United Nations Behavioural Science Report

"The achievement of many of the Sustainable Development Goals hinges on changing human behaviour. This inherent focus and reliance on changing behaviours provides ample opportunities for applying behavioural science to support the work of the UN."

Behavioural science refers to the evidence-based study of how people behave, make decisions, and respond to programmes, policies, and incentives. It applies rigorous methods to better understand which interventions work and in particular, the degree of impact they have. Behavioural science is increasingly being used, including within the United Nations (UN) system, to address issues ranging from poverty reduction to climate change to public health emergencies. From the UN Behavioural Science Group, this report documents the use of behavioural science across the UN, presenting the experiences of 25 UN entities and emerging good practices from governments and international organisations.

Communicators are often involved in efforts to promote behaviour change. Such efforts may leverage some mechanisms from behavioural science, but often are not be grounded in the principles and rigorous methods of behavioural science - e.g., an understanding of the barriers that prevent people from engaging in or following through with their intended actions, as well as the enablers that assist people in in establishing and achieving their goals. "Applying behavioural science can thus help improve efforts to promote behaviour change."

The report examines trends and capabilities in application of behavioural science in the UN. Box 2 on page 6 provides examples of how each of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) hinges on changing human behaviour and thus invites opportunities to apply behavioural science. For example, SDG #3, on good health and well-being, can be addressed by boosting vaccine uptake through easy access (e.g., vaccination without appointments), incentives (e.g., rewards for vaccination), and trusted messengers (e.g., to fight misinformation). As reported here: "Impact achieved thus far through the application of behavioural science in the UN includes improved adherence to medical treatment, increased immunisation uptake, better financial inclusion, improved uptake of social protection, reduced carbon footprint, women's empowerment to take action in their communities, improved student test scores, informed migration decisions, increased behavioural science knowledge shared, cost savings for the UN and member states in addition to others." (Additional use cases are provided in Section 5 of the report.)

The report suggests that further increasing impact across programmatic and administrative areas requires mainstreaming behavioural science at the UN through:

• Creating a culture that supports behavioural science - e.g., promoting awareness and an overall understanding of behavioural science across the organisation;
• Strengthening UN behavioural science capacity - e.g., delivering tailored behavioural science training;
• Supporting the application of behavioural science - e.g., creating and strengthening strategies for applying behavioural science, incorporating an understanding of ethics, and using rigorous testing and evaluating impact; and
• Fostering exchange and collaboration - e.g., encouraging peer-to-peer learning and support, discussing strategies for applying behavioural science, and promoting awareness about the UN's work on behavioural science.

The next section offers a discussion of behavioural science in 25 UN entities, including description of behavioural science application, projects, and achievements, as well as links to related publications. For example, the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) facilitated a behavioural mapping that led to the design of interventions to increase vaccination uptake and completion of the childhood immunisation schedule in Lebanon. A behaviourally informed calendar that included several "nudges" (including the use of social norms, a commitment device, implementation plans, a salient reminder/prompt, and a messenger) was distributed to households in a random subset of administrative regions. Data collected from 16 primary healthcare centres and dispensaries in Lebanon revealed an increase of 6.6 percentage points in the uptake of vaccination among households that received a behaviourally informed calendar - this is equivalent to a 60 percent increase in the likelihood of vaccination.

In conclusion: "The UN Behavioural Science Group offers an easy entry point to engage with behavioural science practitioners from across the UN system and beyond. The efforts of the Group have already brought the UN behavioural science community closer together, helped to raise awareness for the approach and made it easier to identify synergies. The UN Group will work to further assist UN Entities, for example, by offering training opportunities, providing advice along their behavioural science journey and bringing in knowledge from outside the UN."

Click here for the 61-page report in PDF format.