Four SINS in Behavioural Public Policy (The Behavioural Roundtable)
8 May 2025
16:45 -17:45
Times are shown in local time.
Open to: Members of University of Cambridge
Lecture Theatre 2 (Cambridge Judge Business School)
Trumpington St
Cambridge
CB2 1AG
United Kingdom
Join our Behavioural Roundtable with Dr Chiara Varazzani
Take part in a dynamic and informative discussion with Dr Chiara Varazzani – a renowned economist and policy advisor at the OECD. We will discuss decision-making, motivation, and productivity in relation to:
- the future of global economic policies
- sustainable development goals and their impact
- innovations in economic resilience
Behavioural science is reshaping policymaking, helping governments design more effective, human-centred policies. However, its potential is often limited by four key challenges – Systems, Impatience, Nudging, and Scaling (the “SINS” of applied behavioural science).
This talk explores how behavioural science can be better embedded into complex policy systems, how to generate timely and actionable insights for decision-makers and why shifting beyond simple nudges towards systemic interventions is critical.
It will highlight the OECD’s work in advancing behavioural science globally through initiatives like BRAIN (the OECD Behavioural Research in Action International Network), which connects policymakers from over 50 countries to share insights and scale impact.
Please note, networking and refreshments will start at 16:30.
Speaker bio
Dr Chiara Varazzani
Lead Behavioural Scientist, OECD
Dr Varazzani leads the work of the Behavioural Science Team at the OECD. Her work includes fostering a global community of behavioural experts, helping countries tackle policy challenges and running experiments – to better understand what works, for whom and in what context – and providing expert behavioural advice to governments across many policy areas such as health, climate change, financial decision-making, and misinformation.
She is also Senior Visting Fellow at the London School of Economics (LSE) and Lead Author for the UN Environment Programme’s Global Environment Outlook (GEO-7). Prior to this, she held several positions in government.
She was Principal Advisor of the Behavioural Insights Unit of the Victorian Government in Australia, Executive Advisor in behavioural economics to the Australian Federal Government and Research Fellow at the Behavioural Insights Team in London. She holds a PhD in Behavioural Neuroscience from Sorbonne University, a MSc from the School for Advanced Studies in Social Sciences and a MSc in Cognitive Sciences from the École Normale Supérieure.
Moderation
- Dr Malte Dewies, Research Associate, El-Erian Institute of Behavioural Economics and Policy, Cambridge Judge Business School