@article{760963da26114e8e8b887811527a2d63,
title = "Behavioural Expertise: Drift, Thrift, and Shift under COVID-19",
abstract = "Many government responses to the coronavirus-pandemic have been marked by attempts at expertization and scientization. Particularly, politico-epistemological authority is being given to the behavioural science community consulting government. This article critically scrutinizes this most recent wave of behavioural expertization. Taking developments in the UK and the Netherlands as our case-studies, we shed light on the disparate ways in which behavioural ex- pertise is being (re)shaped during COVID-19. Some of these ways point at processes of behav- ioural expertise {\textquoteleft}drift{\textquoteright}, in which the applicability and robustness of this knowledge source gets overstated. Other ways instead point at processes of behavioural expertise {\textquoteleft}thrift{\textquoteright} or {\textquoteleft}shift{\textquoteright}, where the knowledge is used only minimally or taken in wholly new and norm-breaking direc- tions. Doing so, we seek to demonstrate the importance of institutional context in understand- ing how behavioural expertise is currently shaping public policy: underpinning institutional configurations determine whether the expertise is gauged and applied effectively.",
keywords = "Covid 19, Behavioural Public Policy, UK, Netherlands, Behavioural Fatigue, Expertise Drift, COVID-19, expertise drift, behavioural public policy, Behavioural Insights, institutional context, policy-science interaction",
author = "Joram Feistma and Mark Whitehead",
note = "Funding Information: The CGU was launched in April 2020 and designated to look at the unfolding crisis from a behavioral perspective, extract relevant insights from the existing behavioral science literature, monitor public health-related behaviors and opinions, and formulate advice about government communication. The unit is positioned within RIVM and ultimately responds to the director-general of the Ministry of Public Health and the Environment (VWS). It was funded through a grant commissioned by the Dutch Research Council (NWO). The unit initially had a core team of five people, with a wider circle of about 50 people and an independent advisory council consisting of approximately 15 professors with behavioral expertise. It gradually expanded its activities and began to work with parties within and outside of government (RIVM, 2020). Since its launch, it has conducted various research projects including: literature studies; in-depth interviews; surveys; social media monitoring; ad hoc research; and research syntheses (RIVM, 2020). Many of these outputs are published on the unit{\textquoteright}s webpage. The motivation to start this unit (e.g. Keulemans, 2020), reflects typical BPP discourse: the unit believes that tackling the pandemic requires gaining insight into the behaviors, motivations, and needs of people. The Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2022, International Public Policy Association. All rights reserved.",
year = "2022",
month = nov,
day = "1",
doi = "10.4000/irpp.2634",
language = "English",
volume = "4",
pages = "149--170",
journal = "International Review of Public Policy",
issn = "2706-6274",
publisher = "International Public Policy Association",
number = "2",
}