Calling DIBS: Recent Episodes
Kirstin Appelt
Learn the inside story of Behavioural Insights in this series of interviews with BI enthusiasts and experts from BC and beyond, hosted by Dr. Kirstin Appelt, Research Director of UBC Decision Insights for Business & Society (UBC-DIBS). New episodes are posted regularly September-May.
Karen Smallwood, Product Manager in Connected Services BC, BC Public Service.
Karen Smallwood has an eye for how to use BI to save lives! Her capstone project team tackled organ donation from a new angle: It turns out many people assume they're registered donors when they're not! Drawing on her work in emergency management, Karen shares BI barriers faced by folks trying to prevent, prepare for, respond to, or recover from emergencies. She also tells us about Connected Services BC, which will majorly reduce sludge for the people of BC.
Faraz Haqqi, Principal Behavioral Designer at ideas42.
Even highly skilled workers can struggle to find work. Faraz Haqqi provides a snapshot of ideas42’s projects tackling this challenge from Rwanda to Jamaica to Malaysia to the US. The projects approach the problem from a number of different angles, including helping employers provide apprenticeships and internships, helping training programs synch their curricula with market needs, and helping jobseekers complete job placement programs.
Katherine Flaschen, Principal Behavioral Designer at ideas42.
ideas42's Katherine Flaschen explains how to tackle complex challenges like "improving educational outcomes" by using a step-by-step process and focusing on meaningful, movable, and measurable behaviours. To illustrate, Katherine shares a project using social norms and present bias to encourage caregivers to enroll girls in school. Katherine also shares key advice like centring target populations and building partner capacity to increase impact.
Nicholas Chesterley, Author of "Future-Generation Government".
Nick Chesterley's new book, "Future-Generation Government", uses a behavioural insights lens to explore why governments underweight the long term, and how we can help them better balance the present and the future. Nick and I talk about the importance of measurement, experimenting with new ideas, and iterating as we learn what works (and what doesn't). We also discuss strategies to make it easy and attractive to govern for tomorrow today.
Dave Hardisty, Associate Professor of Marketing and Behavioural Science at UBC Sauder School of Business.
Dave Hardisty returns to the podcast to talk about A/B tests, which are a popular and useful tool to help us determine which version of something works best. However, A/B tests run on online platforms like Google and Facebook aren't actually true experiments because of the way platforms try to optimize engagement for each version. Dave shares why this matters, options for online true experiments, and best practices for online platform A/B tests.
Greg Lockwood, Senior Analyst at Global Affairs Canada.
Greg Lockwood returns to the podcast to tell us about recent projects using mixed methods to explore optimal hybrid work strategies and to encourage deep work in the age of distraction. Drawing from his experiences at the Public Health Agency of Canada and Global Affairs Canada, Greg also shares lessons learned about experimentation, communicating with internal vs. public audiences, and working in BI-specific vs. generalist roles and teams.
Jordana Composto, Postdoctoral Researcher at UBC Decision Insights for Business & Society (UBC-DIBS).
We're thrilled to welcome Jordana Composto as our new DIBS postdoctoral researcher. Through her contributions to the 2022 IPCC report and her research on the mechanics of social norms, Jordana works across disciplines and levels to tackle the climate crisis. She shares helpful ways to categorize behaviour change, gaps that new research can address, calls to better measure and report impacts, and goals for collaborating to implement research insights.
Alison Schatz, Senior Communications Specialist at Metro Vancouver.
After completing the Advanced Professional Certificate in Behavioural Insights, Alison Schatz is finding a wide range of ways to weave BI into her work. Among other uses, Alison is drawing on BI concepts and methods to write action-focused communications, to coordinate with colleagues, to connect with difference audiences, and to lay the groundwork for herself and others to do full BI experiments to improve services and sustainability for the community.
Takuro Ishikawa, Senior Behavioural Scientist with the BC Behavioural Insights Group (BC BIG).
Tak Ishikawa returns to the podcast to help us understand the recent "debate" about boosts and nudges. To help ground the conversation, we disentangle terms like heuristics, biases, nudges, and boosts. In the end, Tak and I firmly agree that there is no debate -- both boosts and nudges are extremely valuable. Instead, it's about nuance and choosing the right intervention (or combination of interventions) for the situation.
Clea Stone, Associate Director at The Sound.
Because Clea Stone recently completed the Advanced Professional Certificate in Behavioural Insights to complement her existing skillset from a decade of work in market research, she's perfectly equipped to help us explore the intersection of market research and behavioural insights. To wit, Clea brainstorms opportunities for integrating BI into market research and profiles qualitative research techniques that can round out the BI repertoire.
Yann Cornil, Associate Professor of Marketing and Behavioural Science at UBC Sauder School of Business.
As a French food researcher, Yann Cornil was surprised by North American eating habits and messaging about good vs. bad foods. Yann's research with Pierre Chandon suggests that we eat less and enjoy it more when we eat mindfully (read: with our TVs and phones off) and focus on the Epicurean or sensory pleasure of eating. So, listen to this episode and then go savour a small portion of your favourite, delicious, delectable snack!
Kieran Findlater, Lead for Behavioural and Data Science at the Impact and Innovation Unit.
Kieran Findlater shares how his cross-disciplinary background prepared him to work at the Canadian federal government's Impact and Innovation Unit (IIU). Kieran explains the IIU's approach to projects and how it has evolved. He also provides an overview of the recently completed Program of Applied Research on Climate Action or PARCA, which promoted climate action through a combination of longitudinal surveys, online experiments, and in-field testing.
Julie Szabo, Principal at Capulet.
At Capulet, Julie Szabo has worked on a wide variety of online communication campaigns. In addition to sharing general wisdom for creating social media campaigns and measuring their impact, Julie tells us about recent projects promoting HPV vaccines in Bangladesh, Nigeria, and Pakistan. Julie also shares the exciting news that Capulet is creating a digital library, which will make their rich history of campaigns and data publicly accessible.
Joana Katter, Research Lead for Policy & Program Research at Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada.
Drawing on her experiences working in academia, government, and the private sector, Joana Katter shares advice for finding BI roles and creating community. We discuss the importance of leading with curiosity and humility, especially when you're part of a cross-functional team. We also talk about the many different contributions BI projects bring to the table and the value of planning projects so that there are wins along the way (and not just at the very end).
Lea Dunn, Principal Quantitative Researcher at Brooks Running.
Lea Dunn unpacks the value of behavioural science for firms like Brooks, the performance running company. With their passionate customers and culture of curiosity, Brooks creates opportunities to use behavioural science, including both qualitative and quantitative research methods, in everything from developing strategy to evaluating customer satisfaction. Lea also talks about how to champion BI, what to outsource, and how to find opportunities for BI.
Piyush Tantia.
After 15 years at ideas42, Piyush Tantia reflects back on big successes, including completing over 600 projects around the world and scaling impactful interventions like behaviourally-informed cash transfers. Piyush also shares challenges, such as finding funding for social science research and development. Lastly, we discuss opportunities ahead, including building BI into policy and practice at all levels to create truly behaviourally-informed organizations.
Kirstin Appelt, Research Director of UBC Decision Insights for Business & Society (UBC-DIBS).
To celebrate our 100th episode, host Kirstin Appelt reflects on her top takeaways so far: (1) There are multiple roads to BI and the field is richer for it. (2) BI is everywhere, which means there's no shortage of opportunities for doing the work of BI! (3) BI has a strong foundation and it's constantly evolving and improving. (4) BI is a kind, passionate community where everyone from newbies to long-time experts are generous with their time and knowledge.
Adrian Camilleri, Associate Professor of Marketing at the University of Technology Sydney Business School.
Adrian Camilleri provides an overview of his research nudging greener car choices: He shares his earlier work testing different fuel economy metrics and activating different purchase goals. Adrian also gives us a sneak peek into his ongoing research exploring personalized nudges--the idea that different folks respond to different nudges, and that matching the right nudge to the right person might best help them achieve their goals.
Crystal Hall, Associate Professor at the University of Washington’s Evans School of Public Policy & Governance.
Drawing on her book Antiracist by Design,Crystal Hall shares an updated model for working on behavioural science projects. The model emphasizes actively and collaboratively planning and managing projects so that they involve the right people, ask the right questions, identify the correct problems, iteratively design fitting solutions, measure for differential impacts for different groups and downstream consequences, and share results through multiple channels.
Jade Radke, PhD student in Psychology at UBC, & Jiaying Zhao, Associate Professor of Psychology and the Institute for Resources, Environment and Sustainability at UBC.
As part of the "Happy Climate" project, Jade Radke and Jiaying Zhao are exploring how to increase both climate action and happiness. Across projects, they've found that positive frames and probabilistic rewards work: Framing actions as doing more good (vs. less bad), framing climate change as an opportunity for action (vs. a disaster to survive), and offering lotteries (vs. certain rewards) all lead to more climate action. That said, as we discuss, context matters!
Holly Caggiano, Assistant Professor in Climate Justice and Environmental Planning at UBC’s School of Community and Regional Planning.
Holly Caggiano shares her research combining the disciplines of behavioural science and planning to explore climate equity, community-led solutions, and community solidarity and care. We also discuss some of the opportunities that arise when behavioural science and planning come together, including more exploration of the forces shaping human behaviour and more progress toward community-led planning and nudging.
Eva Koromilas, Project Lead with the OECD’s Behavioural Science Unit.
Sludge is baked into many processes, from filing taxes to renewing licenses to accessing services. Fortunately, folks like Eva Koromilas are paving the way for organizations worldwide to undertake sludge audits to find and eliminate the points of friction and psychological costs that keep us from completing processes. Eva explains the value of sludge audits for organizations, for service users, and for BI enthusiasts hoping to start weaving BI into their work.
Penny Norman, VP of Strategy & Communications, Rescue Agency.
Penny Norman applies behavioural science to tackle a variety of pressing behavioural and mental health challenges. She provides a snapshot of the work Rescue has done to promote harm reduction behaviours within the context of the fentanyl crisis. The takeaways are widely applicable to behaviour change projects -- approach with an open mind, look for restraining forces, move beyond raising awareness, empower people, and learn and iterate.
Jeremy Gretton, Behavioural Scientist with the Ontario Behavioural Insights Unit.
Jeremy Gretton reflects on his time applying BI in academia, the private sector, and government. We discuss why many "a or b" questions are better answered with "both/and": Combining academic and applied expertise, qualitative and quantitative approaches, behaviour and systems change, and rigour and impact are all more powerful than choosing "either/or". Jeremy also shares recent work on public trust and vaccination by Public Health Canada.
Paloma Bellatin, Principal Advisor with BIT.
The term "digital innovation" covers a lot of (quickly-changing) ground. Paloma Bellatin provides an overview of three different areas where behavioural science is making an impact: creating new technology to bring interventions online accessibly, improving existing technology to better serve users, and protecting against online harms, whether from well-meaning companies, deliberate misinformation, or the impacts of technology use itself.
Dilip Soman, Professor of Marketing at the University of Toronto's Rotman School of Management, & Bing Feng, Manager of Behavioural Finance at TD Wealth.
In our second episode on the Behaviourally Informed Organizations partnership, Dilip Soman and Bing Feng tell us about international collaborations to reduce sludge in governments and work applying behavioural science to poverty reduction. Throughout, Dilip and Bing highlight the power of partnerships, the importance of context, new areas of research and application for behavioural science, and (of course) advice for embedding BI into organizations.
Dilip Soman, Professor of Marketing at the University of Toronto's Rotman School of Management, & Bing Feng, Manager of Behavioural Finance at TD Wealth.
Dilip Soman and Bing Feng share the story of how BEAR's Behaviourally Informed Organizations partnership has both impacted people's day-to-day lives and advanced the field of behavioural science. Dilip and Bing tell us about a research project that increased organ donations in Ontario while building credibility for BI in Canada, and another project that increased retirement savings in Mexico while pushing BI to design for different types of people.
Rachel Yang, Senior Behavioural Scientist with Technical Safety BC.
Rachel Yang rejoins the podcast to provide updates on how Technical Safety BC is integrating behavioural insights into their vision of "Safe technical systems. Everywhere." Rachel shares two examples: a project encouraging contractors to comply with new regulations, and a project encouraging skiers to ride chairlifts more safely. Throughout, Rachel weaves in takeaways about linking results to organizational mandates and tracking projects' ripple effects.
Kerstin Behrens-Bolt, Manager of Knowledge Management, Training, and Quality Assurance with the BC Ministry of Citizens’ Services.
Kerstin Behrens-Bolt walks us through some of the intersections between service design and behavioural insights, including their shared goal of helping people. Kerstin also happens to have a fantastic eye for opportunities to use BI. She shares some of the opportunities she sees for including BI in the design of services, how knowledge is managed and shared, how quality is assured, how training is delivered, and more.
Shellee Ritzman, Division Manager for Corporate Communications with Metro Vancouver.
Shellee Ritzman joins the podcast to help us explore the overlap between social marketing and behavioural insights. We discuss their shared goal of understanding and changing behaviour for good, their different approaches to measurement and evaluation, and our hopes for a future where the two fields come together to maximize positive impact. Shellee also shares opportunities and challenges for using BI in corporate communications.
Brent Novikoff, Public Opinion Research Advisor with the Government of Canada.
Building on his background in market research and public opinion research, Brent Novikoff helps us explore those fields, their intersections with BI, and opportunities to use BI in different roles. Brent also shares his takeaways from the Advanced Professional Certificate in BI, including the importance of ethics and the impact of removing barriers. Throughout the episode, we discuss a number of ways BI either is used or can be used to make life easier.
Alan Shapiro, Principal with Shapiro & Company.
Alan Shapiro has spent a decade working on the climate crisis and the related, but distinct water crisis. In explaining some of the challenges within the water crisis and possible roles for behavioural science, Alan introduces the idea of changing not only individual-level behaviour and system-level factors, but also network-level behaviour. Alan also shares a few recent case studies about tackling persistent drought and reducing human-wildlife conflict.
Jeff Mackey-Murdock, Senior Manager, Organizational Change Management with the City of Vancouver.
Jeff Mackey-Murdock brings a combination of skills to his role at the City of Vancouver. We talk about how powerful it is when folks add BI to their toolkits and leverage the complementary strengths of their various skills. Digging into BI specifically, Jeff shares the many opportunities and challenges for using BI in local government. He also tells us about some of the newer projects in the City of Vancouver's growing portfolio of BI case studies.
Rhiannon Mosher, Human-Centred Design Researcher with the Behavioural Science Office within the Public Health Agency of Canada.
In our second episode on mixed methods, Rhiannon Mosher explains how mixed methods are a crucial part of an anti-racist, Indigenized practice of behavioural science. She shares the value of deep learning about people and their context and remembering that results don't always generalize across contexts. Rhiannon also underscores the importance of involving people in research that impacts them and working together to bridge different ways of knowing and being.
Rhiannon Mosher, Human-Centred Design Researcher with the Behavioural Science Office within the Public Health Agency of Canada.
Rhiannon Mosher returns to the podcast for a two-episode series about mixed-methods approaches. In this first episode, Rhiannon defines qualitative methods, shares examples of qualitative techniques, and explains the importance of doing them well. She also walks through the benefits of mixing methods at each stage of a BI project from scoping to scaling. For further learning, she recommends Sam Ladner's Mixed Methods.
Meghan Martin, Regional Immunization Leader working in Population and Public Health.
Meghan Martin discusses how the intersection of behavioural science and public health draws on the longstanding public health mantra: "make the healthy choice the easy choice". Meghan shares recent examples of how BI is influencing public health practice, including work on the pandemic response, legal substances, and childhood immunizations. She also talks about opportunities ahead, including reducing sludge and tailoring to meet the needs of different populations.
Stephanie Papik, the Moose Hide Campaign Society’s Director for the Public Service.
Stephanie Papik returns to share how we can work together to simultaneously Indigenize behavioural science and use Indigenized behavioural science to tackle issues impacting Indigenous peoples. Stephanie discusses the power of two-eyed seeing and the ABCDE framework, which encourages us to consider our Assumptions, who we've left Behind, who've we Consulted, what's the Data, and are the outcomes Equitable? Visit our new wiki page for more resources: https://blogs.ubc.ca/biwiki/anti-racism/
Lindsay Miles-Pickup, Methods Specialist with the BC Behavioural Insights Group (BC BIG).
In part two of this two-episode series inspired by Michael Hallsworth's "Manifesto for Applying Behavioural Science", Lindsay Miles-Pickup and I continue our conversation about the evolution of the practice of behavioural insights. In this episode, Lindsay walks us through a recent BC BIG project on active transportation to illustrate how BI can be used as a lens and why it's important to take humility to heart.
Lindsay Miles-Pickup, Methods Specialist with the BC Behavioural Insights Group (BC BIG).
In part one of this two-episode series inspired by Michael Hallsworth's "Manifesto for Applying Behavioural Science", Lindsay Miles-Pickup returns to the podcast to talk about how the practice of behavioural insights is changing and improving. Lindsay uses a recent project with BC Transplant on organ donation to illustrate how BC BIG has evolved how they scope projects, design evaluations, and analyze and interpret the resulting data.
Ammaarah Martinus, Senior Program Office at UNESCO MGIEP.
Ammaarah Martinus has applied BI in large organizations based in South Africa and India. Ammaarah shares how starting small, but strong helps build the necessary BI appetite and awareness for project success. She also shares other key requirements for rewarding BI project partnerships, including having unlike minds at the table, being willing to learn from and about each other, and sharing the same definition of success.
Meera Paleja, Program Head for Investor Research and Behavioural Insights at the Ontario Securities Commission.
Over the last decade, Meera Paleja has worked in academia, management consulting, and different levels of government. Drawing on her diverse experiences, Meera shares a high-level look at BI in Canada and walks us through the similarities and differences in BI challenges and methods across organizations and sectors. We also talk about the benefits of bringing BI academics and practitioners together to enrich each other's work.
Jordyn Hrenyk, Michif researcher & PhD candidate at Simon Fraser University.
Jordyn Hrenyk uses her background in strategy and entrepreneurship to study behaviour, business, and society at both the micro and macro levels. Jordyn's research portfolio questions a variety of implicit and explicit assumptions, such as how values are communicated through everyday business decisions, how entrepreneurs impact one another and create market norms, how business concepts are taught, and who can learn from Indigenous business leaders.
Brett Cloutier, Senior Research Manager at ATB Financial.
From the BI perspective, personal finance is a classic example of an intertemporal choice problem where spending tomorrow depends on planning and saving today. Brett Cloutier is a UX/CX researcher who has added this type of BI lens to his work exploring barriers and solutions for financial planning. We talk about the importance of financial plans, areas of opportunity for BI, and the value of using qualitative research to complement quantitative research.
Britt Titus, Behavioral Insights Lead with the International Rescue Committee (IRC).
Britt Titus applies BI to wicked problems in humanitarian settings around the world. These problems and settings require modifications to the standard BI approach to problem-solving. Britt walks us through how her team at the IRC has expanded the problem scoping phase to spend time: (1) validating assumptions with a variety of involved parties and (2) identifying leverage points that maximize impact and feasibility.
Craig Hutton, Senior Behavioural Scientist with the BC Behavioural Insights Group (BC BIG).
In a great BI project, the behavioural and decision sciences provide the questions and data science provides the tools to answer those questions. As someone who is both a data scientist and a behavioural scientist, Craig Hutton is the ideal person to talk us through similarities, differences, and complementarities between these fields. Craig also shares best practices for managing, analyzing, and communicating about data.
Brianne Kirkpatrick, Principal Advisor with BIT Canada, & Ansley Dawson, Senior Manager, Financial Empowerment Program at WoodGreen Community Services.
Ansley Dawson and Brianne Kirkpatrick tell us about their joint work using BI to support folks on social assistance. We focus on the innovative Income Transition Project, which is free social worker counselling to help folks understand the financial process of transitioning to employment. This project is a great illustration of how scoping, evaluation, and scaling can be tackled in a complex problem involving multiple partners, datasets, and outcomes that matter.
Stina Grant, Methods Specialist with the BC Behavioural Insights Group (BC BIG).
Stina Grant joins us for a deep dive on secondary research. Stina walks us through the importance of understanding the existing evidence base -- what has been done in which context and to what effect. She shares tips for how to conduct good literature reviews, how to synthesize information from across sources, and how to feed in primary research. As Stina says, conducting secondary research is like finding the pieces to a puzzle and solving the mystery.
Stephanie Mertens, Behavioural Scientist at the Ontario Behavioural Insights Unit.
Foundational research developing new theories. Applied research testing solutions in the field. Stephanie Mertens helps us explore different ways of contributing to the behavioural and decision sciences. She also shares her takeaways from her meta-analysis of BI's first decade: Nudges work, but we still have a lot to learn about how, when, and for whom. Stephanie explains how she applies these insights to her work developing and testing BI solutions.
Yarnel Bender, Associate Vice President, Corporate Change Management & Communications, at TD Bank.
Changing behaviour and managing change are two inextricably linked processes. As someone who is both a change management expert and a BI practitioner, Yarnel Bender is the perfect person to talk us through how these two tools complement and enrich each other. We also talk about how to use BI in everyday work, how to communicate about BI, and the value of bringing your own background and expertise into your BI practice.
Jennifer Parisi, Manager of Marketing and Communications with Michael Smith Health Research BC.
In her work across organizations in the health sector, Jen Parisi has come to appreciate the role that behaviours by patients, doctors, nurses, administrators, and others play in health outcomes. And, where there are behaviours, there are opportunities to use BI, from hand hygiene to program uptake to cultural safety and beyond. We discuss these opportunities and how initial BI projects can set the stage for future work by pinpointing the right questions to ask.
Daile MacDonald, Manager, Voice of the Customer & Behavioral Insights at WorkSafeBC.
Daile MacDonald is a market researcher who added BI to her toolkit to be able to address the solution and research design questions that come out of exploratory research. Daile shares the obstacles and opportunities for behavioural insights in a big organization. In particular, she tells us about the rewards of using BI to reduce friction for internal processes, the value of collaboration and compromise, and the immense importance of scoping.
Kirstin Appelt, Research Director of UBC Decision Insights for Business & Society (UBC-DIBS).
Guest host Lindsay Miles-Pickup puts Kirstin Appelt in the hot seat to answer which BI-based superpower she would like to acquire, where she succeeds and fails in using BI in daily life, and which everyday inconvenience she would love to tackle with BI. We also tackle more traditional topics like how people can integrate BI into their work, exciting applications of BI, and why "surprising" behaviour isn't always so unexpected when you dig deeper.
Dave Hardisty, Associate Professor of Marketing and Behavioural Science at UBC Sauder School of Business.Fraud has been a big story in the behavioural and decision sciences this summer. Dave Hardisty returns to the podcast to help us understand the incredible story of fraud in research about, well, fraud. We unpack what an accusation of data fraud means and how fraud is different from other bad practices, like p-hacking. We also explore the impacts of fraud and what we can all do about it, whether we're conducting our own research or reading/listening to others' research.
Jiaying Zhao, Associate Professor of Psychology and the Institute for Resources, Environment and Sustainability at UBC.
Jiaying Zhao (JZ) returns to the podcast to discuss the recent i-frame vs. s-frame debate, which suggests that we need to choose individual (i) or systems (s) change. JZ counters the debate with evidence that the i-frame and s-frame can be complementary: Examples of positive spillover show that one behaviour change can beget another similar behaviour or attitude change. JZ shares why the field should try to create and measure spillover within and between people.
Brittany Burrows, Behavioural & Product Designer.In her career in behavioural and product design, Brittany Burrows draws on an understanding of human behaviour to design products and experiences that meet user needs. Brittany shares important lessons that apply to both design and BI projects: understand the problem before you create a solution, work across teams to ensure solutions are feasible, actively solicit feedback, and always know, love, and represent the user a.k.a. the population of interest.
Vanessa Bohns, Professor of Organizational Behaviour at Cornell University.
Vanessa Bohns is a social psychologist whose research shows that we often have more influence on others than we think we do. Vanessa explains how this can be good (giving a compliment really does brighten someone's day) and bad (asking for a favour can make it hard for someone to say no). To do better, Vanessa suggests that both influencers and influencees should be mindful--mindful of how we ask and how we answer requests.
Whitney Queisser, Lifecycle Marketer.
For Whitney Queisser, UBC's Advanced Professional Certificate in Behavioural Insights introduced her to frameworks that have changed how she tackles A/B testing as a lifecycle marketer. Whitney discusses how she uses the RIDE process model to structure her projects, the EAST and MINDSPACE frameworks to brainstorm behaviour change solutions, and ethics frameworks to guide her decision-making and ensure she's nudging for good.
Shannon McDonaugh, Program Manager in Behavioural Insights at the Nova Scotia Outpost for Public Sector Innovation.
Shannon McDonaugh completed UBC's Advanced Professional Certificate in Behavioural Insights to have a methodology for how she uses BI to help improve the lives of Nova Scotians. Shannon shares some of these projects as well as advice for how individuals and organizations can start using BI ethically and thoughtfully. A key recommendation is to make space for learning during all phases of BI projects and all steps of our BI journeys.
Emily Salmon, PhD student, University of Victoria, & Member of Cowichan Tribes.
As an Indigenous student, Emily Salmon noticed that course materials rarely reflected her worldview. Together with Jordyn Hrenyk, Emily researched the worldviews implicit in course materials as well as the resulting themes, consequences, and strategies to do better. On the podcast, we discuss these in the context of course materials, BI solutions, and everyday life. Emily also helps us disentangle key terms like Reconciliation, Indigenization, and Decolonization.
Emily Cardon, Principal Advisor & Head of Research for BIT Americas, & Stephanie Wilcoxen, Senior Research Advisor, BIT.
As researchers at BIT, Emily Cardon & Stephanie Wilcoxen know their way around the collaborative puzzle that is research design. Together we talk through the who, what, why, and how of research design, with a focus on the particular challenges and opportunities of field or "real world" research. Among the many insights they share, Stephanie and Emily highlight the importance of the research questions leading the design, rather than vice versa.
Vince Hopkins, Assistant Professor of Public Policy at the University of Saskatchewan.
Vince Hopkins returns to the podcast to chat about the continuum of research design from lab studies to field studies. We discuss the opportunities and challenges of different research designs as well as how to deal with different constraints prospectively in design or retrospectively in analysis. We also discuss how field studies provide a wealth of learning for all involved, no matter what the results are or whether a trial was even run.
Sharilynn Wardrop, Protected Areas Ecologist with BC Parks.
Sharilynn Wardrop returns to the podcast to share how she is using Behavioural Insights in a role and organization where BI is not the primary toolkit people reach for. We discuss challenges, successes, and strategies for weaving BI into projects in this context. We also reflect on the need to turn a BI lens onto BI itself to make it easy, attractive, social, and timely to use.
Cecilia Sluga, Behaviour Change Senior Lead at Delterra.
At Delterra, Cecilia Sluga works with a wide array of partners to create “Real Change, At Scale”. In part two of this two-episode series, Cecilia shares strategies for partnering with individuals and organizations. She also shares her advice for scaling, which involves finding the right mix of standardization and customization. Lastly, Cecilia shares the challenges and opportunities of applying BI in the non-profit sector.
Cecilia Sluga, Behaviour Change Senior Lead at Delterra.
At environmental non-governmental organization Delterra, Cecilia Sluga brings her wide-ranging expertise to bear in encouraging behaviour change for the good of people and the planet. In part one of this two-episode series, Cecilia shares her journey to working on behaviour change in the non-profit sector. She also talks about how important it is to use many different levers in order to change behaviour and systems in an impactful way.
Rhiannon Mosher, Human-Centred Design Researcher with the Behavioural Science Office within the Public Health Agency of Canada.
As an anthropologist by training, Rhiannon Mosher brings a unique perspective to her work in Behavioural Insights. She shares the challenges and opportunities of coming to BI from another field. Rhiannon also shares advice for how to turn a BI lens onto your career to identify and communicate your transferrable skills to make them attractive and easy to understand by managers and potential employers. For more, read Rhiannon's blog post about The Disentanglement Project; for folks changing careers, she recommends the Transition Q&A series.
Marika Smith, Sustainability Specialist with the City of Victoria.
Marika Smith completed UBC's Advanced Professional Certificate in Behavioural Insights to learn how she could be intentional in how she shapes behaviour toward sustainability. Marika weaves behavioural insights into her discussion of the barriers and opportunities around a reusable lifestyle. She also shares how local governments are uniquely poised to use BI given their many connections with their populations.
Heather Devine, Senior Lead of the Behavioural Science Office at the Public Health Agency of Canada.After founding the BC Behavioural Insights Group, Heather Devine has crossed Canada to help co-found the Behavioural Science Office at the Public Health Agency of Canada. Heather shares a look at how she is seeing BI spread across the "federal government family" of ministries, branches, and partners as well as into international organizations like the UN, OECD, WHO, World Bank, and Save the Children.
Dana Hubackova, Project Manager with the BC Ministry of Children & Family Development.
Dana Hubackova completed UBC's Advanced Professional Certificate in Behavioural Insights to continue building her innovation toolkit, which already included tools like project management, change management, and lean. Dana shares insights about the art and science of project management and her advice for successfully managing BI projects. One of her best tips? Spend time upfront building relationships and plans!
Anna Burrowes, Methods Specialist with the BC Behavioural Insights Group (BC BIG).
Since graduating from UBC's Advanced Professional Certificate in Behavioural Insights, Anna Burrowes has transitioned into a role that enables her to both use BI and indulge her passion for continual learning. Anna shares details about the Methods Specialist role as well as ways to use BI in a variety of roles and applications. She also draws on her policy background to offer opportunities and barriers for applying BI to policy.
Melinda Deines, Director of Marketing & Communications at SLD.
By completing UBC's Advanced Professional Certificate in Behavioural Insights, Melinda Deines has been able to apply BI to her work in brand strategy, marketing, and design. She shares how the intention-action gap was an aha moment in her BI journey and how she uses BI to tackle everything from reducing sludge to smoothing organizational transformation to helping companies achieve their sustainability goals.
Stephanie Kuhn, Senior Business Analyst with the BC Ministry of Advanced Education & Skills Training.
With her extensive User Experience background and her BI training from UBC's Advanced Professional Certificate in Behavioural Insights, Stephanie Kuhn is the right person for a discussion of the similarities, differences, and opportunities between BI and UX. We also talk about how integrating BI ideas and frameworks into typical work processes can create valuable space for asking questions and sharing insights.
Amalia Colussi, UX Writer and Researcher at AlayaCare.
Amalia Colussi is a graduate of UBC’s Advanced Professional Certificate in Behavioural Insights and our first guest from the Class of 2022! Amalia discusses how she combines communications, user experience, and behavioural insights in her work. She also shares her program highlights, challenges, and advice. The biggest takeaway? Create community before, during, and after the program to learn from and lean on each other!
Dale Griffin, Professor of Marketing and Behavioural Science at UBC Sauder School of Business.Dale Griffin, a co-founder of UBC Decision Insights for Business & Society (UBC-DIBS), joins us for the final episode of season 2 to talk about the theoretical foundations of Behavioural Insights and to share stories about working with both Daniel Kahneman and Amos Tversky. Dale also discusses his research on planning fallacy and how to overcome it. Lastly, we close with a discussion of the current state of the field, including recent highlights and cautions for the future.
Kerri Buschel, Director of Experience, Marketing and Insights at WorkSafeBC.Kerri Buschel returns to the podcast to talk about the value of BI for employees, employers, organizations, and other choice architects. We talk about how the Advanced Professional Certificate in Behavioural Insights enables folks to hone their BI knowledge and skills and apply them directly to their capstone projects. We also discuss the special magic of working across disciplines, sectors, jurisdictions, and tools to tackle crunchy problems.
Mikayla Ford, Head of the BC Behavioural Insights Group (BC BIG).As the new Head of BC BIG, Mikayla Ford is perfectly positioned to look backwards and forwards at BC BIG’s ongoing evolution. We discuss how BIG’s project intake and scoping process have matured, including how BIG decides which projects to pursue with which methods. Mikayla also shares recent BIG work, current topics on BI units’ radars, key BI skills, and excellent advice for navigating the sometimes bumpy BI project road.
Stephanie Papik, the Moose Hide Campaign Society’s Director for the Public Service.Stephanie Papik is currently working on a temporary assignment with the Moose Hide Campaign Development Society as Director for the BC Public Service. Stephanie and I discuss how BI can help us understand some of the barriers to Reconciliation, like blindspots and difficult emotions. We also discuss how BI can contribute to Reconciliation via strategies such as disrupting habits and providing calls to action, like the Indigenous Relations Behavioural Competencies. We close by thinking about how Indigenous Knowledge and Behavioural Insights can be mutually supporting.
Dr. Andrea MacNeill, Surgical Oncologist at Vancouver General Hospital and the BC Cancer Agency.Dr. Andrea MacNeill, the Founder of UBC’s Planetary Healthcare Lab, introduces us to the concept of planetary healthcare, which is a re-envisioning of the intersection between healthcare and the environment. We discuss how behaviour can contribute to problems and solutions when it comes to planetary healthcare topics like food, stewardship, and single-use equipment. Andrea ends with some actions we can all take to lessen our impact on planetary healthcare, including Choosing Wisely.
Maria Giammarco, Senior Lead of Research and Development with the Business + Higher Education Roundtable.Through the lens of her interdisciplinary, cross-sectoral BI journey, Maria Giammarco and I talk about the inadvertent ways that many of us stumble into our love for Behavioural Insights. We also discuss how to build an intentional and inclusive pathway to Behavioural Insights for the next generations of BI Practitioners.
Sylvia Apostolidis, President of the Jasmar Group.Sylvia Apostolidis returns for Part 2 of our exploration of the intersection of Behavioural Insights and Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion. In Part 2, we turn to how EDI can improve BI. We discuss ways in which the field has not been diverse, inclusive, and equitable, changes it can make to be more diverse, inclusive, and equitable, and how those changes will improve the science and practice of BI. Sylvia leaves us with some action items to help us all be more inclusive in our day-to-day lives.
Sylvia Apostolidis, President of the Jasmar Group.Sylvia Apostolidis joins us for our first ever double-header set of episodes! In these two episodes, we return to the intersection of Behavioural Insights and Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion. In Part 1, we start with basic definitions, talk about how BI can help us move from awareness to action, and discuss examples of how organizations can and have used BI to become more equitable, diverse, and inclusive in areas such as hiring, promotion, and retention.
Takuro Ishikawa, Senior Behavioural Scientist with the BC Behavioural Insights Group (BC BIG).Takuro Ishikawa has made a career of applying BI to different challenges. We zero in on public health and discuss how behaviour is at the root of many health challenges, whether in prevention or treatment. Tak shares case studies, highlights, challenges, and ethical considerations for applying BI to public health, all with the larger goal of working to reduce health inequalities.
Kirstin Appelt, Research Director of UBC Decision Insights for Business & Society (UBC-DIBS).In this episode with guest host Dave Hardisty, we mix things up and Kirstin Appelt is the interviewee rather than the interviewer. Kirstin talks about her BI journey, the DIBS origin story, how BIG Difference BC got its start, and how the Advanced Professional Certificate in Behavioural Insights developed. She also reflects on the growing BI community in BC and what she’s excited about for BI in BC going forward.
Cassandra Bernard, Senior Specialist, Innovation with the Canada Mortgage & Housing Corporation.Cassandra Bernard is a Senior Specialist in Innovation with the Canada Mortgage & Housing Corporation as well as a graduate of UBC’s Advanced Professional Certificate in Behavioural Insights. In recounting her journey from her first exposure to BI to using her BI knowledge and skills in her work today, Cassandra shares helpful tips for program students, considers how BI fits into the innovation toolkit, and tells us about an exciting new project combining the topics of BI, inclusion, and housing.
Sharilynn Wardrop, Knowledge Translation Strategist with the BC Behavioural Insights Group (BC BIG).Sharilynn Wardrop is on a temporary assignment as Knowledge Translation Strategist with BC BIG. Sharilynn shares her BI journey and how she plans to use BI towards conservation when she returns to her regular role with BC Parks. Sharilynn and I also talk about how BC BIG and UBC-DIBS work separately and together to communicate BI ideas and build a diverse, thriving BI community. We talk about recent developments, from the BI Principles to the BIG Difference Advisory Board, and what we’re excited about for the future.
Ekin Ok, PhD student in UBC Sauder’s Marketing and Behavioural Science Division.Ekin Ok is a current PhD student in UBC Sauder’s Marketing and Behavioural Science division and a graduate of two different Master’s programs. Ekin and I compare and contrast Master’s and PhD programs in fields related to BI. We cover their different purposes, application processes, structures, and student experiences. Ekin also tells us about her own research and how she stays organized and on task.
Greg Lockwood, Partnership Strategist with UBC’s Equity & Inclusion Office.Greg Lockwood is a Partnership Strategist with UBC’s Equity & Inclusion Office, in addition to being a graduate of UBC’s Advanced Professional Certificate in Behavioural Insights. Greg shares what he’s learned in his journey from electrical engineering to economics to Behavioural Insights. We also discuss how Behavioural Insights solutions and experiments can help advance equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI), and, simultaneously, how EDI can improve BI solutions.
Lindsay Miles-Pickup, Methods Specialist with the BC Behavioural Insights Group (BC BIG).After graduating from UBC’s Advanced Professional Certificate in Behavioural Insights, Lindsay Miles-Pickup has seamlessly transitioned into the Methods Specialist role with BC BIG. Lindsay discusses how Behavioural Insights complements and strengthens the other tools in her toolkit for behaviour change. She also shares key lessons from her first few Behavioural Insights projects, including the value of both scoping and exploratory research.
Alexis Gordon, Behavioural Insights Specialist with the BC Residential Tenancy Branch.As the inaugural BI Specialist in the BC Public Service, Alexis Gordon is rightly excited about the future of BI in BC and beyond. Alexis shares insightful highlights from her experience in UBC’s Advanced Professional Certificate in Behavioural Insights, including the crucial importance of thoroughly investigating the problem space during scoping and consulting with project partners early and often. Alexis also talks about how much you learn with every RIDE, whether your results are expected or unexpected.
Carl Jensen, Acting Head of the BC Behavioural Insights Group (BC BIG).Carl Jensen is another wonderful graduate of UBC’s Advanced Professional Certificate in Behavioural Insights. After serving as BC BIG’s project director, he is now acting head of the unit. In a bit of a meta twist, Carl shares how he thought the certificate program itself used Behavioural Insights and evidence to create a positive experience for students, even for trickier topics like statistics. Carl also shares how he hopes to use BI not only in the re-design of programs and products, but in the initial design of them as well.
Rachel Yang, Market Research Analyst and Behavioural Scientist with Technical Safety BC.A graduate of UBC’s Advanced Professional Certificate in Behavioural Insights, Rachel Yang recently started a new role as a Market Research Analyst and Behavioural Scientist with Technical Safety BC. Rachel shares her journey from Marketing to Market Research to Behavioural Insights. In chatting about how Rachel is applying her growing BI knowledge and skills to her new role as well as to everyday life, we talk about how, the more you know about BI, the more you see it, even in unexpected places.
Stephanie Papik, Director of Strategic Integration of Indigenous Knowledge, Cultural Safety and Humility in Strategic Partnerships at Emergency Management BC.In her work and life, Stephanie Papik bridges Indigenous and settler approaches to behaviour change. Stephanie describes some of the similarities between Indigenous ways of knowing and Behavioural Insights. She also describes some of the behavioural practices she uses in her role at Emergency Management BC. Lastly, Stephanie shares ways that we can all use Behavioural Insights to contribute to Reconciliation, which, like many of our most pressing societal challenges, has many behavioural components.
Adam King, Founder and Chief Behavioural Strategist of BeThink Solutions.Adam King’s education and career have crossed disciplines and sectors in the pursuit of understanding human behaviour. Adam recounts his journey, including what led him to found BeThink and to recently start an Interdisciplinary Sciences PhD. Along the way, he shares insights about differences and commonalities between disciplines and sectors, as well as opportunities for us all to dive further into the well of behavioural science.
Maja Niksic, Program Manager at Harvard’s Behavioral Insights Group, and Jaclyn Lefkowitz, Co-President of Harvard’s Behavioral Insights Student Group.Maja Niksic and Jaclyn Lefkowitz are our first duo interview! Maja’s perspective as program director of Harvard’s Behavioral Insights Group and Jackie’s perspective as co-president of Harvard’s Behavioral Insights Student Group combine perfectly for our discussion about careers and community. Maja and Jackie discuss different BI career pathways as well as resources and advice for the journey. They also share how valuable it has been to develop and participate in a BI community to learn with and from, especially when we’re all learning and working virtually.
Rishad Habib, PhD student in UBC Sauder’s Marketing and Behavioural Science Division.Rishad Habib is an all-star Marketing and Behavioural Science PhD student in her 5th year at UBC Sauder School of Business. In sharing her experiences as a former MSc student and current PhD student, Rishad emphasizes the importance of research in both types of programs. We also discuss the challenges and rewards of conducting research as a graduate student, including both lab studies and field studies with partner organizations.
Michael Buttazzoni, Scrum Master with the Information Management Branch serving the BC government’s natural resource ministries.As one of the founding members of the BC Behavioural Insights Group (BC BIG), Michael Buttazzoni has a number of BI projects under his belt. Michael shares some of the ups and downs of client management, with a particular focus on challenges and strategies for collaborating on BI projects across ministries or divisions. Since Michael has recently moved onto a new role in a different ministry, we also discuss ways to integrate BI knowledge and the BI skillset into roles that are not primarily “BI jobs”.
Heather Devine, Head of the BC Behavioural Insights Group (BC BIG).Heather Devine returns to the podcast to talk about how BC BIG approaches scaling and reporting. Recognizing that scaling is a nuanced decision for clients, Heather offers tips for what factors to consider and how to encourage scaling from project start to project end. Heather also talks about the importance of good, well-tailored communication. In particular, we discuss how storytelling can help share results, build a culture of experimentation, and even encourage scaling.
Sasha Tregebov, Director of BIT Canada.Sasha Tregebov comes back on the podcast to talk about what happens once the results of a BI project are in. Sasha shares recommendations for how to increase the likelihood that learnings from a BI project are implemented, whether that means scaling up a given solution to a wider population, replicating the solution in a similar context, or helping the client use their experiences to inform the next project they tackle. We also discuss strategies and tips for communicating project results effectively to different audiences.
Jeremy Douglas, Executive Vice President of External Relations at Ocean Wise.Jeremy Douglas weaves together his experiences in the non-profit and media sectors to highlight the need to scale BI findings for impact, the importance of approaching projects with humility, and the danger of unintended consequences. Together we discuss how consultation and measurement can help with each of these challenges and create a bright future for BI.
Kaylyn Kretschmer, Market Leader at Technical Safety BC.Over the last few years, Kaylyn Kretschmer has been a strong champion for BI at Technical Safety BC. Together we chat about how even technical systems rely on human decisions and human behaviours, an insight Technical Safety BC used to begin their BI journey. Kaylyn also shares her tips for socializing BI with folks from different backgrounds and the value of the local BI community for individuals and organizations new to BI.
Monica Soliman, Senior Research and Innovation Advisor at Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC).Monica Soliman has worked in a number of BI roles in government, including roles at Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada and Employment and Social Development Canada. In chatting about the growing variety of BI roles in the public sector, Monica shares her experiences working on projects that use BI to improve existing programs as well as projects that incorporate BI into the design of new programs.
Piyush Tantia, Chief Innovation Officer at ideas42.
Piyush Tantia is the Chief Innovation Officer at ideas42, one of the first and best applied behavioural science consulting organizations in the world with over 250 projects completed and 28 million lives improved. Piyush shares ideas42’s journey, a few of his favourite recent projects, and insights about how the field has grown over the last decade.
Jiaying Zhao, Associate Professor of Psychology and the Institute for Resources, Environment and Sustainability.For our final episode of the semester, I’m joined by Jiaying Zhao, who is a co-founding member of UBC Decision Insights for Business & Society (UBC-DIBS) and an amazingly productive researcher at the forefront of applying BI to pressing societal challenges. In sharing some of her favourite projects, Jiaying tells us about the importance of combining lab and field research, the challenges and rewards of working with partner organizations, and tips for encouraging organizations to scale successful results.
Lisa Zaval, Behavioural Scientist Consultant.
As an applied behavioural science consultant, Lisa Zaval has worked with an impressive client portfolio across sectors and domains. She shares research stories from her time in academia and her time in the private sector, and illustrates the similarities and differences between them. Lisa also talks about the importance of working across divisions within an organization to make a BI project successful.
Sarah Smythe, Service Design Specialist with the BC Ministry of Citizens’ Services.Sarah Smythe is formerly a Knowledge Translation Strategist with the BC Behavioural Insights Group (BC BIG), currently a Service Design Specialist in the BC Ministry of Citizens’ Services, and always a really strong communicator. Sarah shares tips for how to communicate about BI with different audiences; she also talks about finding ways to use BI in a role and team that is less familiar with BI.
Kate White, Professor of Marketing and Behavioural Science at UBC Sauder School of Business.Kate White is another amazing co-founding member of UBC Decision Insights for Business & Society (UBC-DIBS); her work is a great example of conducting Behavioural and Decision Science research that combines theoretical innovation with real-world applications and impact. Kate tells us how to use the “SHIFT” framework to encourage people to adopt sustainable and prosocial behaviours; she also highlights the importance of both context and testing to make sure BI is done well.
Dave Hardisty, Associate Professor of Marketing and Behavioural Science at UBC Sauder School of Business.As a co-founding member of UBC Decision Insights for Business & Society (UBC-DIBS), Dave Hardisty is a great example of the intersection that we call BI — he conducts Behavioural and Decision Science research using rigorous experimental methods and data analysis to tackle pressing problems, like the climate crisis. Dave and I chat about one of his recent projects encouraging energy-efficient purchases; Dave also discusses the challenges, rewards, and ethical considerations of working with data.
Dilip Soman, Professor of Marketing, Canada Research Chair in Behavioural Science and Economics, and Director of Behavioural Economics in Action at Rotman.Dilip Soman has been instrumental in advancing the practice of BI in Canada. He shares his journey to behavioural science, how he’s encouraging people to distinguish good and bad uses of BI, how academics and practitioners can work together, and where he hopes BI in Canada focuses over the next few years.
Christine Kormos, Senior Behavioural Scientist with the BC Behavioural Insights Group (BC BIG).
Christine Kormos may be the most well-rounded BI practitioner in BC! Christine started her career as an academic pursuing a PhD in psychology and is now a behavioural scientist with BC BIG. Along the way, she’s worked as a BI consultant and as a BI project client. Christine shares the inside scoop as she compares and contrasts the various roles and their approaches to BI.
Tobin Postma, Director of Intergovernmental Relations and Strategic Partnerships at the City of Vancouver.Thanks to Tobin Postma’s championing of BI, the City of Vancouver was one of the first, if not the first, city in Canada to test using Behavioural Insights. Tobin gives a firsthand account of the unique challenges of using BI in a local government setting. There are useful takeaways for everyone, but this episode will be particularly interesting to capstone project teams working with local governments!
Julian House, Behavioural Scientist at the Ontario Behavioural Insights Unit.The Ontario Behavioural Insights Unit (BIU) was the first provincial “nudge unit” in Canada and Julian House has been involved since his days as a PhD student at the University of Toronto. Julian and I talk about how the BIU started, how they use their MIST framework in problem scoping, and how they pair BI with other tools. Don’t “MIST” the opportunity to listen
Isabelle Andresen, Behavioural Insights Consultant.Having worked with organizations like the Behavioural Insights Team (BIT) and the BC Behavioural Insights Group (BC BIG), Isabelle Andresen has a very impressive resume and well-honed BI skills. In our conversation we talk about project scoping, exploratory research, and obstacles and strategies for BI projects. It’s highly relevant to our Project Scoping and Exploratory Research courses so I strongly recommend giving it a listen!
Mikayla Ford, Methods Specialist with the BC Behavioural Insights Group (BC BIG).
To continue exploring the value of user research, I reached out to Mikayla Ford, who is a qualitative methods whiz. Mikayla and I reminisce about a BC BIG project where we used interviews and exploratory surveys to gain insight into why snowmobilers sled in areas that are closed to protect endangered mountain caribou.
Kerri Buschel, Director of Experience, Marketing, and Insights at WorkSafeBC.
With a storyteller like Kerri Buschel leading the charge, it is no surprise that WorkSafeBC is a leader in innovation when it comes to qualitative research. From online discussion boards to interviews to focus groups, Kerri talks about how WorkSafeBC uses qualitative research to understand the problem, the population, and their barriers to action.
Heather Devine, Head of the BC Behavioural Insights Group (BC BIG).
BC BIG has played a major role in the development of UBC’s Advanced Professional Certificate in Behavioural Insights as well as almost every other BI initiative in BC. There’s quite literally no one better to talk to about BI in BC than Heather Devine. Heather and I also chat about how BIG started and how BI works as part of a larger toolkit for changing behaviour.
Sasha Tregebov, Director of BIT Canada.
The Behavioural Insights Team (BIT) is the original “nudge unit” and Sasha Tregebov has overseen a number of BIT projects, from “What Works Cities” to the creation of BIT Canada. “Calling DIBS” couldn’t ask for a better first guest. To kick this series off, Sasha and I talk about about the value of BI and the challenges of problem discovery.