Tools and Ethics for Applied Behavioural Insights: The BASIC Toolkit

Foreword
Acknowledgements
Table of contents
Abbreviations and acronyms
Executive summary
	The “ABCD” of behavioural insights in public policy
	How to use the BASIC toolkit
Chapter 1.  Introductory guide to BASIC
	Introduction
		What is BASIC?
		What you need to know before you keep reading
	Stage 1: Behaviour
		What are the behaviours driving the policy issue?
		Which behaviour(s) should you target?
		What is your desired policy outcome?
		What is the context shaping target behaviours?
	Stage 2: Analysis
		Introduction to “slow” and “fast” thinking
			Tip: Familiarise with the behaviour
			Reminder: Flexible methodologies
		Attention
		Belief formation
		Choice
		Determination
	Stage 3: Strategies
		Targeting attention
			Make it relevant
			Seize attention
			Plan for inattention
			Defaults
		Targeting belief formation
			Guide search
			Make it intuitive
			Support judgment
		Targeting choice
			Make it attractive
			Frame prospects
			Make it social
		Targeting determination
	Stage 4: Intervention
		Ways to know “what works”
			Randomised controlled trials (RCTs)
			Alternative to RCTs
	Stage 5: Change
	Ethical considerations
		Before starting a behaviourally informed intervention
		When going through each of the BASIC steps
			Behaviour
			Analysis
			Strategies
			Intervention
			Change
	Conclusions
	Notes
	References
Chapter 2.  The BASIC Manual
	BASIC – A toolkit and ethical guidelines for applying BI in public policy
		The 5 stages of BASIC
			How to use BASIC
		Scoping a BI project: What to do first?
			Setting up a team, group or network
			Exploring the political, institutional and policy context
			Determining the policy level of the project
			Checklist for scoping a BI project
		Ethical guidelines for applying BI
			Before starting the project
	Note
	Stage 1: Behaviour – Identifying and defining the problem
		Tool #1: Behavioural reduction: Decomposing policy issues into behaviours
		Tool #2: Prioritising potential target behaviours using priority filters
		Tool #3: Defining potential target behaviours in terms of decision points
		Tool #4: Identifying crucial decision points in processes using behavioural flowcharts
		Tool #5: Select the behavioural problem(s) with the best potential for a behavioural approach
			1. What do base rates combined with past policy effort indicate how difficult it will be to change the behaviour?
			2. How will a potential behaviour change translate to impact?
			3. What is the frequency with which the behaviour occurs?
		Ethical guidelines for identifying and defining the problem (Behaviour)
	Note
	Stage 2: Analysis – Understanding why people act as they do
		BI and considerations in understanding why people act as they do
			Analysing behaviour calls for methodological eclecticism as well as theoretical consistency
		ABCD – A framework for structuring Analysis
			The four aspects of behavioural problems
		Diagnostic aspect and indicators
			Attention – The window of the mind
			Belief formation – Making sense of the world
			Choice – Making the best of opportunities
			Determination: Sticking to choices over time
		Ethical guidelines for understanding why people act as they do (Analysis)
		Annex: Theoretical underpinnings of behavioural analysis
			Dual-processing theories of reasoning, judgment and social cognition
			Cognitive biases, heuristics and BI
			The structure of behavioural insights
	Note
	Stage 3: Strategies – BI for behaviour change
		Attention – Make it relevant, seize attention and plan for (in)attention
			Make it relevant
			Seize attention
			Plan for inattention
			Conclusion: How to address (in)attention
		Belief formation – Guide search, make inferences intuitive and support judgment
			Guide search
			Make it intuitive
			Support judgment
		Choice – Make it attractive, frame prospects and make it social
			Make it attractive
			Frame prospects
			Make it social
		Determination – Make it easy, provide plans and feedback, and create commitments
			Make it easy
			Provide plans and feedback
			Create commitments (social expectations)
			Leveraging social norms
		Ethical guidelines for designing BI strategies for behaviour change (Strategies)
			Some misunderstandings to avoid
			Two central distinctions
		Annex: Approaches in behavioural public policy
	Note
	Stage 4: Intervention – Testing BI strategies for informing public policies
		Basic features and concepts of the experimental approach
			Randomised controlled trials
			Quasi-experiments – When randomisation is not possible
		Learning “what works” from experiments
			Generalising experimental findings
			Proving principle, practice and policy
		The main steps for carrying out a BI experiment
		Ethical guidelines for testing behaviourally informed policies (Intervention)
	Stage 5: Change – Implementing behaviourally informed policies
		Revisiting the political context and project level
		Implementing and scaling behaviourally informed policies
		Monitoring long-term and potential side effects
		Maintaining the policy initiative
		Disseminating knowledge widely
		Ethical guidelines for implementing behaviourally informed policy (Change)
	References