revenue Agency

(CRA)

Ontario Behavioural

Insights Unit (BIU)

• Increasing organ donor registration by using messages that encourage reciprocity


• Increasing electoral registration using a lottery, with prize money to incentivize


• Increasing take-up of micro-loans for small farmers in need via outreach letters with customized
  application steps


• Ensuring eligible students have access to free/reduced-price meals under National School Lunch
  Program by automatically enrolling qualified students


• Encouraging the use of behaviourally-informed regulatory policy


• Enhancing the consumer protection regime in Colombia’s communications market
  -Coordinating behavioural research among governments, regulators and others to develop
  policy recommendations


• Increasing uptake of the Canada Learning Bond, money directly deposited into RESPS for low-
  income families


• Increasing the number of women recruited into the Canadian Armed Forces


• Improving organizational culture within the public service for employees with disabilities


• Encouraging greater registration completion for new users of online Job Bank, an employment
  search portal


• Encouraging channel shifting in tax filing from mail to digital, and increased usage of MyAccount, the
  online tax filing platform


• Increasing the number of online license plate sticker renewals by highlighting the benefits of online
  renewal

FIGURE THREE