Successful public service design must focus on human behaviour

David Halpern, director of the Behavioural Insight Team at the UK Cabinet Office (widely known as the “nudge unit”), discusses research on how subtle changes in the way public services communicate with citizens can yield significant results.

“The power of social influence and networks – our social capital – runs very deep. Who we know, and how we feel about them, affects our employment, our health, our educational attainment, the efficacy of our government and even rates of national economic growth; it has been proven that counties and regions with higher levels of “social trust” growth faster.

We need to apply these insights into every aspect of our public services.”