Case studies

Service area: Procurement, capital and assets Savings: In excess of £20 million Partnership name: Improvement and Efficiency West Midlands (IEWM) Local authorities involved: West Midlands authorities

Oxford’s Old Fire Station is the base for an innovative social enterprise providing training for homeless people within a popular public arts venue.

Blackburn with Darwen Borough Council introduced telecare and assistive living technology to support older people and those with disabilities

Medway Council increased council tax collection rates by using behaviourally-informed reminder letters.

Medway Council worked with the Behavioural Insights Team to increase the number of council tax payers signed up to direct debit.

Essex County Council processed the vast majority of Blue Badge renewals in paper, causing significant additional cost compared to online renewals. By using behavioural insights and making small changes to the renewal letter, the number of paper renewals was reduced by almost one-fifth.

A trial delivered through social media ads directed people to information on loft insulation, testing two approaches with varying messages. The trial showed that roof imagery and social norm messaging were most effective at encouraging people to read further information on loft insulation.

In 2015-17, the Healthy London Partnership teamed up with Uscreates to work with three London boroughs (Haringey, Hackney and Tower Hamlets) to research and develop social interventions to address the growing levels of childhood obesity.

London Borough of Merton's behavioural insights project tested an intervention to reduce engine idling at a level crossing in Merton using a pre-post trial. The simple and often subconscious act of engine idling can have significant effects on air quality within the local area.

The behavioural intervention increased the use of BFF by 3 percentage points, and increased breastfeeding rates at the new birth visit by 4 percentage points, at the  six to eight week visit by 6 percentage points and by 3 percentage points at the  three to four month visit. However, these differences were not statistically significant.