Blog

Thoughts and insights from our work applying behavioral science to social problems.

Building Behavioral Design Skills: A Conversation with Breakthrough ACTION Innovator Hamsatou Moumouni Moudi

by Finou Thérèse Mendy

This is part of a series of conversations with members of the Niger and Burkina Faso National Innovations Teams (NITs), a group of 54 health professionals across government and non-profit sectors. NIT members engage in a hybrid online and in-person applied learning curriculum developed by ideas42, which includes an introduction to behavioral design and hands-on […]

Is digital feedback useful in impact evaluations? It depends.

by Lois Aryee and Sara Flanagan

Rigorous impact evaluations are essential to determining program effectiveness. Yet, they are often time-intensive and costly, and may fail to provide the rapid feedback necessary for informing real-time decision-making and course corrections along the way that maximize programmatic impact. Capturing feedback that’s both quick and valuable can be a delicate balance. In an ongoing impact […]

Policy Lab: Ending the Child Tax Credit Has Already Caused Hardships

by Kelli Garcia

September 15, 2022 New census data adds to the growing body of evidence showing that the expanded Child Tax Credit (CTC) helped reduce childhood poverty. In 2021, child poverty fell to a record low of 5.2%, a 46% decline since 2021. Yet, despite this success, Congress failed to extend the CTC, leaving families without this […]

Prosperity for All Starts with Making It Less Expensive to Be Poor In America

by Josh Wright and Bonnie Wallace

  America’s staggering economic inequality, particularly impacting people of color, and the financial instability of most individuals and families in the United States, show that our society is not on a sustainable path to prosperity. Historically, many philanthropists, NGOs, financial institutions, and other industries working to support economic mobility have approached financial health from a […]

Policy Lab: Poverty Narratives Killed the Child Tax Credit

by Kelli Garcia

August 23, 2022 On August 16th, President Biden signed the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022—a major piece of legislation that will address the climate change crisis, reduce health care costs, and make our tax system fairer. While these are important measures that will help many families in the United States, the bill falls short of […]

Better Messaging About Future Public Health Emergencies Using Behavioral Science

by Lalo Motiño, Lee-Sien Kao & Ric LaGrange

We are now over 900 days into the global pandemic that is COVID-19. Meanwhile, there has been hope for many with the introduction of vaccines and boosters; reintegration into society via hybrid working arrangements; and the resumption of sporting events, concerts, and international travel. A semblance of normal life has returned for most, yet we’re […]

People’s attitudes towards poverty: it’s complicated (Part III)

by Octavio Medina

Worldview predicts endorsement of harmful poverty narratives In our last blog post, we talked about how the endorsement of poverty narratives varies based on demographic variables like education, income, or religious belief. Here’s a recap of the key insights: People generally recognize structural barriers as contributors of poverty. Most people do not believe that people living […]

Our Ongoing Commitment to Racial Justice: 2022 Updates

by ideas42

In the summer of 2020, we listed seven concrete ways we would support racial justice in our work, as calls for racial justice rang not only in the United States but around the world. As we did in 2021, we’re taking a moment to hold ourselves accountable to those commitments and report on the ongoing […]

The Power of Co-Design: Lessons Learned from Diverse Stakeholder Perspectives

by Rahin Khandker, Anne Stotler, Allison Schachter, ideas42, and James Nyara, Johns Hopkins Center for Communications Programs

As behavioral designers, we know it’s important for end users and other stakeholders to participate in the design process for any new solution. But when a diverse array of perspectives are important, determining when and how to approach design collaboratively may feel daunting. A recent co-design process in South Sudan illustrates how stakeholders’ input, provided […]