We are part of the EU Policy Lab which fosters cross‑disciplinary innovation in policymaking, bringing together strategic foresight, design for policy, and behavioural insights. We apply collaborative, systemic, experimental, and forward-looking approaches to inform EU policymaking with scientific knowledge. 

In the EU Policy Lab we utilise qualitative and quantitative methods, empirical testing and participatory processes to understand the present and rethink how we approach the future. From storytelling and visual thinking to futures exploration and behavioural experiments, we combine data and analysis with anticipation and hands‑on experimentation. 

This mix of perspectives helps us turn complexity into actionable insights and support more coherent, impactful policy responses. 

Our objectives

The objectives of the Competence Centre on Behavioural Insights (CCBI) are to

• use behavioural insights to help design better policies
• bridge the gap between policymakers and behavioural researchers
• increase the use of behavioural insights for policy, when they are relevant

Behavioural Insights for policy

What are behavioural insights?

• Behavioural insights concern how people perceive things, how they decide, and how they behave.
• Behavioural insights are generated by empirical evidence from the behavioural sciences, which study human behaviour in an attempt to identify the factors that affect our behaviour.
• Behavioural factors include, for instance, our emotions, the behaviour of those around us, and our perceptions of the information that is available to us.
• Behavioural insights also help to anticipate people’s reactions to policy interventions. These interventions can be behavioural, such as changes in the information, context and situation. They can also be conventional, such as financial incentives or bans.

How do we gather behavioural evidence?

We use the following methods, alone or in combination

• Literature reviews provide a systematic overview of the available scientific evidence. They should be the first step before any other empirical work. Literature reviews help establish the value of a behavioural approach, warranting or dismissing it.
• Qualitative research uses focus groups, interviews and some sort of participant observation. This type of research is used often in preliminary phases, to better understand the underlying behavioural factors.
• Surveys ask people about their views, perceptions, beliefs, and intended courses of action. Surveys are useful in behavioural studies or by themselves. Their downside is that they capture what people say they do, not what they actually do.
• Experiments observe how people behave in more or less controlled situations. Participants are randomly allocated to a treatment or control group. The treatment group is exposed to an intervention designed to change their behaviour; the control group is not. Both groups' behaviour is then measured and compared. If there is a difference, it will be due to the intervention. Experiments can be conducted online, in a laboratory, or in real life (field experiments).

Why are behavioural insights relevant for EU policy?

Behavioural insights are a powerful tool with the potential to contribute to all phases of the EU policy cycle

They can support policy design from the outset by providing a human-centric perspective. During the development of policy, the gathering and analysing of evidence about likely mechanisms and effects can inform the impact assessment process for better targeted policy options. Behavioural insights can also support the uptake of policies and optimise their implementation, as well as guide the evaluation of policies aimed at behaviour change.

 

In the EU Better Regulation guidelines, we suggest a 4-step “DO IT” approach for applying behavioural insights to the impact assessment process:

1. Define the behavioural element

   If there is a behavioural element to a policy problem, the first step is to precisely define the relevant behaviour. What is it and how does it relate to the policy problem? Do we need to change behaviour or understand it better? Take the example of improving information in a product label. Is the aim to make the information clearer or to attract more attention?

2. Observe the behaviour and try to understand it

   Before addressing a behaviour, we need to observe it and try to understand what lies behind it (i.e. identify the behavioural factors). For this, we usually rely on a literature review or qualitative empirical analysis. How do people think, act and feel in relation to the policy problem? Is there some ‘ideal’ behaviour which people are not showing in the first place? Why would this be?

3. Identify policy options to address this behaviour

   Behavioural insights can help identify policy options to tackle the behaviour that lies at the core of the policy problem. These options can be 'soft' behavioural interventions. An example is changing the content and presentation of a label on food or appliances. But policy options can also be more traditional, like a regulation. An example is charging for or banning unsustainable plastic bags that consumers use because it is easier than remembering to bring reusable bags.

4. Test the effectiveness of these policy options

   Applying behavioural insights to policy-making is more than bringing a better understanding of behaviour. It is also about empirically testing in advance how different policy changes could affect actual behaviour. The tests take place in a controlled environment to see which policy options could be effective. Behavioural experiments are the usual method for testing policy options.

Our activities

Our work predominatnly falls into three basic strands

• Research 
  We conduct in-house behavioural research in various policy areas. Our research is mainly on-demand, following requests from other departments of the European Commission. We also conduct anticipatory research that envisages future policy needs for behavioural evidence.
• Expert assistance 
  We help other departments of the Commission to embed behavioural evidence into policymaking. We do so by identifying the behavioural elements of policy issues and possible policy options, by making sense of the existing behavioural evidence, and by defining and overseeing the methodological aspects of behavioural studies that are commissioned to external contractors.
• Capacity-building 
  We periodically deliver in-house trainings and organise workshops to promote and enable the use of behavioural insights throughout the EU policy cycle, and in national policymaking. We build and manage communities of practitioners applying behavioural insights in key policy areas and host a monthly seminar series

Infographic on the Competence Centre on Behavioural Insights

Download it here or view by clicking on the box.

Positioning BI in policymaking

Over the past decade, behavioural insights have increasingly informed policymaking, offering new ways to address complex societal challenges. Recognising this potential, the European Commission was among the first institutional players to seek to integrate behavioural insights into its work. From the beginning, the approach in JRC has been to view behavioural insights as a complement to other forms of scientific evidence — as a means to better understand decision-making contexts and design more effective policies and policy interventions. That is why our efforts are focused on bringing in behavioural insights across the whole policymaking cycle.

Every now and then it is necessary to take stock, touch base with the discussions in the wider field, and set the direction for going forward. For this purpose, the CCBI has published a position paper reflecting on past successes, where it sees behavioural insights now, and the best way to unlock to its full potential in future:

Unlocking the full potential of behavioural insights for policy

This report examines the transformative role of behavioural insights (BI) in EU policymaking, advocating for integrating BI early in the policy cycle to enhance policy effectiveness. It challenges the misconception that BI is limited to designing behavioural interventions with marginal impacts and demonstrates its potential to guide the development of both traditional policy instruments and behavioural interventions. The report underscores the importance of BI in identifying synergies and conflicts between policies across different areas, thereby improving policy coherence. It advocates for the use of BI in combination with systems analysis to achieve systemic changes. The policy relevance of this work lies in its timely contribution to evidence-based approaches, particularly in areas where the human dimension is key to policy success.

JRC138028_01.pdf