Managing demand – it’s all about outcomes
We must utilise people’s strengths and the assets available in the community to manage demand effectively.
Like many hundreds of other eager and interested people, I attended the star-studded BX2015 conference a couple of weeks ago. Packed with luminaries of the rapidly emerging field of behavioural science, it was filled with some of the most senior, experienced and recognised leaders in their fields – Nobel Laureates included. Each session was packed with great insight and handy tips to take away.
And yet – despite the pioneering work of the Behavioural Insights Team, books such as Nudge, and the work of companies such as ourselves at IMPOWER, public services remain stubbornly resistant to the application of behavioural insights at any real scale. Recently, we did a review of 10 A&E departments and found that, on average, 50% of the opportunities to use behavioural science to reduce demand were being missed. Worse still; of the other 50% a big proportion were having the opposite effect – driving up demand. Similarly, most local authority customer interfaces remain clunky, and uninformed by basic behavioural science.
Given the financial pressures on the public sector, what’s stopping us? I’ve listed five reasons below:
Overcoming these barriers isn’t impossible. More and more trials are being carried out in the public sector, by us and by others. But in an ironic twist, until it becomes ‘normal’, we will continue to miss opportunities to save money using behavioural science.
To find out more about how to apply behavioural science to improve public services, get in touch.
Twitter: @jonainger
We must utilise people’s strengths and the assets available in the community to manage demand effectively.