BIG Difference BC 2021:
Mobilizing Momentum in the Science
and Practice of Behavioural Insights

Thank you for another great BIG Difference BC!
Recordings and decks have now been posted below.

PROGRAM || ABSTRACTS


Friday, NOvember 5, 2021
Online

  • Download the program for abstracts and additional details

  • Summary article about BIG Difference BC 2021

  • Note: Underlined items are hyperlinked to videos of the conference materials. Please do not re-use materials without requesting permission from presenters.


9:00am - 9:30am welcome remarks [VIDEO]

 

Kirstin Appelt*
Research Director, UBC Decision Insights for Business & Society

Carl Jensen*
Project Director, BC Behavioural Insights Group

9:30am - 10:30am keynote address [VIDEO]

 

A Manifesto for the Future of Applied Behavioral Science

 

Michael Hallsworth
Managing Director, BIT Americas,
& Author of “
Behavioral Insights

Moderator: Carl Jensen
BC Behavioural Insights Group

 

The behavioral insights movement has been incredibly successful over the last decade. But, to fulfil its true potential, behavioral science needs to continue to evolve over its next decade. This talk sets out ten proposals to help get the field towards those bigger goals, ranging from how it deals with complexity to how it can be embedded more successfully into organizations.

Michael Hallsworth is Managing Director, North America at the Behavioral Insights Team (BIT). BIT was set up by the then UK Prime Minister in 2010 as the first government institution dedicated to applying behavioral sciences. BIT is now a world-leading organization that helps organizations to apply behavioral science in support of social purpose goals. Michael has been a leading figure in developing the field of applying behavioral science to government. He is the author of the book “Behavioral Insights” and has authored several influential frameworks such as the MINDSPACE and EAST reports. His work has been published in the Journal of Public Economics, The Lancet, The Oxford Review of Economic Policy, and Nature Human Behaviour. Michael has a PhD in behavioral economics from Imperial College London and was previously an Assistant Professor (Adjunct) at Columbia University.

10:30am - 10:40am Break

10:40am - 11:45am Lightning talks

 
  1. Improving Self-Identification: An Experimental Approach [VIDEO]
    Meera Paleja*, Haris Khan, & Jean-Francois Nault (Treasury Board Secretariat, Government of Canada)

  2. Reducing Stigma to Increase Uptake of Temporary Rental Assistance [Please contact the presenter to request the deck.]
    Jessica Lasky-Fink* & Elizabeth Linos (University of California, Berkeley)

  3. Keeping PSE Options Open: A Field Experiment to Help All Grade 12 Students Through the Application Process [PDF || VIDEO]
    Reuben Ford* (SRDC); Phil Oreopoulos (University of Toronto); & Taylor Hui (SRDC)

Moderator: Mikayla Ford (BC Behavioural Insights Group)

11:45am - 12:00pm BREAK

12:00pm - 12:30pm Digital Poster Session

 

Grab some lunch and enjoy the digital posters.

  • Posters have been sorted into themed clusters in separate Zoom rooms. Within rooms, each presenter will briefly explain their poster and take questions from the audience.

  • The session is divided into two sittings (12:00-12:15pm and 12:15-12:30pm) to allow attendees time to visit two clusters. Zoom rooms have a maximum capacity; if one room is full, please check out another.

Cluster A: The Practice of Behavioural Insights

  1. RIDE Model Infographic: BC Behavioural Insights Group Practitioner Guide [PDF]
    Mikayla Ford*, on behalf of BC Behavioural Insights Group

  2. Principles for Practicing Behavioral Insights [Poster PDF || Principles PDF]
    Sharilynn Wardrop*, on behalf of BC Behavioural Insights Group

Cluster B: Behavioural Insights at Work

  1. Behavioural Insights for Records Management within the BC Public Service [PDF]
    Christine Kormos* & Mikayla Ford (BC Behavioural Insights Group); Vince Hopkins (University of Saskatchewan); & Susan Laidlaw, Kristy McKamey, & Rebecca Westle (Corporate Information and Records Management Office, BC Ministry of Citizens’ Services)

  2. Shortening Return to Work Time for Injured Workers
    Daile MacDonald* & Clare Doyle (WorkSafeBC); & Dale Griffin (University of British Columbia)

  3. Activating Unemployed Job Seekers Toward Volunteering: Positive Approach AAT Training [PDF]
    Jon MacConnell* (Buoyancy Works)

cluster C: Using behavioural insights to increase compliance

  1. Increasing Survey Completion in the Canadian Armed Forces [PDF]
    Ben Sylvester*, Steve Gooch, & Joelle Laplante (Canadian Department of National Defence)

  2. See the Sign, Avoid the Fine: TSZ Parking Signs in Vancouver [PDF]
    Carl Jensen*, Parinda Chagani, & Eva Lai (UBC Advanced Professional Certificate in Behavioural Insights); Chris Darwent (City of Vancouver); & David Hardisty (University of British Columbia)

  3. A Behavioural Insights Project Encouraging Employees to Improve Documentation [PDF]
    Carolyn Babakaiff*, Anna Burrowes, & Maxine Russ (UBC Advanced Professional Certificate in Behavioural Insights); & Jiaying Zhao (University of British Columbia)

Cluster D: Applying Behavioural Insights to Financial Decisions

  1. Gender Investing Gap: Do Women in India Invest Less Than Men Owing to Greater Loss Aversion and Status Quo Bias? [PDF]
    Gursmeep Hundal* (University of Chicago)

  2. The Defensive Money Scarce Consumers: Money Scarcity Leads to Financial Advice Avoidance [PDF]
    Jane So* (City University of Hong Kong); & Nidhi Agrawal (University of Washington)

  3. The Realization Effect is Fragile in Gamblers [PDF]
    Ke Zhang* (University of British Columbia); Alex Imas (University of Chicago); & Luke Clark (University of British Columbia)

Cluster E: Applying Behavioural Insights to environmental sustainability

  1. Adopting Heat Pumps for a Zero-Emission Future: Understanding Consumer Motivations in the City of Vancouver [PDF]
    Aaron Pardy* (Simon Fraser University); & Katya Rhodes (University of Victoria)

  2. Pumping up Building Decarbonization: The Role of Consumer Policy Awareness in Heat Pump Adoption [PDF]
    Meghan Corbett* & Katya Rhodes (University of Victoria); Aaron Pardy & Zoe Long (Simon Fraser University)

Cluster F: Using Behavioural Insights to Improve Communications

  1. Effective Messaging: Tailored COVID-19 Public Health Messages for Young Adults in BC
    Tina Cheng* & Braxtyn Horbay (University of British Columbia); Rochelle Nocos (Simon Fraser University); Lesley Lutes (University of British Columbia); & Scott Lear (Simon Fraser University)

  2. Switching to Safer Payments: Applying BI to Increase E-Payment Adoption Among Social Assistance Clients
    Brianna Smrke, Julian House, Amna Raza, & Stephanie Mertens* (Ontario Behavioural Insights Unit); & Danielle McRae, Sara Boback, & Adam McConkey (Business Innovation and Implementation Branch, Ontario Ministry of Children, Community and Social Services)

cluster G: Introduction to Behavioural Insights & Training opportunities

  1. Learning the Fundamentals of Behavioural Insights [PDF]
    David Hardisty* (UBC Decision Insights for Business & Society) & Lindsay Miles-Pickup* (BC Behavioural Insights Group)

  2. UBC’s Advanced Professional Certificate in Behavioural Insights [PDF]
    David Hardisty* (UBC Decision Insights for Business & Society) & Lindsay Miles-Pickup* (BC Behavioural Insights Group)

  3. The BIG Difference BC Scholarship for the Advanced Professional Certificate in Behavioural Insights [PDF]
    David Hardisty* (UBC Decision Insights for Business & Society) & Lindsay Miles-Pickup* (BC Behavioural Insights Group)

cluster H: Social Lunch with new Friends

  • Social Lunch with New Friends: Opportunity to virtually meet new colleagues in the BI space. (No posters, just conversation.)

12:30pm - 2:00pm Special Session [VIDEO]

 

Behavioural Insights in the Workplace

Across sectors, organizations are only as strong as their employees. While employers have always needed to attract top talent and create engaged workforces, the global pandemic has forced employers around the world to shift how they do business, including how they manage and support their employees. Looking towards the future, it is clear that the workplace will never be the same.

Join us for a special session investigating how Behavioural Insights and other innovative tools can be used in the workplace to improve the employee experience, to increase employee trust and empowerment, and to explore the future of work.

  1. Using Behavioural Insights and Experimentation to Improve Employee Experience and Engagement in the Federal Public Service

    Elizabeth Hardy*
    Senior Director of Research and Experimentation, Treasury Board Secretariat, Government of Canada
    (with Meera Paleja, Jean-Francois Nault, & Jason Lawson, Treasury Board Secretariat, Government of Canada)

  2. Employee and Candidate Experience Improvements Using the Behavioural Insights Lens

    Kerri Buschel
    *
    Director of Experience, Marketing and Insights, WorkSafeBC

  3. A Framework for Change

    Geneviève Racine
    *
    Innovation Lead, Innovation Hub, BC Public Service


    Moderator:
    Adam King, Managing Director, BeThink Solutions

 

2:00pm - 2:10pm break

2:10pm - 3:15pm Lightning talks

 
  1. Optimizing Attendance at Tenancy Dispute Resolution Hearings through Behaviourally Informed Email Reminders [VIDEO]
    Alexis Gordon* (BC Residential Tenancy Branch); Emily Medd (BC Ministry of Health); Lindsay Miles-Pickup (BC Behavioural Insights Group); & Kirstin Appelt (University of British Columbia)

  2. Improving Mental Health Care in a Pediatric Emergency Department [VIDEO]
    Takuro Ishikawa* (BC Behavioural Insights Group); & Benetta Chin, Garth Meckler, Christy Hay, & Quynh Doan (University of British Columbia)

  3. A Meta-Analytic Cognitive Framework of Nudge and Sludge [VIDEO]
    Yu Luo* (University of British Columbia); Dilip Soman (University of Toronto); & Jiaying Zhao (University of British Columbia)

Moderator: Christine Kormos (BC Behavioural Insights Group)

3:15pm - 3:30pm Closing Remarks [VIDEO]

 

Kerri Buschel*
Director of Experience, Marketing and Insights, WorkSafeBC

Kirstin Appelt*
Research Director, UBC Decision Insights for Business & Society


*indicates presenter.
All listed times are Pacific Time (UTC−08:00).