Choueiki-2016-Public Administration Review

Amira Choueiki
Social and Behavioral Sciences Team
Behavioral Insights for Better Implementation in Government Perspective
F
or good reasons, most efforts to research, Drawing on Scientific Insights Amira Choueiki is executive secretary
of the Social and Behavioral Sciences
discuss, and improve policy focus on broad Experiments have shown that requiring a signature Team (SBST) under the General Services
questions of design. But many policy objectives at the beginning of a form, rather than at the end, Administration. To learn more, visit
remain unmet not because of a faulty initiative, but https://sbst.gov.
can reduce self-report errors—yet most forms require
E-mail: [email protected]
rather because of poor delivery. signatures at the bottom. Reversing this process—
drawing attention to the request that individuals
Executive Order 13707 of 2015 established the Social provide a good-faith report before they begin an
and Behavioral Sciences Team (SBST). The SBST exercise—can prompt more vigilance against error
identifies federal objectives that depend on individual from the onset.
decisions or actions, leverages behavioral science
insights to redesign policies and programs accordingly, Federal vendors making sales through the Federal
and helps agencies to design and pilot behaviorally Supply Schedules maintained by the General Services
informed improvements. Administration (GSA) are required to pay a fee—the
industrial funding fee (IFF)—that covers the cost
As an entity that is actively building a new way of of operating the program. The IFF payment owed
implementing within government, we are constantly is a fraction of total sales. For those figures, the
learning ways in which we can most effectively apply government uses an online website where vendors
scientific insights in the complex world of delivering self-report. To promote accurate self-reporting, GSA
services. Reflecting upon the past two years, our piloted an electronic signature box at the beginning
most successful efforts have included a number of of the online reporting portal.
features.
As a result of this change, the federal government
Defining a Narrow Objective collected an additional $1.59 million in fees in a
Seemingly small barriers to engagement (the single quarter. SBST continues its collaboration with
implementation details policy planning can often GSA, which is now permanently changing the online
overlook) can prevent programs from effectively form to improve integrity on an ongoing basis.
reaching the people they are intended to serve.
Applying behavioral insights in the right context Capitalizing on Existing Data
can lead to substantial improvements in program The federal government is a rich source of good
outcomes. data, even beyond the best-known sources. See, for
example, https://opportunity.census.gov or http://
In September of 2015, the United States Agency for datausa.io/. Our team leverages existing administrative
International Development Global Health team and data, information collections, and other low-cost
the SBST began work to reduce child and maternal tools to measure outcomes, allowing us to embed our
deaths. Defining target health outcomes linked tests directly into agency programs relatively quickly,
to specific behaviors such as timely completion of inexpensively, and sustainably to potentially study
the full course of infant immunizations, exclusive long-term impacts.
breastfeeding for six months after delivery, and
handwashing with soap at critical times has enabled Many borrowers struggle to meet their student
SBST to co-design interventions and quick, loan payment obligations. At-risk and delinquent Public Administration Review,
lightweight evaluations built into already in-flight borrowers can make repayment more manageable by Vol. xx, Iss. xx, pp. xx–xx. Published 2016.
This article is a U.S. Government work and
programs at five missions. utilizing income-driven repayment (IDR) options, is in the public domain in the USA.
DOI: 10.1111/puar.12594.
Behavioral Insights for Better Implementation in Government 1

linking monthly payment amounts to incomes. But borrowers need them widely. In this way, we learn about what works, what works
to know about and apply for such plans. best, and what does not work. Leveraging research showing that
highlighting the contrast between the actions of an individual and
SBST and the office of Federal Student Aid (FSA) sent several the social norm can successfully prompt action, SBST worked with
versions of an informational email about IDR plans to over 800,000 the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services’ (CMS) on their
borrowers who had fallen behind on their payments. FSA already effort to combat inappropriate drug prescribing.
maintained a database of when borrowers enroll in an IDR plan,
so data collection was easy, and we could focus on designing the SBST and CMS produced a letter sent to a subset of providers with
experimental conditions. One email variant led to a fourfold unusually high-billing patterns for Schedule II prescriptions such
increase in applications, with 4,327 applications for IDR within 20 as opioids. Each letter compared the recipient’s prescribing rates
days of the email being sent. with those of his or her peers and provided educational information
about proper prescribing practices.
Using Rigorous Scientific Methods
Behavioral scientists believe that very small details of program We saw no measurable impact on prescription rates over the 90
administration—the timing of a mailing or the order of choices days after the letter was mailed. On this basis, CMS and SBST
presented on a website—may influence outcomes. Randomized avoided the cost of more broadly implementing what seemed like an
control trials (RCTs)—the gold standard of social scientific effective approach, but was not in this context.
evidence—offer the best test of such theories. Even when effects
are modest, the use of RCTs enables SBST to demonstrate that our Owing to SBST projects, more Servicemembers are saving for
improvements can return savings or benefits that far outweigh the retirement, more students are going to college, more Veterans
expense of either the intervention or the evaluation. are accessing their benefits, more families are gaining healthcare
coverage, and improvements in government program integrity are
With the Farm Service Agency (FSA), the USDA’s Economic saving taxpayer dollars.
Research Service and SBST designed an outreach letter explaining the
benefits of the Microloan program and setting forth actionable steps We still have much work to do—and are committed to sharing all
such as personalized contact information for local loan officers and a of our results (positive, negative, and null) in an accessible manner
shortened web address for accessing more information. We sent the for both researchers and policy makers.
letters only to farmers in a random sample of zip codes in nine states.
Building this knowledge base of what works can inform
The letters more than doubled the amount of microloan-related policymaking upfront—and empower partners across government
activity in FSA county offices, introducing the microloan program to implement rigorously, delivering a better government for
widely to farmers who might benefit. They also increased the Americans.
percentage of successful applicants from approximately 0.09 percent
in the control zip codes to 0.11 percent in the treatment zip codes. Acknowledgments
This piece draws heavily on the 2015 SBST Annual Report, whose
Piloting First findings reflect the work of the team and officials across the federal
Whenever possible, SBST works with agencies to test the impact government. Errors or oversights are the responsibility of the author
of behavioral insights on program outcomes before implementing alone.
2 Public Administration Review • xxxx | xxxx 2016

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Amira Choueiki

Social and Behavioral Sciences Team

Behavioral Insights for Better Implementation in Government Perspective

Behavioral Insights for Better Implementation in Government 1

2 Public Administration Review • xxxx | xxxx 2016

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