Case studies

Greater Manchester Combined Authority worked with the Behavioural Insights Team to improve the client consent process for its Working Well employment support programme.

Children and young people's mental health has been deteriorating increasingly fast since the COVID pandemic and has become a key area of concern for local authorities.

A mixed method approach was adopted and a pragmatic behavioural insights framework was employed to inform the redesign of the service offer with the aim of making treatment uptake easy, attractive, timely and social (EAST). We explored factors affecting treatment uptake through a behavioural insights survey (Phase 1) collected between September 2018 and January 2019, and qualitative interviews (Phase 2) with HART service users conducted between October 2018 and May 2019. Recommendations were implemented between September and December 2019. We used routinely collected data to compare service uptake rates pre and post service redesign.

Screening has a significant role to play in delivering earlier diagnosis of most common cancers. We applied to be part of the LGA Behavioural Insights programme to work alongside national experts and develop an innovation to increase cancer-screening rates in targeted communities.

Wigan Council's Collections team used behavioural insights to encourage tenants who were in arrears and who had not been in contact with the Collections team to get in touch and access support. The team sent a one-page letter to tenants – written with an empathetic tone emphasising support rather than arrears and rent collection, and featuring a single call-to-action. Laura Melling of Wigan Council reflects on the project.

Newcastle City Council wanted to understand why certain families turn down the offer of early help, and to identify opportunities to increase the take-up of support.

Warrington’s SEND behavioural insights project focused on improving the effectiveness of its decision making arrangements around undertaking statutory assessments; issuing new Education, Health and Care (EHC) plans; and allocating resources to meet the needs of children and young people.

By using behavioural insights, Croydon Council increased the number of tenants repaying overpaid Housing Benefit as well as the overall amount repaid.

Dacorum Borough Council moved its Council Tax registration process from paper-based to online, and in the process used behavioural insights to redesign the layout and wording of the applications.

The adverse effects of prostitution in Ilford within London Borough of Redbridge are felt by the community and perceived to be a threat to the long-term future of the area. The council sought to better understand men who buy sex and develop an intervention to alter their behaviour.