Want to improve your behavioural science applications using cutting edge techniques? Come learn how machine learning can be used to address public policy issues; the next cutting edge of applied behavioural science. Machine learning combines large data sets and uses advanced statistical techniques to make predictions that can be used to better target policy interventions. No technical knowledge necessary, but come prepared to learn how this powerful tool can identify behavioural biases, enhance BI intervention design, and target populations most likely to respond to an intervention.
Facilitator: Teresa Dickinson
Sarah Minson
Sarah Minson is the GM Customer Support and Development, at Stats NZ. Stats NZ is New Zealand’s official data agency.
Sarah has spent the last 12 years at Stats NZ, 9 years of which she was involved in most elements of the development and operation of NZ’s 5 yearly population census.
Prior to Stats NZ, Sarah worked for Spark NZ as the manager of a credit management data and analytics team.
Michael Sanders
Michael Sanders is Chief Scientist at the Behavioural Insights Team. Michael and his team support the rest of the behavioural insights team with the design of randomised controlled trials, which are widely considered to the ‘gold standard’ in working out what works.
Michael is also a member of BIT’s ventures team, working on Test & Build – BIT’s online platform to help to streamline the process of developing behavioural insights informed interventions in the areas of fraud, error and debt.
Bill Simpson-Young
Bill Simpson-Young is a member of the Data61 Executive Team and Director of Engineering & Design. He leads a group of software engineers, user experience designers and data scientists in the development of new software technologies and products including in data privacy, spatial technologies, logic systems and machine learning.
Bec Weeks
Bec Weeks is a Senior Advisor (Projects) for BETA (the Behavioural Economics Team of Australia). She has spent the last five months in Cambridge, MA as a Visiting Fellow at Harvard University and a Research Affiliate at the MIT Media Lab. Prior to joining BETA, Bec worked in management consulting at Bain & Company across the Sydney, London, Helsinki and Boston offices. She holds an MBA from Harvard Business School and undergraduate degrees in law and economics from the University of Sydney.