The use of behavioural science in government has expanded beyond using nudges to tweak particular aspects of programs to optimise outcomes. We now talk about behavioural public policy: policymaking that focuses on the people affected by policy, and deploys rigorous research methods.
The Behavioural Economics Team of the Australian Government (BETA) recently contributed to the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development’s (OECD) LOGIC: Good practice principles for mainstreaming behavioural public policy.
This report identifies effective practices in mainstreaming behavioural public policy. Categorised under leadership, objectives, governance, integration and capability, these practices help governments use behavioural science insights and methods in policymaking.
This blog post looks at how BETA implements the principles of the OECD’s LOGIC report.
Leadership
“The actions and words of influential leaders can be critical drivers of uptake of behavioural science evidence in policymaking. Senior leaders in government can advocate for a people-centred approach and request a robust evidence base, and managers can actively build this mindset in their organisations.” – OECD LOGIC
The Australian Government established BETA in 2016 to apply and test behavioural science insights across the federal government. Positioned within the government’s central policy coordination agency, the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet (PM&C), BETA can start conversations across the policy system and convene partners around priority policy issues.
Objectives
“Governments can include behavioural science in their strategic plans and monitor this over time. A formal definition of how a behavioural perspective can help deliver a government’s strategic objectives can motivate and guide policymakers’ choices. The strategy can consider using behavioural science for both external policy (involving citizens, businesses, and other stakeholders) and internal policy (the processes and mechanisms of public administration itself).” – OECD LOGIC
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”. In doing so, BETA looks to collaborate with policy areas to bring a behavioural science perspective to their work.
In identifying the policy areas that can best benefit from this, BETA looks at:
- the potential impact a project could have on improving the lives of Australians
- how high a priority the policy topic is for the government
- the fit between policymakers’ needs and BETA’s skills.
Governance
“A clear and well-defined accountability structure around how resources and efforts are managed and organised can help a government more efficiently and effectively embed behavioural science into policy making procedures and practices. Governments can clearly allocate the responsibilities for mainstreaming behavioural public policy and fund associated activities appropriately.” – OECD LOGIC
BETA works on a wide range of projects across the policy cycle, including diagnosing policy problems and testing what works, using quantitative, qualitative and mixed methods approaches. BETA co‑develops these projects with policy makers to ensure our research will meaningfully inform policy development, implementation or evaluation. PM&C funds BETA’s staffing time. Partner agencies cover project costs, such as research participant recruitment or graphic design services. Splitting the costs in this way encourages engagement on behalf of policymakers. It also supports BETA’s independence and integrity by distributing clear roles and responsibilities.
Integration
“Partners, stakeholders, and structures can form an enabling environment for behavioural public policy that makes relevant evidence more likely to be sought, produced, and heeded. Governments can build behavioural considerations into standard policy processes and guidelines, and adopt behavioural science responsibly and openly to build citizens’ trust. They can also develop processes and structures for behavioural data collection that enable more efficient and effective problem diagnosis and solution development.” – OECD LOGIC
BETA is committed to transparency. We publish all quantitative trials and evaluations on our website, with trial protocols and analysis plans pre-registered. Our primary research strictly follows Australia’s National Statement on Ethical Conduct in Human Research. This includes independent review of our research methods and materials by a human research ethics committee. We have mature and robust data management protocols and practices, which enable data sharing between government agencies.
Capability
“Behavioural public policy entails a complex body of knowledge and an array of evidence generation methods. The craft of policymaking is similarly nuanced. But policymakers can know how to approach a policy problem in a people-centred, evidence-informed way, and have sustainable and ready access to behavioural science experts. Governments can also establish mechanisms to bring behavioural science evidence into the policy process in a way that is relevant and useful, and to share knowledge and practices among practitioners.” – OECD LOGIC
BETA is a multi-disciplinary team of economists, psychologists, data analysts, policy experts and project managers. Our people bring expertise from academia, the private sector and government. This diverse skill mix allows BETA to conduct and translate research that is timely and practical.
Building the APS’s capability to deliver behavioural public policy is key to BETA’s mission. We offer online courses and an interactive tool to analyse the behavioural drivers of a policy issue. We also provide richer support for smaller groups with a one-on-one coaching service and our Behavioural Insights Practitioners Network. The network periodically brings together in‑house behavioural science experts from 22 government agencies to share lessons-learned and best-practices.
Like other behavioural science units in governments around the world, BETA is continuously evolving its work, skills and operating model to reflect advances in the field and better support our policy partners. We’re excited to explore how we can further use leadership, objectives, governance, integration and capability to solve complex policy problems for Australians.