Traditional views of regulation emphasise the role of the law as the primary tool for compliance but many regulators recognise that behaviour change is the focus of, and even synonymous with, regulation. This article discusses three behaviour change tools: segmentation, choosing specific behaviours and understanding motivation.

Nudge and co-design are gaining popularity as innovative approaches to solving policy problems. An article in Policy Studies compares these two approaches. It also reflects on the implications for policy effectiveness, political trust and government legitimacy.

Government behavioural insights teams have tended to apply behavioural insights using the most well-known tools in the field—small, low cost ‘nudges’ to improve communications, increase compliance and enhance the way services are delivered. This paper has been designed as a conversation starter on how to apply behavioural insights to public policy more strategically.

Getting people to behave in desirable ways (or cease behaving in undesirable ones) is a critical outcome for regulators. While we struggle to save lives and flatten the curve, COVID-19 is providing behavioural and compliance researchers with a natural policy experiment in why people do and don’t do what they’re told, and how this differs...

This research report presents findings from a broad range of international academic literature on the use of insights from the behavioural sciences in regulatory practice—an approach to regulation colloquially known as ‘nudging’.