Tuesday, April 13, 2021

Behavioural Science and Systemic Risk Summer Session

Partly inspired by the discussions around the role of behavioural science in Covid-19 policy response, this project will explore the role of behavioural science in response to major national and international risks. It will involve weekly zoom sessions addressing a number of topics from a behavioural science perspective. Students and researchers will discuss the relevant literature to key issues in areas such as pandemic response, financial crises, climate change, and other major risk areas. This is the second time this session has run. Please note this is currently for LSE students but may form the basis for a wider session.

i) Students begin by reading a national risk register  (e.g., UK National Risk Register 2020 or Irish National Risk Assessment 2019) or (e.g., World Economic Forum: The Global Risks Report 2021). They prepare a short report (approx. 1000 words) on general behavioural issues across the different types of risk. Open to students finding risks not present in the register. Also open to students drawing from material prepared for formative and summative assignments. 

ii) Students chose an area from the risk register and write a brief background report (approx. 1000 words) on behavioural issues associated with the risk.

iii) Students consider ethical considerations of behavioural science in policy (e.g., Nudge FORGOOD) for discussion in zoom session and incorporate this into the final report (point v below).

iv) Students contribute to a shared resources page (e.g., https://docs.google.com/document/d/1rgceBBGbm9tPdkHy7COMxouB3DpotaoqYVK-1uOSLbw/edit) cataloguing relevant resources including policy reports, agencies working on this area and relevant journal articles.

v) Students develop a report (approx. 3-5000 words) outlining the main behavioural issues associated with the risk, what capacities would be needed in different scenarios, and draw conclusions on how policy could make policy-makers more prepared for different types of risks.

vi) In weekly zoom sessions, they would discuss with me and one another the key issues across the different areas and look for points of comparison and contrast.

The summer would conclude with a final report and a short presentation of findings. Relevant stakeholders who work with the research group would be invited to discuss the findings. I will add further details here as the summer progresses, including details of the final presentation that may be of interest to readers. 

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