PROJECTS

Launch of the “Smart Fellowship: Workplace Skills for Success” Programme in Lucknow

We are delighted to announce the successful launch of “The Smart Fellowship: Workplace Skills for Success” Programme in Lucknow! This collaborative initiative, led by the Nimaya Foundation with the Centre for Social and Behaviour Change (CSBC) as the knowledge partner, offers a comprehensive curriculum for women to develop their soft and digital skills. Participants engage in immersive learning experiences, including workplace simulations and participative case studies, to prepare them for success in an increasingly automated world. The program emphasises critical competencies like critical thinking, creative problem-solving, and emotional intelligence — skills identified as essential by the World Economic Forum and the National Education Policy.

The programme integrates behavioural science to amplify its impact, particularly in advancing women’s economic empowerment and skill development. Over 3,000 young women applied, and 1,000 talented individuals were selected to embark on this empowering journey. The “Smart Fellowship” programme stands as a testament to the power of collaboration and the potential of behavioural science in creating meaningful change. We are eager to witness how these smart naaris will leverage their new skills to craft innovative solutions and lead in the evolving world of work.

The photo above captures Dr Sharon Barnhardt, Director — Research and Dr Pavan Mamidi, Director, addressing these naaris during the launch of the programme in Lucknow

Field Experiment on Gender-Based Social Norms in Assam and Meghalaya

CSBC has completed a two-month-long field experiment survey in Assam and Meghalaya, covering two districts of Assam (Karbi Anglong and Dima Hasao) and one in Meghalaya (Shillong). The experiment aims to explore the effects of gender-based social norms on intra-household decision-making through a behavioural experiment across three societies -Khasi in Meghalaya, Karbi and Dimasa tribe in Assam. In a lab-in-the-field setting, we conducted behavioural games and post-experiment questionnaire surveys with 533 couples to understand the intra-household bargaining power between husband and wife. Showcasing behavioural insights at the National Training Workshop on Jal Jeevan Mission

Dr Shagata Mukherjee, CSBC Deputy Director and Academic Lead at NITI Behavioural Insights Unit, along with Selva Swetha, Sr. Research Specialist, participated in the two-day National Training Workshop on Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM), organized by the Ministry of Jal Shakti, Government of India.

Our work on JJM received high praise from participants, including Mr YK Singh, Director JJM — IEC, who emphasized the significance of two jointly published documents by CSBC’s NITI Behavioral Insights Unit and the Ministry, Compendium of Behavioural Best Practises” and the “BCC Strategy Booklet. These documents were hailed as the “guiding principles for JJM IEC”, setting a benchmark for best practices in the field. Dr Shagata Mukherjee also contributed to a panel discussion on innovations in IEC alongside esteemed co-panellists Soumi Banerjee from MyGov, New Delhi, and Divyang Waghela from TATA Trusts. Moderated by Sanjana Chowhan from Global Health Strategies, the discussion explored the vital role of behavioural science principles in shaping effective IEC strategies.

Advancing behaviour science for policy change at NITI Aayog

Aastha Bhakhri, Deputy Director — Policy Engagement from our Behavioural Insights Unit at NITI Aayog, participated in a panel discussion to share the importance of behaviour change and applied behaviour sciences for effective policy and programme implementation for the new Aspirational Block Programme Fellows cadre appointed by NITI Aayog under the leadership of Anand Shekhar, Additional Mission Director, NITI Aayog. The event was hosted at the prestigious Indian Institute of Public Administration IIPA (Official). We had the honour of sharing the panel with eminent speakers, including Sanjeev Jha, Director — of India Sanitation Coalition at FICCI, Dr Anoop Tripathi — Ernst & Young and Prabhat Kumar, Mission Manager — Deendayal Antyodaya, Yojana — National Rural Livelihoods Mission (DAY — NRLM) and Ashok Vishandass from IIPA.Workshop with the Department of Child Nutrition, Uttar Pradesh to improve ICDS effectiveness.

The Behavioural Insights Team, Uttar Pradesh (UP-BIU) is working in partnership with the Integrated Child Development Scheme (ICDS), Government of Uttar Pradesh, to develop a series of behaviorally informed training videos for their front-line health workers on complex topics of complementary feeding and use of growth monitoring devices which has a direct outcome on child health and growth outcomes in the state. We recently organized a design consultation for the department attended by the Director, ICDS and her team of senior officials. The primary objective of this diagnostic workshop was to collectively explore the different pathways through which we can integrate behavioural science into this intervention.

RESEARCH

Eye tracking and decision-making: Insights into complex choicesUsing eye-tracking technology, Dr Narges Hajimoladarvish and Dr Sneha Sashidhara, Senior Research Fellows at CSBC, analysed how individuals process and evaluate compound lotteries — scenarios where risk factors complicate decision-making. They used the order of information processing to uncover underlying cognitive processes and combine valuation data with methods traditionally used with choice data to test these underlying processes. This research sheds light on navigating complexity and making decisions in uncertain situations. For more details, read the working paper linked here.

PUBLICATIONS

Academic publications

Promote to protect: data-driven computational model of peer influence for vaccine perception
Sayantari Ghosh, Saumik Bhattacharya, Dr Shagata Mukherjee & Sujoy Chakravarty
03 January 2024
Scientific Reports

Opinion editorials in the media

CAN BEHAVIOURAL CHANGES IMPROVE AND ENCOURAGE WASTE SEGREGATION IN INDIA?
Pooja Haldea and Muskan Jain
15 February 2024

MALNUTRITION: SCALING DIGITAL BEHAVIOUR CHANGE INTERVENTIONS
Pratyusha Govindaraju
29 January 2024

BORROWED WISDOM: BEHAVIOUR SCIENCE AND PUBLIC HEALTH

Michael Hallsworth dives into the need to rethink public health using behavioural science in this piece. Read more here.

Listen to Casey Hughes break the importance of adaptive interventions and the role of AI and technology in behaviour change.

Follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter for more, and sign up for our newsletter here.

PROJECTS

Compendium of Behavioural Best Practices unveiled at Jal Jeevan Mission National Conference

A significant landmark came from our work with Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM). Union Minister for Jal Shakti, Shri Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, Shri Swatantra Dev Singh, Jal Shakti Minister, UP, Smt Vini Mahajan, Ministry of Jal Shakti, Department of Water Resources, RD & GR, Govt. of India and Shri Ravi Kishan, Member of Parliament, unveiled a pivotal handbook at the JJM National Conference in Lucknow on 16th February — the Compendium of Behavioural Best Practices in Jal Jeevan Mission, co-developed by CSBC, NITI Aayog and the Department of Drinking Water and Sanitation (DDWS).

The Compendium of Behavioural Best Practices focuses on innovative solutions that help tackle behavioural challenges in Jal Jeevan Mission relating to water quality, conservation, and community participation. It has been collated with the efforts and support of the Ministry of Jal Shakti, district administrations, and consultations with Rural WaSH (Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene) partner forum members, academicians, and development practitioners.Fostering global academic collaboration with University of Michigan Law School

We created a learning platform for students from the University of Michigan Law School, to interact with key players in the field of social development in India. The students got a chance to engage with officials of NITI Aayog and take a closer look at the strategies behind the transformational initiatives undertaken by the Government of India towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals, including efforts towards reducing multidimensional poverty and citizen empowerment.

Our journey then led us to the Kailash Satyarthi Children’s Foundation office in Delhi, where we had the privilege of attending a session with Nobel laureate Kailash Satyarthi himself. Mr Satyarthi spoke about the pivotal role of compassion in law, behaviour change, social development, and policy change. He took us through his journey, key organisational initiatives, and some powerful stories of change. The session culminated in an insightful conversation with Mr Sathyarthi, a true inspiration and leader.

Strengthening adherence to exclusive breastfeeding practices in Uttar Pradesh

In February, CSBC continued its mission to address critical health issues affecting communities across India. Exclusive breastfeeding during the first six months of life is paramount in safeguarding children from diarrhoea and pneumonia, two leading causes of child mortality and morbidity. Despite its importance, breastfeeding practices often deviate due to perceived harmless additions. Recognising this, CSBC has developed targeted behavioural interventions to strengthen knowledge and attitudes towards exclusive breastfeeding. Collaborating with the district health administration, CSBC conducted evaluations involving 1200 respondents in rural Farrukhabad, UP, providing valuable insights for future campaigns.

Fostering dialogue to strengthen frontline workers

In our ongoing commitment to enhance child health outcomes in the state, our team of behavioural scientists embarked on a journey to Varanasi. There, CSBC engaged closely with the community to glean insights that can fortify the efforts of Anganwadi workers statewide. Discussion guides tailored for focus group discussions and one-on-one interviews brought forth crucial behavioural motivators driving these frontline workers. This immersive experience yielded invaluable insights and fostered meaningful dialogues within the community. You can watch this space to learn more about this project soon!Training coaches to facilitate socio-economic empowerment of rural households in Bihar

Our Bihar Behavioural Insights Unit accomplished a significant milestone in its work with JEEViKA, an initiative by the government of Bihar aimed at the socio-economic empowerment of rural households. CSBC trained the first cohort of JEEViKA Master Resource Persons (MRPs)/front-line workers on all the Satat Jeevikoparjan Yojana (SJY) coaching kits. This kit cultivates essential skills such as problem-solving, goal-setting, and networking among community members via behavioural-informed cards, videos and games. It is user-friendly and requires minimal refresher training, making it accessible and efficient for SJY MRPs and SJY Didis to use and take to the field while engaging with the community at large. As a testament to their dedication and the transformative potential of the coaching kit, all trained MRPs will be called Star MRPs. The participants also took an oath to demonstrate their commitment to the mission of socio-economic empowerment of rural households.

Gender norms and intra-household bargaining in Assam and Meghalaya

Our Gender Norms and Intra-Household Bargaining Project in Assam and Meghalaya aims to analyse the effects of gender-based social norms on household financial decision-making. Through a behavioural experiment on couples across three neighbouring societies — the Khasi society in Meghalaya, the Karbi society and the Dimasa society. The team started collecting field data in Assam and Meghalaya via a lab-in-the-field setting, completing the data collection through field experiments and post-experiment questionnaire surveys in Karbi in Assam and Khasi in Meghalaya.

CAPACITY BUILDING

Advancing behaviour science at the University of Lucknow

In collaboration with the Department of Business Administration, University of Lucknow, we organised a behavioural science workshop on “Decision Making Process and Canonical Biases in Risky Situations” led by Dr. Narges Hajimoladarvish, Senior Research Fellow. The session delved into prospect theory and decision-making dynamics in uncertain environments, examining how individuals navigate decisions amidst risk and uncertainty, unravelling canonical biases influencing choices. A diverse group of over 60 students, predominantly from the MBA program, Ph.D. scholars in economics, and postgraduate economics programs, actively attended the session. It served as a valuable platform for robust discussions, enabling participants to understand the complexities of decision-making processes. This workshop also marks another successful addition to the series of seminars conducted by CSBC at the University of Lucknow, contributing to the academic enrichment of aspiring professionals.

PUBLICATIONS

Academic publications

Promote to protect: data-driven computational model of peer influence for vaccine perception
Sayantari Ghosh, Saumik Bhattacharya, Dr Shagata Mukherjee & Sujoy Chakravarty
03 January 2024
Scientific Reports

Opinion editorials in the media

CAN BEHAVIOURAL CHANGES IMPROVE AND ENCOURAGE WASTE SEGREGATION IN INDIA?
Pooja Haldea and Muskan Jain
15 February 2024

MALNUTRITION: SCALING DIGITAL BEHAVIOUR CHANGE INTERVENTIONS
Pratyusha Govindaraju
29 January 2024

OPEN POSITIONS

Lead — Uttar Pradesh Behavioural Insights Unit
Uttar Pradesh Behavioural Insights Unit
Deadline: 20th March 2024

View all current openings

BORROWED WISDOM: BEHAVIOUR SCIENCE AND PUBLIC HEALTH

In this piece, Michael Hallsworth dives into the need for rethinking public health using behavioural science. Read more here.

Listen to Casey Hughes breakdown the importance of adaptive interventions and the role of AI and technology in behaviour change

Follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter for more, and sign up for our newsletter here.

PROJECTS

Decoding C-Section Dynamics: Enhancing Maternal and Child Health in India

In our recent collaboration with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, CSBC focused on understanding the factors influencing C-Section deliveries in India. We endevoured to provide effective insights to create social and behaviour change communication materials around the subject. For the diagnosis, we extensively reviewed maternal health policies, national and international guidelines on C-Sectional deliveries, and global literature. Our findings revealed that dynamic factors influence healthcare professionals, pregnant women, and caregivers in relation to C-Section deliveries.

Diverging from singular solutions, we recommended adopting a comprehensive approach for developing impactful social and behaviour change communication materials to improve pregnancy and childbirth outcomes.If you would like to learn more about this project, click here!

Unveiling pathways to financial inclusion among women in rural Uttar Pradesh

Our team, under the guidance of Dr. Pavan Mamidi, Director, Dr. Sharon Barnhardt, Director — Research, and Aayush Agarwal, Senior Associate and Lab Manager, in collaboration with CSBC’s Faculty Affiliates, Prof. Enrique Fatas and Dr. Luis Artavia-Mora, are studying the psychology behind why rural women may refrain from seeking help for issues related to digital financial services (DFS). Focusing on four districts in Uttar Pradesh, our experiment aims to establish connections between psychological factors, such as belief in fatalism, and the likelihood of women seeking assistance for DFS-related problems. Additionally, we are exploring how gender norms influence the inclination to seek help through formal channels. We aim to leverage these insights to design interventions that foster financial inclusion in rural India. If you’re interested in participating in our research studies, click here!

CAPACITY BUILDING

Advancing behaviour science at the University of Lucknow

Expanding our commitment to building behaviour science capacity, Gautam Patel, Deputy Director, led a capacity-building seminar at the University of Lucknow. The workshop engaged with research scholars from the Department of Business Administration and focused on enhancing effective decision-making processes.

In another lecture on behaviour science and experimental methods, Pratyusha Govindaraju, Senior Research Specialist, and Aayush Agarwal, Senior Research Associate, from our team conducted interactive activities like ultimatum and trust games. These activities showcased how individuals prioritise fairness and trust over potential financial losses, supported by case studies from recent research.

We also inaugurated a behaviour science bookshelf at the Department’s library, a significant milestone in our partnership, graced by Professor Sangeeta Sahu, Head of the Department.

Applying behavioural insights — Optimising programming and policy leadership

CSBC led a full day of training at the five-day workshop, ‘Applying Behavioural Insights-Optimising Programming and Policy Leadership’ at the University of Chicago Center in Delhi, organised by United States Agency For International Development for their senior programme officers from Southeast Asia and officials from NITI Aayog. The workshop, designed to be interactive, featured working group sessions that allowed sectoral teams to apply behavioural science principles to their specific programmes. This comprehensive approach aimed to equip participants with practical knowledge and skills to enhance the effectiveness of their initiatives by addressing and overcoming barriers to behaviour change. The CSBC team played an integral role in this dynamic workshop by leading two sessions. Dr Shagata Mukherjee, Deputy Director at CSBC and Academic Lead of the Behavioural Insights Unit of India, NITI Aayog, delved into ‘Behavioural Insights in Policy’. At the same time, Dr Pavan Mamidi, our Director, and Dr Sanna Palsule, Senior Fellow, conducted a session on ‘Diagnosing Barriers to Behaviour Change: Framework and Approach.’

EVENTS

Introducing The Atlas of Behavior Change in Development

In collaboration with Dalberg and with the support of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, we launched The Atlas of Behavior Change in Development (ABCD) in New Delhi. ABCD is a platform that aids impact-focused organisations and funders in integrating behavioural science into projects. The beta launch featured innovations by Gram Vaani, Rocket Learning, Breakthrough Trust, and CSBC; it included AI for last-mile reach, addressing gender-based violence, parental engagement in child education, and boosting HPV vaccine uptake. Read more about the launch here.

CSBC Colloquium: Delayed Justice — A Behavioural Perspective of Legal Process in India

CSBC’s recent colloquium titled ‘Delayed Justice — A Behavioural Perspective of Legal Process in India’ was held on 18 December in New Delhi. The event delved into the intricate nature of delayed justice within the Indian legal system. We hosted Professor Vikramaditya Khanna, a distinguished authority in law from Michigan Law, as our esteemed keynote speaker, who added profound insights, offering attendees a unique perspective on this pressing issue.

Knowledge collaboration with the Ashoka Behavioural Insights Team and the Ashoka Consulting Club

We are delighted to announce our knowledge collaboration with the Ashoka Behavioural Insights Team (ABIT) and the Ashoka Consulting Club (ACC) in hosting the Annual Intra-University Case Competition. The ACC x ABIT Case Competition experienced an outstanding turnout, with 87 teams registering and over 250 enthusiastic participants from various academic cohorts.

In the role of judges, Aayush Agarwal, Senior Associate and Lab Manager, Ananya Iyer, Associate, Behavioural Insights Unit, NITI Aayog, and Anika Ghei, Policy Associate, Behavioural Insights Unit, NITI Aayog, meticulously evaluated the insightful cases prepared by Ashoka students. These cases were designed to explore the behavioural barriers and facilitators for UPI usage in India.

The student teams demonstrated ingenuity by formulating behavioural strategies and providing actionable recommendations to encourage marginalised communities to embrace UPI. The winning teams distinguished themselves through their deep understanding of behavioural science concepts, effectively applying them to address policy issues.

PUBLICATIONS

Academic publications

Promote to protect: data-driven computational model of peer influence for vaccine perception
Sayantari Ghosh, Saumik Bhattacharya, Dr Shagata Mukherjee & Sujoy Chakravarty
03 January 2024
Scientific Reports

COVID-19 VACCINATION STATUS AND HESITANCY: SURVEY EVIDENCE FROM RURAL INDIA

Dr Sneha Shashidhara, Dr Sharon Barnhardt & Dr Shagata Mukherjee
28 September 2023
Indian Studies in Business and Economics

TOWARDS THE EQUITABLE DISTRIBUTION OF COVID-19 VACCINES IN AFRICA

Devneel Basudev Goswami
20 July 2023
Cambridge Journal of Science and Policy

Opinion editorial in the media

SOCIAL BARRIERS IN SHIFTING TOWARDS SUSTAINABLE MOBILITY

Ashali Bhandari and Ronika Postaria
16 December 2023
Dailypioneer

APPLYING BEHAVIORAL SCIENCE TO ENHANCE COMPETITION IN DIGITAL MARKETS

Dr Pavan Mamidi and Aayush Agarwal
4 October 2023
Moneycontrol

OPEN POSITIONS

Lead — Uttar Pradesh Behavioural Insights Unit
Uttar Pradesh Behavioural Insights Unit
Deadline: 31 January 2024

Associate Director — Operations
Operations
Deadline: 31 January 2024

View all current openings

BORROWED WISDOM: BEHAVIOUR SCIENCE AND PUBLIC HEALTH

In this piece, Michael Hallsworth dives into the need for rethinking public health using behavioural science. Read more here.

Listen to Professor Sniehotta explain how behavioural science and medicine are both multidisciplinary areas, not necessarily distinctly different.

Follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter for more, and sign up for our newsletter here.

The field of Behaviour Science seeks to comprehend human behaviour beyond the assumption of rationality. It works to observe and learn the innate biases and motivators to employ these insights to nudge behaviour in specific directions.

Organisations can leverage behavioural science principles to enhance experiences in various settings, including the socio-development sector. Employing behavioural insights can yield powerful results, requiring mindfulness of grassroots details when crafting experiences. For instance, consider an NGO using principles like priming, anchoring, or the peak-end rule to transform an awareness workshop on sexual health for rural women.

Let us first understand what these principles mean to elaborate on the above. As a behavioural science principle, priming highlights our susceptibility to subtle subconscious cues, such as the authority delivering information. In the context of the sexual health awareness workshop, leveraging priming can shape the atmosphere by using warm colours, inviting surroundings, and a non-judgmental environment, setting the stage for openness, trust, and engagement. Mediums such as posters, diagrams, or memes can further enhance women’s exposure to terms, concepts, and ideas, facilitating a more profound understanding than simple verbal explanations.

Secondly, Anchoring emphasises our tendency to become attached to the initial information presented, using it as a reference for judging subsequent information. In the context of the sexual health awareness workshop, creating an outstanding and impressive first impression is crucial for a lasting impact. Initiating the session with empowering narratives or stories of women overcoming struggles in similar circumstances can establish a hopeful and powerful start. This positive tone sets the stage for the entire workshop, ensuring the women remember the experience as pleasant and impactful.

Lastly, The peak-end rule, a significant behavioural principle, asserts that people evaluate an experience based on the feelings at its peak and its end rather than the overall sum or average. In sexual health workshops, focusing on peak moments like discussions on rights, consent, and decision-making becomes crucial. Additionally, concluding the seminar positively by summarising key takeaways and offering further support or resources solidifies the end of the experience. This approach ensures attendees depart feeling empowered, informed, and supported.

One real-life example of behavioural sciences used in a social context is WHO’s Behavioural Insights Unit (BIT) in Africa. They attempted to use behavioural insights for better community engagement to impact health outcomes positively. This includes generating evidence about and with the community and ensuring capacity within Ministries of Health for collecting behavioural insights or data to inform policies and plans. This milestone achievement increased the use of mainstream behavioural science in the African health sector.

“From the very beginning of the behavioural insights for better health initiative, we have worked closely with the WHO Regional Office for Africa, achieving results such as strengthened skills and capacity and the collection of COVID-19 social and behavioural data through a dedicated data collection tool,” said Elena Altieri, Behavioural Insights Head of Unit

In conclusion, applying behavioural science principles, such as priming, anchoring, and the peak-end rule, presents a transformative opportunity to create enhanced experiences. Employing these insights in socio-developmental settings, like the sexual health awareness workshop in our example, fosters engagement and empowerment and leaves a lasting impact.

By understanding and leveraging these principles, social organisations can craft more meaningful, impactful, and memorable experiences for their target audiences and drive positive societal change for social growth. Applying behavioural science principles provides a transformative opportunity for enhanced experiences. Integrating research insights with practical interventions leads to meaningful impact in socio-developmental settings.

Written by Siya Kohli, Intern, CSBC

As the year draws closer, recency bias and the peak-end rule influence our minds, magnifying recent events and overshadowing earlier experiences. This biased recall distorts our perception, much like judging a book solely by its concluding chapters.

Recognising these biases sheds light on human decision-making, injecting humour and depth into our understanding. Rather than aiming for lofty ideals, acknowledging the quirks of our cognitive wiring allows us to approach resolutions with realistic expectations and nuanced reflections. Let’s embrace the charming chaos of our wonderfully biased minds as we enter the new year.

Speaking of embracing change, at CSBC, we comprehend the virtue of steady progress. Our commitment to behavioural change originates from the understanding that transformation often involves gradual, consistent steps rather than abrupt overhauls. Through extensive research, rigorous trials, and thorough testing, we’ve witnessed the potency of small, deliberate actions in fostering growth.

Our expertise in behavioural science, design, economics, and related fields empowers us to catalyse impactful transformations. Whether in nutrition, sanitation, maternal health, family planning, or financial services, we advocate collaborative approaches that integrate various disciplines. We firmly believe that genuine change isn’t just about radical upheavals but the culmination of consistent efforts and nuanced adjustments that accrue over time, propelling us forward.

In essence, just as recognising cognitive biases enriches our perception, acknowledging the importance of gradual progress illuminates the path to meaningful change. Here’s to a new year that embraces both the intricacies of our minds and the virtue of steady, deliberate steps toward growth and transformation.”

We wish everyone a year brimming with learning, growth, and the sheer joy of progress!

Warm regards,
Center for Social and Behavioral Change

PROJECTS

Increasing the uptake of digital financial services in Uttar Pradesh

CSBC developed behaviourally informed strategies to enhance the adoption of digital financial services in rural Uttar Pradesh. Our team, led by Dr Sneha Shashidhara, Senior Research Fellow, Dr Pavan Mamidi, Director and Pooja Haldea, Senior Advisor, adopted the model of Pause & Practice, which is the use of shortened instructional videos followed by a stopgap with sufficient time to allow women to practice what they just saw. The concept of watching and practising on repeat led to greater accuracy and higher confidence among women. Read more about the project here and access the report here.

Improving Foundational Literacy and Numeracy (FLN) outcomes in Uttar Pradesh

Research has shown that parents’ involvement in children’s learning can positively impact their academic performance and social-emotional development. However, they often lack the confidence and tools to actively extend support to their child, particularly when facing literacy barriers themselves. To solve this, the Central Square Foundation and Centre for Social and Behaviour Change at Ashoka University came together to design and test out innovative behavioural interventions that can bridge this gap. Access the report here.

Dr Sneha Shashidhara, Senior Research Fellow from CSBC on the project, shared her insights in an exclusive interview for TheEDge, a monthly newsletter by the Central Square Foundation (CSF). ‘Unlike some simpler habit-like behaviours, say in the health sector where the desired behaviour could be remembering to take medication, and education involves more intricate actions. The challenge then lies in effectively conveying crucial information for [such] complex behaviours, utilising behavioural science principles to distil the information into a digestible form and harnessing the right motivations to convert it to desired behaviour.’ Read the full interview here.

If you’re interested in participating in our research studies, click here!

ACADEMIC PUBLICATIONS

USING MACHINE LEARNING PREDICTION TO CREATE A 15-QUESTION IPV MEASUREMENT TOOL
By Dr Sneha Shashidhara, Dr Pavan Mamidi, Shardul Vaidya, and Ishank Daral
August 2023, Journal of Interpersonal Violence

DO WOMEN PREFER IN-GROUP POLICE OFFICERS? SURVEY AND EXPERIMENTAL EVIDENCE FROM INDIA
By Dr Nirvikar Jassal and Dr Sharon Barnhardt
22 August 2023, Comparative Political Studies

NO GOING BACK: COVID-19 DISEASE THREAT PERCEPTION AND MALE MIGRANTS’ WILLINGNESS TO RETURN TO WORK IN INDIA
By Varun Arora, Dr Sujoy Chakravarty, Dr Hansika Kapoor, Dr Shagata Mukherjee, Shubhabrata Roy, and Dr Anirudh Tagat
May 2023, Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization

INSIGHTS FROM A QUALITATIVE STUDY OF THE PROCUREMENT AND MANUFACTURE OF ACTIVE PHARMACEUTICAL INGREDIENTS IN INDIA
By Heather Hamill, Kate Hampshire, Harshada Vinaya and Dr Pavan Mamidi
May 2023, BMJ Global Health 2023

View all our peer reviewed publications here

CAPACITY BUILDING

Upcoming book launch: Behavioral Science for Development

CSBC contributed two chapters to an upcoming book ‘Behavioral Science for Development’ by Dr Luis Artavia-Mora and Zarak Khan, hitting the shelves this fall. The book represents the collective wisdom of over two dozen authors: experts in the fields of behavioural science and international development, including Dr Pavan Mamidi, Director CSBC; Gautam Patel, Deputy Director, CSBC; and Aayush Agarwal, Senior Associate & Lab Manager, CSBC.

In his chapter on Collaborating with Government, Gautam Patel shares that ‘Behavioural insights can provide governments with diagnostics to design solutions to persistent problems of poverty. The power to use behaviour science for better decision-making should not remain in the domain of highly trained and scarce experts; rather, it is a greater good if behaviour science organisations can build capacity in government teams to use this knowledge to strengthen their systems through a scientific understanding and a better-informed process for problem-solving.’

Turning our attention to the chapter on the Challenges to Scaling-up Interventions in India, authored by Dr Pavan Mamidi and Aayush Agarwal, ‘Policy interventions that are transformational in their implementation plan — those that do not seamlessly integrate into existing policy implementation infrastructure — are bound to induce psychological contract breaches (PCB) within implementers. This can lower job satisfaction and performance. Before systemic changes that deal with PCB can be implemented, such as better onboarding processes, regular job expectations evaluations and goal-setting exercises, and conscious efforts by supervisors to minimize job responsibility overload, interventions must be designed with the intention to minimize PCB.’

Sign up for early bird access to the book here.

Teaching Behavioural Insights for Innovative Public Policy

The CSBC team is teaching a course, Behavioural Insights for Innovative Public Policy at the Kautilya School of Public Policy in Hyderabad. This elective includes classes by Dr Pavan Mamidi, Director, CSBC; Dr Sharon Barnhardt, Director — Research, CSBC; Dr Shagata Mukherjee, Deputy Director, CSBC and Academic Lead, Behavioural Insights Unit of India, NITI Aayog; and Joycelyn Joseph, Senior Associate, CSBC. An integral component of the Masters in Public Policy programme, the course equips students with foundational knowledge in behavioural economics, emphasises the significance of evidence-based policymaking, and elucidates how behavioural experiments can shape policy outcomes to drive change in the social ecosystem through in-person lectures, case studies and field visits.

Advancing capacity-building initiatives

CSBC continues to stay committed to its goal of building behaviour science knowledge in the country, especially amongst policymakers. Dr Shagata Mukherjee, Deputy Director at CSBC and Academic Lead of the Behavioural Insights Unit of India, NITI Aayog, trained the incoming batch of Indian Economic Service officers through a comprehensive two-day training program on behavioural economics and policy at the Institute of Economic Growth, New Delhi. He also taught at the Vedica Scholar’s Programme in August and presented at a research seminar on gender and at the Indian Institute of Management, Calcutta. During this seminar, Dr Mukherjee addressed an audience of faculty members and research scholars, shedding light on the profound impact of gender and social norms on financial behaviour for both men and women.

Taking behaviour science to University of Lucknow

Gautam Patel, Deputy Director, CSBC, led an interactive workshop to introduce behaviour science to University of Lucknow research scholars. Aimed at imparting practical behavioural science insights to enhance personal and academic effectiveness, participants learned goal-setting and commitment strategies through exercises and real-life examples. Teaching assistants Anika Ghei and Deeksha Tiwari from CSBC shared their experiences applying these concepts for goal achievement and habit formation.

EVENTS

On 18 August, the Centre for Social and Behaviour Change (CSBC) held its second colloquium, Storytelling for Impact, in partnership with Civic Studios, a media production house incubated at the MIT Media Lab. Facilitated by Dr Sharon Barnhardt, Director — Research, CSBC; the event opened with the screening of Civic Studios’ short film — Vakeel Babu, igniting an insightful discussion on the role of movies in creating a meaningful impact in society. The evening also included a thought-provoking panel discussion Media and Storytelling for Social Change, moderated by Dr Pavan Mamidi, Director CSBC, joined by Anushka Shah, Founder, Civic Studios; Radharani Mitra, Global Creative Advisor, BBC Media Action; and Jitender Dabas, COO & CSO, McCann; uniting academics, filmmakers, media agencies, and civil society to explore the power of storytelling. View the recording here.

Establishing a new Behavioural Insights Unit (BIU) at Rajasthan

CSBC, in partnership with UNICEF India and the Indian Institute of Health Management Research University (IIHMR), Jaipur, recently held a visioning workshop to establish the Behavioral Insights Unit (BIU) in Rajasthan to be anchored by IIHMR University. The workshop began with Dr P R Sodani, President of IIHMR University, Isabelle Bardem, Chief of UNICEF Rajasthan Field Office, and Alka Malhotra, Specialist, SBC, UNICEF India Country Office, offering inspiring perspectives on the importance of this partnership for setting up a powerful and impactful BIU in Rajasthan.

Pooja Haldea, Senior Advisor, CSBC, delved into the fundamentals of designing behavioural solutions and shed light on CSBC’s ongoing initiatives in this field, ‘Behavioural Science has the potential to address not only issues at the demand side but also to influence policy and supply levels. This can strengthen government programmes and have a tangible impact at the grassroots level.’ Additionally, Gautam Patel, Deputy Director, CSBC, provided valuable insights from the experiences of existing BIUs at NITI Aayog, Uttar Pradesh, and Bihar, highlighting their implications for the upcoming IIHMR BIU. This collaboration will leverage behavioural science for positive change in Rajasthan and beyond.

Webinar on causal effects of social norms on behaviour and the role of social norms strength

The Social Norms Learning Collaborative, South Asia, hosted a webinar on ‘Understanding the causal effects of social norms on behaviour and the role of social norms strength’. It included a presentation by Dr Aron Szekely, Assistant Professor in Sociology, Collegio Carlo Alberto and Affiliate Researcher at the Institute of Cognitive Sciences and Technologies. Moderated by Dr Narges Hajimoladarvish, Senior Research Fellow and Lead Behavioural Scientist, Pop-UP Lab, CSBC; Dr Szekely presented his research findings on the causal evidence between social norms and cooperation and the role of social norms strength. Watch the session here.

BORROWED WISDOM: STORYTELLING AND BEHAVIOUR SCIENCE

In this episode, David Blakely dives into risk-taking, storytelling, how we live in partnership with AI and the invention of Scrabble. Listen to the podcast here.

Read how we can use research and neuroscience tools to tell better stories — and make sense of our chaotic modern world.

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One-sentence abstract: Funded by IPA, researchers at the Centre for Social and Behaviour Change at Ashoka University in India conducted surveys to evaluate the impact of intrinsic factors such as locus of control, self-efficacy, and fatalism on how women consumers manage redress issues with their digital financial services providers.

India’s strong digital financial services market has played a significant part in boosting financial inclusion in rural regions where formal banking is less prevalent.[1] However, the process of redress — raising complaints and having them listened to and addressed by providers — is often slow and challenging, leading many consumers to not seek it out.[2] In particular, the incidence of women taking redress action is low, perhaps as a result of contending with structural economic and social barriers that can limit their financial inclusion.

Researchers at the Centre for Social and Behaviour Change at Ashoka University conducted surveys with 231 men and 230 women digital financial services consumers in rural Bihar and Uttar Pradesh. They examined the roles of intrinsic factors such as locus of control (beliefs about what controls the course of one’s life), self-efficacy, and fatalism in how women perceive and manage redress issues when they arise. Outcomes of interest included redress knowledge, attitudes towards redress after doing it, and redress behavior in the future.

Results showed that men and women had similar levels of self-efficacy and fatalism when approaching redress, but women had lower levels of internal locus of control (i.e., a perception of less control over their lives) compared to men. Men and women were equally in favor of reporting issues and feeling unfairness when encountering problems. Men (2.7 out of 4) scored significantly higher than women (2.54 out of 4) on a knowledge quiz about digital financial services redressal.

Perceived norms appeared to drive redress behavior for women: They were more likely than men to ask their family or friends to help with redress, doing so for 39 percent of their problems compared to 32 percent for men. Relatedly, women who reported a higher perceived norm of receiving family backlash for experiencing issues were less likely to seek redressal on their own. In contrast, women who reported a higher awareness of digital financial services among women in their community were more likely to seek redressal on their own.

These results will inform future interventions about ways to strengthen women’s confidence and experiences in using digital financial services.

Sources

1. Dilip Modi, “Success of digital financial services rests on rural India’s shift from cash to digital payments economy,” Financial Express, February 7, 2021

https://www.financialexpress.com/industry/sme/cafe-sme/success-of-digital-financial-services-rests-on-rural-indias-shift-from-cash-to-digital-payments-economy/2189985/

2. Chatterjee, Samiha, Women’s Financial Inclusion in Digital India: Need for Gender Thrust, 17, accessed February 15, 2022 https://sprf.in/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/SPRF-2021_IB_Gender-and-Financial-Inclusion.pdf

“This blog was originally published on poverty-action.org, and the research was funded by Innovations for Poverty Action (IPA)’s Consumer Protection Research Initiative.”

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BEHAVIOUR CHANGE AND POLICY DIALOGUE 2023

On 23 June, the Centre for Social and Behaviour Change (CSBC) held the “Behaviour Change and Policy Dialogue 2023” in partnership with the Behavioural Insights Team (BIT) and Behavioural Insights, Architecture & Strategy (BIAS). The conference hosted experts, including Dr Somak Raychaudhury, Vice Chancellor of Ashoka University, as the Chief Guest and Dr David Halpern CBE, CEO of BIT, as the Keynote Speaker.

The event featured a panel discussion on ‘Development Challenges and Behaviour Change,’ bringing together public policy experts, behavioural economists, and social norms researchers — Nirat Bhatnagar, Partner at Dalberg Advisors; Radharani Mitra, Global Creative Advisor at BBC Media Action; Rory Gallagher, Managing Director at BIT; Dr Sujoy Chakravarty, Professor at JNU; and Urvashi Wattal, Associate Director — Policy at J-PAL South Asia. This engaging discussion delved into aspects of the ethics of nudging, policy implications, funding dynamics, technical innovations, and behavioural solutions.

Building on Dr Halpern’s expertise in behaviour science in the UK and insights from our panellists, the 2023 Dialogue emphasised the significance of behaviour science in the narrative of developing India. View the recording here.

PROJECTS

STUDYING COVID-19 VACCINE HESITANCY IN RURAL INDIA

We released two short films on our COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy in rural Uttar Pradesh and Bihar study at the “Vaccine Acceptance Research Network Second Annual Conference”. VARN2023 was organised in Bangkok by the Sabin Vaccine Institute and UNICEF in partnership with Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance. Watch the first film above and explore the study findings here.

STUDYING COVID-19 VACCINE HESITANCY IN RURAL INDIA

In collaboration with the Central Square Foundation (CSF), we identified behavioural obstacles that hinder effective parental engagement in children’s FLN learning. Our team, led by Dr Sneha Shashidhara and Dr Pavan Mamidi, developed intervention packages rooted in behavioural principles to enhance parental involvement and overcome these barriers. Read more here.

If you’re interested in participating in our research studies, click here!

CAPACITY BUILDING

KNOWLEDGE COLLABORATION WITH THE UNIVERSITY OF LUCKNOW (UoL) TO PROPEL BEHAVIOUR SCIENCE IN UTTAR PRADESH

CSBC and the UoL signed an MoU to advance scientific learning, research, and professional skills development among students. This partnership offers students academic and professional development opportunities while paving the way for contextual research in the state. The collaboration was launched with a lecture, “Introduction to Experimental Economics,” by Dr Narges Hajimoladarvish, Senior Research Fellow, CSBC. Read it in the press here.

TRAINING PROGRAMME AT LAL BAHADUR SHASTRI NATIONAL ACADEMY OF ADMINISTRATION (LBSNAA)

CSBC successfully conducted a training program, “Nudge — Behavioural Insights in Policy”, in partnership with the Department of Monitoring and Evaluation (DMEO). This initiative included participation from 183 IAS officers in their seventh and ninth years of service. It is the first of its kind program for such officials to receive training on applying behavioural science to policy.

EVENTS

REDUCING PHYSICIAN HESITANCY IN RECOMMENDING THE HPV VACCINE TO ADOLESCENT GIRLS

In continuation of our work with the American Cancer Society (ACS) to reduce physician hesitancy in recommending Human Papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine to adolescent girls (9–14 years), Jocelyn Joseph, Senior Associate, CSBC, presented diagnostic findings of our research to members of the Indian Academy of Pediatrics and the Federation of Obstetric and Gynaecological Societies of India at a recent conference organised by the Cancer Foundation of India and ACS. The conference brought prominent paediatric and gynaecological societies together to promote HPV vaccination implementation interventions among physicians. Read our report here.

TRANSFERRING LESSONS FROM RURAL TO URBAN PROGRAMMES

Gautam Patel, Deputy Director, CSBC, shared valuable insights from our behavioural science work in Bihar at the Satat Jeevikoparan Yojana — Urban: Inaugural Workshop, organised by Jeevika (Bihar Rural Livelihoods Promotion Society) and BRAC (Building Resources Across Communities). He participated in a panel discussion titled, Transferring Lessons from Rural to Urban Programs. “Perspectives on the pressures on the urban poor to navigate in cities, without their village social networks and under the congestion and competition of cities, brought light on the need for behavioural interventions to help them cope and succeed in pulling themselves out of poverty”, attests Gautam. Read about the event in the press here.

WEBINAR ON DECODING SOCIAL NORMS

The Social Norms Learning Collaborative, South Asia hosted its second webinar on “Social norms: What really are they” on 7 July 2023 to demystify social norms and create a deeper understanding of their nature. Dr Sharon Barnhardt, Director — Research from CSBC, moderated the session for speakers Dr Sanjit Dhami, Professor at the University of Leicester and Shruti Goyal, Associate Partner at Dalberg. View the webinar recording here.

PUBLICATIONS

OPINION EDITORIALS IN THE MEDIA

Solving the Scalability Puzzle
BY Arushi Malhotra and Sheral Shah
9 May 2023
India Development Review

Behaviour Change and Climate Action
By Ashali Bhandari and Pooja Haldea
31 May 2023
India Development Review

View our opinion editorials here

DIAGNOSTIC REPORT

Improve Teacher Uptake of Effective FLN Instruction
In partnership with Central Square Foundation
March 2023

Click here to view our reports

BORROWED WISDOM: THE DAVID HALPERN SERIES

In this episode, Professor Halpern dives into how behavioural science works to change people’s behaviour and how small tweaks can create massive change. Listen to the podcast here.

Read how seemingly small and subtle solutions have led to huge improvements across tax, healthcare, pensions, employment, crime reduction, energy conservation and economic growth.

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BENCHMARKING RESEARCH, POLICY, AND DEVELOPMENT IN INDIA

The Centre for Social and Behaviour Change hosted its inaugural Behaviour Science Dialogue in Kerela earlier this month. Public policy experts, behavioural economists, and social norms researchers, including Dr Luis Artavia-Mora, Shekhar Menon, Nirat Bhatnagar and Dr Sujoy Chakravarty, joined the conference.

The event showcased the range and depth of our research and policy initiatives and included stimulating intellectual discussions. As we advance into the year, we aim to amplify our impact by continuing cutting-edge research and increasing advocacy of applied behaviour science in India. Learn more about the Dialogue here.

PROJECTS

WHAT MAKES A GOOD STORY: UNDERSTANDING HOW NARRATIVE PERSUASION CAN TRANSFORM HEALTH BEHAVIOURS
Through a perception survey, we analysed the impact of compelling Entertainment-Education (EE) narratives in driving desired social outcomes for Iron and Folic Acid (IFA) supplement consumption among pregnant women and Minimum Diet Diversity (MDD) for children between 6 and 23 months. In the coming months, a 500-respondent lab-in-the-field RCT in Sewapuri, UP, will test our MDD edutainment videos against existing collateral currently used by the government to address these indicators. Read more.

If you’re interested in participating in our research studies, click here!

PUBLICATIONS

Awareness, perceptions, and choices of physicians pertaining to human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination in India: A formative research study
BY Ishu Kataria, Mariam Siddiqui, Katherine Treiman, Shaylen Foley, Meenu Anand, Sutapa Biswas, Digant Shastri, Neerja Bhatla, Diksha Radhakrishnan, Pavan Mamidi and Rengaswamy Sankaranarayanan
Academic article

Financial Uncertainty, Worker Productivity and Savings Decisions: Experimental Evidence from India
BY Aishwarya Deshpande
Working paper

COVID-19 Vaccination Status and Hesitancy: Survey Evidence from Rural India
BY Sneha Shashidhara, Sharon Barnhardt and Shagata Mukherjee
Working paper

Find more publications here.

BORROWED WISDOM

Recommended reading/listening/watching/learning
If you are new to the field, Behavioural Science 101 is a great resource to help you understand fundamental concepts and get started. Lately, the community has been discussing the ethics of AI in behavioural science, so what’s a better way to learn about AI than through Netflix, Amazon and pizza? Be careful, though — there are serious pitfalls to using ChatGPT to fuel your research. Bonus: Listen to Dr Cassie Kozyrkov (Chief Decision Scientist at Google) in conversation with Dr Joe Sweeney (Advisor, Future of Work at Intelligent Business Research Services (IBRS)) to dive deeper into AI in decision-making.

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In the 1980s, economist Amartya Sen posited his capabilities approach to understanding human development and welfare. Sen emphasised that increasing welfare requires not only providing access to resources (like education, healthcare, and financial services), but also ensuring individuals have the confidence, agency, and capability to make their own decisions about how (if at all) to use those resources.

In the context of financial inclusion, a capabilities approach would ensure that financial services are not only made available to all, but that individuals have the social, economic, and psychological means to use these services, raise complaints (often called grievance redressal), and resolve disputes. In India, we set out to test this dynamic: whether people’s beliefs about their agency influenced their attitudes toward digital financial services (DFS). While digital platforms have brought more people into the formal financial market, the welfare impact of financial services also relies on people’s ability to navigate the financial system, belief that the system is fair, and willingness to seek redressal.

In 2022, we conducted a survey in rural areas of Uttar Pradesh and Bihar in India to examine this very dynamic — could internal factors like perceived agency drive differences in consumers’ willingness to seek redress? We asked: would women be less likely than men to try to fix a problem in a digital transaction because they believe they have less control over their lives? We also examined how external factors like social norms could affect redressal behaviour by posing the question: would women be less likely than men to try to fix a problem because of norms that women who attempt to solve digital finance-related problems should fear retribution?

Along with our colleague Pavan Mamidi, we asked women who already use digital financial services through smartphones how they behave when something goes wrong with a transaction. In total, we asked 13 interviewees qualitative questions and conducted a survey in which 230 women responded. We specifically asked questions to understand if the following concepts impacted women’s decisions to seek grievance redressal differently than men:

• Locus of control: beliefs about what controls the course of one’s life — either primarily one’s own thoughts and actions (known as internal locus of control) or external circumstances (external locus of control) (Rotter 1966). Someone with an external locus of control could easily assume that it wouldn’t be worth resolving an issue if their bad luck created the problem in the first place.
• Self-efficacy: belief in our ability to meet the challenges ahead of us and complete a task (Bandura 1977). Greater self-efficacy should correspond with a higher likelihood of pursuing grievance redressal.
• Fatalism: the belief that human lives are predestined and not influenced by individual actions. A highly fatalistic person might believe that having a DFS problem is their destiny and can’t be resolved.

Here’s what we found:

• Out of the three factors, men and women only differed regarding the locus of control. While women and men answered similarly regarding self-efficacy and fatalism, female respondents reported significantly lower internal locus of control than men. In other words, women feel they have less control over their lives than men. We also observed that a lower internal locus of control is not necessarily associated with lower self-efficacy, as people believe that destiny favours those who work hard.

• Women have less knowledge of how to resolve DFS complaints, but that didn’t impact their trust in DFS. Knowledge of DFS redressal mechanisms among our respondents was generally low, but women scored significantly lower than men. The mean score for women was 2.54 out of 4; for men, it was 2.54 out of 4. Despite this lack of knowledge, there was no difference in trust in DFS between women and men. This may be due to the fact that we only surveyed people who already use finance apps.
• Women and men feel the same about reporting DFS issues. Men in our sample reported a higher perceived norm that their community respects people for seeking redress. Despite this, women and men have similar attitudes in favour of reporting issues they faced while using DFS (80% and 79%, respectively). They also equally feel a sense of unfairness if they encounter problems. While reports of handling past problems on one’s own were similar between men and women, women were significantly more likely than men to ask their family or friends to help solve their DFS-related problems (women sought redressal through family/friends for 39% of their DFS-related problems, while men did this for 32% of their problems).
• Household and community norms of retribution for making mistakes influence women’s likelihood of seeking redressal on their own. Women in our sample who reported a higher perceived norm of receiving family backlash for experiencing DFS-related issues were less likely to seek redressal on their own. Conversely, women who reported a higher awareness of DFS among women in their community were more likely to seek redressal on their own, indicating that perceived norms drive differences in behaviour.
• There’s no significant correlation between the three psychological traits and an individual’s likelihood of seeking redressal on their own. However, our analysis found that locus of control strongly influenced the sample’s likelihood of preferring to ask others for help and doing nothing in response to problems (over seeking redressal independently). Particularly among women, those who reported the belief that other individuals and chance influence the course of their life were more likely to ask others for help with their problems. Conversely, women with a higher internal locus of control were less likely to be inactive in response to their problems.

Our data uncover far more similarities than differences by gender among existing DFS users. This finding surprised us, but hindsight provides two plausible explanations. An existing field of research is investigating if technology empowers women, meaning internet access could have increased women’s agency in line with men’s (Pazarbasioglu et al. 2020; Field et al. 2021). Perhaps, a more plausible explanation for rural Uttar Pradesh and Bihar is that only women with the high agency could access smartphones and use DFS and therefore be part of this research. In this case, service providers and regulators, as well as researchers, should be aware that women who already use DFS are unlikely to represent all women. For example, women who are not as confident as these early adopters may need specific assistance to prevent and solve problems when they arise.

As a result, the next question we need to answer is whether agency and confidence prevent women from even using digital financial services in the first place, and if they do, find ways to increase these internal motivators of behaviour. To make sure formal financial services yield the biggest impact, researchers need to better understand how women’s agency and locus of control can help or hinder the efficacy of financial products.

This work was funded by Innovations for Poverty Action (IPA)’s Consumer Protection Research Initiative.

This blog was originally published on poverty-action.org, and the research was funded by Innovations for Poverty Action (IPA)’s Consumer Protection Research Initiative.”

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