Mission
BETA's mission is to improve the lives of Australians by generating and applying evidence from the behavioural and social sciences to find solutions to complex policy problems.
Objectives
BETA fulfils its mission by pursuing four broad objectives:
- Conduct research to better understand how people interact with programs and policy issues
- Design and rigorously test policy solutions informed by behavioural science
- Translate our research and expertise into practical advice on how to improve policies and programs
- Uplift APS capability and support application of behavioural science to public policy in the APS.
Projects
BETA is working in partnership with Government agencies on a range of projects to provide insights on how people really behave. We apply our skills to complex policy priorities including addressing entrenched disadvantage, meeting our net zero targets, delivering effective preventative health initiatives, building strong workforces and responding to cost of living pressures.
BETA also supports the application of behavioural insights across the Australian Public Service (APS) through networks of BI practitioners, training in behavioural insights and links with academia.
Approach
BETA seeks to understand how people make decisions and test innovative policy solutions to see what works. To do this, we bring together evidence from behavioural economics, psychology and other social sciences to design and test behavioural interventions and create better policy for public benefit.
BETA has safeguards in place to ensure that our research is in the best interest of the Australian public. All primary research undertaken at BETA is subject to independent ethical review by the Macquarie University Human Research Ethics Committee.
BETA is committed to being open and transparent about the work we do. We disclose our trials ahead of time and once a trial is complete, we make our findings public on our website. This practice is about greater accountability and sharing knowledge with researchers, policy teams and other interested parties.
In line with our mission, BETA carefully considers the impact of its potential projects on the community. Our aim is to empower Australians and support informed decision-making.
Why we need a Behavioural Economics team
There is often disconnection between how governments design policies and how people actually behave.
Sometimes traditional policy can assume people have no shortage of brain power or will power—when in reality, many of us find it hard to do what we intend to, such as eat healthily, save for retirement or shop around for the best internet or phone deals.
There is often a gap between what people intend to do, and what they end up doing. For example, we know when people are in ‘auto-pilot’ they will often use shortcuts and prefer to rely on stereotypes. In other cases people won’t act on their best intentions because of the default option they are presented with.
Rather than expecting people to redesign their lives around government, our work encourages people-centred design, which means simpler, clearer and faster public services.
The Team
BETA is a multi-disciplinary team of economists, psychologists, data analysts, policy experts and project managers providing a unique perspective on government policy. The team is backed by extensive academic experience in designing, implementing and testing behavioural insights interventions.
If you are looking to join BETA, you can view the current opportunities on the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet work for us page.