Panel:
Novel Behavioral Interventions to Improve Organizational Efficacy
(Public and Non-Profit Management and Finance)
*Names in bold indicate Presenter
Given these constraints, there is increasing data that behavioral, non-monetary interventions improve outcomes in certain public and nonprofit settings. Evidence indicates that nudges generate sustained reductions in residential energy consumption of 2% (Allcott, 2011; Allcott & Mullainathan, 2010). Moreover, surgical checklists have been shown to improve care quality and health outcomes immediately after medical procedures (Haynes et al. 2009). Not all are effective, however, as shown by a safe childbirth checklist trial, which was not found to reduce infant mortality (Semrau et al. 2017).
The three papers in this panel employ peer-comparison interventions to shift provider behavior and ultimately improve organizational social outcomes. In addition, each paper investigates outcomes with positive externalities. The first paper uses social comparisons to encourage providers at a network of family planning clinics in Nepal to increase take-up of long-acting reversible contraception (LARC). In addition to providing protection for a longer duration, LARC is also more effective compared to short-acting methods. Using a stepped-wedge randomized design, we observe an increase in LARC uptake of 32% from control levels. The second paper applies nudges using social comparison and assignment of responsibility to reduce electricity consumption in a large provincial government office building in Cape Town, South Africa. Treatments are randomized at the office building floor level. Results show that floors participating in a treatment with inter-floor competitions and informational tips reduced energy consumption by 9%, while those that also included floor-wise ‘energy advocates” reduced energy consumption by 14% over a period of 5 months. The third paper investigates whether a series of social comparison and informational interventions can increase prenatal care provider submissions of prenatal risk assessment (PRA) forms for Medicaid eligible pregnant women in Baltimore City. The PRA is a referral mechanism to several services (such as WIC, smoking cessation assistance, and home visiting programs, among others) intended to improve outcomes during and after high-risk pregnancies. Although still in the field, the results will inform whether these behavioral interventions can affect administrative processes that are not salient to improve service access.
Each paper in this panel uses innovative behavioral interventions that were developed from formative qualitative interviews and user testing. The treatments apply principles of behavioral science instead of changing providers’ monetary incentives to improve organizational outcomes. In addition, each paper uses rigorous impact evaluation methods through randomized control trials to estimate effects. The discussion will explore how these insights could be applied to better manage public and nonprofit organizations and achieve their social goals at low cost.
