| Issue 2
How Innovation is
Improving Delivery of
Public Services in Qatar
| The Pearl, Qatar
I
n August 2016, Qatar’s Supreme
Committee for Delivery & Legacy
launched the Middle East’s first
“Nudge Unit,” a team of specialised
behavioural scientists drawing on
economic and psychological research
to drive and improve public policy.
Qatar’s new Behavioural Insights
Unit (QBIU) has since taken a lead
role in policy experimentation and is
helping develop policies to navigate
Qatar and the region towards
improved public service delivery.
QBIU, in cooperation with a UK
Government-owned social purpose
company, The Behavioural Insights
Team, presented its initial findings
at the November 2016 World
46
Innovation Summit for Health
in Doha.
The report covered three parts:
quality of life and well-being of
citizens, public health, and the
delivery of healthcare. It also
explored how behavioural insights
can be applied to public policies and
the design of public services in a
range of sectors.
David Halpern, Chief Executive
of The Behavioural Insights Team
said, “Behavioural factors – such
as diet, smoking, and accidents –
now account for the majority of
healthy years of life lost. Yet these
behavioural factors have received
comparatively little attention, and
the behavioural models within
the medical community remain
surprisingly undeveloped.”
Later this year, QBIU plans to
host the Middle East’s first-ever
“behavioural exchange” event.
This top-level meeting of globally-
renowned speakers, academics,
and practitioners will aim to deliver
further ground-breaking results
to help improve delivery of
public services.