the changelog

6 min readAug 21, 2024

Volume 3, Issue 3 | July 2024

PROJECTS

Launch of the “Smart Fellowship: Workplace Skills for Success” Programme in Lucknow

We are delighted to announce the successful launch of “The Smart Fellowship: Workplace Skills for Success” Programme in Lucknow! This collaborative initiative, led by the Nimaya Foundation with the Centre for Social and Behaviour Change (CSBC) as the knowledge partner, offers a comprehensive curriculum for women to develop their soft and digital skills. Participants engage in immersive learning experiences, including workplace simulations and participative case studies, to prepare them for success in an increasingly automated world. The program emphasises critical competencies like critical thinking, creative problem-solving, and emotional intelligence — skills identified as essential by the World Economic Forum and the National Education Policy.

The programme integrates behavioural science to amplify its impact, particularly in advancing women’s economic empowerment and skill development. Over 3,000 young women applied, and 1,000 talented individuals were selected to embark on this empowering journey. The “Smart Fellowship” programme stands as a testament to the power of collaboration and the potential of behavioural science in creating meaningful change. We are eager to witness how these smart naaris will leverage their new skills to craft innovative solutions and lead in the evolving world of work.

The photo above captures Dr Sharon Barnhardt, Director — Research and Dr Pavan Mamidi, Director, addressing these naaris during the launch of the programme in Lucknow

Field Experiment on Gender-Based Social Norms in Assam and Meghalaya

CSBC has completed a two-month-long field experiment survey in Assam and Meghalaya, covering two districts of Assam (Karbi Anglong and Dima Hasao) and one in Meghalaya (Shillong). The experiment aims to explore the effects of gender-based social norms on intra-household decision-making through a behavioural experiment across three societies -Khasi in Meghalaya, Karbi and Dimasa tribe in Assam. In a lab-in-the-field setting, we conducted behavioural games and post-experiment questionnaire surveys with 533 couples to understand the intra-household bargaining power between husband and wife. Showcasing behavioural insights at the National Training Workshop on Jal Jeevan Mission

Dr Shagata Mukherjee, CSBC Deputy Director and Academic Lead at NITI Behavioural Insights Unit, along with Selva Swetha, Sr. Research Specialist, participated in the two-day National Training Workshop on Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM), organized by the Ministry of Jal Shakti, Government of India.

Our work on JJM received high praise from participants, including Mr YK Singh, Director JJM — IEC, who emphasized the significance of two jointly published documents by CSBC’s NITI Behavioral Insights Unit and the Ministry, Compendium of Behavioural Best Practises” and the “BCC Strategy Booklet. These documents were hailed as the “guiding principles for JJM IEC”, setting a benchmark for best practices in the field. Dr Shagata Mukherjee also contributed to a panel discussion on innovations in IEC alongside esteemed co-panellists Soumi Banerjee from MyGov, New Delhi, and Divyang Waghela from TATA Trusts. Moderated by Sanjana Chowhan from Global Health Strategies, the discussion explored the vital role of behavioural science principles in shaping effective IEC strategies.

Advancing behaviour science for policy change at NITI Aayog

Aastha Bhakhri, Deputy Director — Policy Engagement from our Behavioural Insights Unit at NITI Aayog, participated in a panel discussion to share the importance of behaviour change and applied behaviour sciences for effective policy and programme implementation for the new Aspirational Block Programme Fellows cadre appointed by NITI Aayog under the leadership of Anand Shekhar, Additional Mission Director, NITI Aayog. The event was hosted at the prestigious Indian Institute of Public Administration IIPA (Official). We had the honour of sharing the panel with eminent speakers, including Sanjeev Jha, Director — of India Sanitation Coalition at FICCI, Dr Anoop Tripathi — Ernst & Young and Prabhat Kumar, Mission Manager — Deendayal Antyodaya, Yojana — National Rural Livelihoods Mission (DAY — NRLM) and Ashok Vishandass from IIPA.Workshop with the Department of Child Nutrition, Uttar Pradesh to improve ICDS effectiveness.

The Behavioural Insights Team, Uttar Pradesh (UP-BIU) is working in partnership with the Integrated Child Development Scheme (ICDS), Government of Uttar Pradesh, to develop a series of behaviorally informed training videos for their front-line health workers on complex topics of complementary feeding and use of growth monitoring devices which has a direct outcome on child health and growth outcomes in the state. We recently organized a design consultation for the department attended by the Director, ICDS and her team of senior officials. The primary objective of this diagnostic workshop was to collectively explore the different pathways through which we can integrate behavioural science into this intervention.

RESEARCH

Eye tracking and decision-making: Insights into complex choicesUsing eye-tracking technology, Dr Narges Hajimoladarvish and Dr Sneha Sashidhara, Senior Research Fellows at CSBC, analysed how individuals process and evaluate compound lotteries — scenarios where risk factors complicate decision-making. They used the order of information processing to uncover underlying cognitive processes and combine valuation data with methods traditionally used with choice data to test these underlying processes. This research sheds light on navigating complexity and making decisions in uncertain situations. For more details, read the working paper linked here.

PUBLICATIONS

Academic publications