Behaviour Change Science & Policy (BeSP)

Key to solving several societal problems lie in changing behaviour

. For example, tackling climate change, chronic diseases and ethnic discrimination, and promoting wellbeing at work and schools can be influenced by changing a variety of behaviours, with interventions ranging from individual-level to system-level interventions.

Behaviour Change Science & Policy (BeSP) is an ‘Argumenta’ project funded by Finnish Cultural Foundation in 2019-20). It aims to evoke scientific and interdisciplinary discussion on questions related to influencing behaviour. The project brings together researchers from different fields, policy makers, and other actors to discuss the science of developing and evaluating effective interventions, to best solve challenges related to behaviour change. The project aims to improve the uptake and use of research on influencing behaviour, when designing public policy.

The core of the project is formed by five symposia that cover evidence based policy-making and making better use of behaviour change research. In the symposia, we will discuss opposing scientific views, and seek novel promising avenues for the future.

Finally, we will publish a toolbox of societal decision making that serves as a guidance to better utilise science and research.

EVENTS

Upcoming events

(Event in Finnish) Tervetuloa tiistaina 31.8. klo 12-13 online-julkistustilaisuuteen, jossa kerrotaan käyttäytymistiedon mahdollisuuksista politiikkavalmistelussa ja julkisessa hallinnossa.

Uusi johdantokirjanen, “Käyttäytymistietoon pohjautuva politiikka: Johdatus käyttäytymistä koskevan tiedon hyödyntämiseen” tutustuttaa lukijan käyttäytymisen huomioinnin tärkeyteen yhteiskunnallisessa päätöksenteossa, tarjoaa keinoja huomioida käyttäytymistekijöitä sekä esittelee tapoja toteuttaa vuoropuhelua tieteentekijöiden ja asiantuntijoiden kanssa. Kirjanen julkaistaan Valtioneuvoston yhteisessä julkaisuarkistossa Valtossa.

Lyhyet puheenvuorot pitävät mm.:

  • Apulaisprofessori Nelli Hankonen Helsingin yliopistosta
  • Ohjelmaneuvos Sirpa Kekkonen, Valtioneuvoston kansliasta
  • Tutkijatohtori Nils Sandman, CLIMATE-NUDGE -hankkeesta
  • Satu Korhonen, Demos Helsingistä

Tilaisuus on suunnattu julkishallinnon toimijoille, eikä vaadi ilmoittautumista.

Past events

The 1st BeSP symposium was a high-profile multidisciplinary 2-day event around Intervention evaluation & field experiments and had over 130 registered participants, more information and recordings of presentations are available at the Intervention evaluation & field experiments website.

The 2nd BeSP symposium was on Behavioural insights in developing public policy and interventions. Tiedekulma was fully booked (over 180 registered participants), and a 2-day event had a wide live streaming audience (119 viewers followed the stream on Thursday and 149 viewers on Friday!). More information and recordings of presentations are available at Behavioural insights in developing public policy and interventions website.

The 3rd BeSP symposium was on Reverse translation: Practice-based evidence. The 1-day event in Metsätalo was once again fully booked and many followed the live stream. More information and recordings of the presentations are available on the Reverse translation: Practice-based evidence website.

The 4th BeSP symposium Creating real-world impact: Implementation and dissemination of behaviour change interventions was transformed into a virtual symposium at short notice (due to the COVID-19 situation). This high-profile multidisciplinary 2-day event attracted a wide audience: Close to 500 viewers followed the stream on Thursday and approximately 300 on Wednesday! More information is available at symposium website (the recordings of presentations are available there too).

The 5th BeSP symposium Complexity Science and Behaviour Change Interventions was also held as a virtual event. Once again, the symposium gained wide interest and attracted almost 300 registered participants! The presentations will be available on the symposium webpage soon!

Join our community on Facebook and/or Slack for more discussions around these topics!

ORGANISERS

Coordinator: Postdoctoral researcher Elina Renko, elina.renko@helsinki.fi

Principal Investigator: Associate professor Nelli Hankonen, nelli.hankonen@helsinki.fi

Members of the working group

Markus Kanerva, Senior Specialist, Prime Minister's Office

Sirpa Kekkonen, Head of Government Strategy Secretariat, Prime Minister's Office

Aino Kääriäinen, University Lecturer, Social Work, University of Helsinki

Taru Lintunen, Professor, Sport and Exercise Psychology, University of Jyväskylä

Satu Korhonen, Senior Consultant, Demos Helsinki

Topi Miettinen, Professor, Economics, Hanken School of Economics

Harri Oinas-Kukkonen, Professor, Information Processing Science, University of Oulu

Jukka Pirttilä, Professor, Public Economics, University of Helsinki

Juho Saari, Professor, Sociology, University of Tampere

Katariina Salmela-Aro, Professor, Educational Sciences, University of Helsinki

Maija Setälä, Professor, Political Science, University of Turku