Behavioral Interventions to Advance Self-Sufficiency (BIAS), 2010-2014

The purpose of the Behavioral Interventions to Advance Self-Sufficiency (BIAS) project is to explore the application of behavioral economics principles to the programs and target populations of the Administration for Children and Families (ACF). The project is being conducted by MDRC in partnership with behavioral science experts across the United States. In the first phase of the project, the team conducted extensive outreach to stakeholders across ACF's programs to explore potential relevance and application of behavioral principles to ACF programs, performed a review of the literature of experimental tests of behaviorally informed interventions across similar public policy domains, and engaged behavioral economics experts. In summer 2012 the team hosted a BIAS Peer Practicum for ACF programs to explore behaviorally-informed intervention strategies. The team is currently developing behavioral maps of select ACF programs and developing a concept paper on the potential application of behavioral economics to ACF programs. In the next stages of the project the team will develop and execute pilot tests of behaviorally-informed interventions and then more extensively evaluate those pilots that show the most promise. It is expected that the project will primarily test service delivery innovations aimed at short-term objectives, such as enrollment, engagement, and program completion.