The challenges posed by the ecological and energy transitions require the contribution and involvement of as many people as possible. Without it, no change commensurate with the contemporary challenges can be achieved. With the increased demand and a policy of accelerating transitions, what place do citizens have in the decision-making process? More generally, what role can citizen participation and democratic innovation play to help address, what Habermas calls a triple crisis in the…
The Network of Behavioural Insights Experts in Government met in Paris at the OECD in May 2023. Over 100 delegates from 44 countries joined the network’s first hybrid event to discuss the future of applied behavioural science, including in a conversation with Professor Lucia A. Reisch and Professor Ralph Hertwig. Here we attempt to bring forward the main takeaways from that conversation for behavioural science practitioners. Applied behavioural scientists are grappling with multiple important…
This is the second post of a series on innovation portfolio management for international development organisation. In the first article we laid out our approach to designing tailored innovation portfolio management models and approaches for development funders. In this post, we share insights from our collaboration on innovation portfolio management with the Ministry for Foreign Affairs Iceland. Iceland: A small but energetic player For most development organisations and funders, innovation…
In the face of what has increasingly been referred to as an ongoing “permacrisis”, governments must cope with and respond to emerging threats while already grappling with longstanding issues such as climate change, digital disruption and low levels of trust. Despite compounding challenges, governments have been able to adapt and innovate to transform their societies and economies, and to transform themselves and how they design and deliver policies and services. Indeed, recent crises have…
Since the first behavioural insights (BI) unit in 2010, many BI teams have emerged around the world. While varying in missions, models, and methodologies, they share the common goal of enhancing our understanding ‘what makes people tick’ and how we might use this information for the betterment of policy and society. In 2017, the OECD published a first report on BI and Public Policy that presented data and insights from 60 pioneering BI units. Unsurprisingly,...
Ian Hodgkinson, Tom Jackson and Lisa Jackson presented their dark data calculator at the OECD Exploring 2023 Innovation Trends webinar in January 2023. In this blog, they are making the case for hidden carbon costs of digital technologies and the need for shining a spotlight on digital decarbonization. Digital data generation is on the rise, with the increased use of smartphones wearables and sensors, cloud computing and big data technologies. However, this also means that...
Are you a motivated individual, eager to take on innovative projects and push the boundaries of what’s possible in the public sector? OPSI is searching for talented individuals to join our team for a six-month internship experience in Paris or remote (with the possibility to extend to 12 months)! The deadline for application is Sunday, 23 April 2023, 23:59 CET (instructions below). The OECD Internship Programme is designed to provide highly qualified and motivated students…
Strategic foresight and innovation policy analysts Josh Polchar and David Jonason discuss what is really needed to make foresight adequate, proportionate, and regular. Strategic foresight experts are sometimes a bit like dentists. For us, the “surgery” of strategic foresight interventions is a main part of our profession. It’s what we specialise in, and it can be highly interesting and rewarding to work with organisations who can benefit. But we make a mistake when we present...