Calling DIBS

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!