Project
Successful implementation of intervention strategies
Successful implementation of scientific knowledge and innovations is not self-evident. Wageningen University & Research works on a method to make pre-emptive predictions on the effectiveness of innovations and measures and characterizations of the utility function for possibly interested parties. They will make use of conceptual breakthroughs in behavioural economics that primarily have been used in consumer research. The study will provide building blocks that can improve implementation. This will increase the effect of interventions and support policy makers.
From the perspective of Global One Health, successful implementation of promising interventions does not happen as frequently as one would wish. Global One Health focuses on the integrated promotion of human, plant and animal health. The implementation of promising interventions in order to achieve this often has little success in practice, meaning that a great deal of scientific knowledge and innovations are insufficiently utilised in practice. This study aims to present building blocks to improve the success of implementation, thereby increasing the effect of interventions.
Policymakers can utilise a wide range of possible tools which can help encourage interested parties to implement measures and innovations. The measures can be summarised under three reference points:
- Knowledge – knowledge transfer, study groups, information provision and training
- Ability - study groups, training and demonstrations
- Willingness – subsidies, bonuses or discounts, fines for non-compliance and obligation through legislation
Pre-emptive prediction of the effects of the adoption of a measure on the basis of validated techniques is often lacking. In recent decades there have been a number of conceptual breakthroughs in the field of economics, particularly within the domain of behavioural economics. So far, these breakthroughs have primarily been utilised in consumer research; however, application in research among producers lags behind. All too often in research among producers, producers are assumed to be creatures that act economically rational in theory. But in practice, this is not at all the case. How incorrect is this idea? And how can we make use of insights from behavioural economics within Global One Health? These questions are addressed in this study, which consists of two phases.
Phase 1
A research method is developed to predict the effects that innovations and measures would have on interested parties. This results in a white paper giving an overview of the state of the art of recent theoretical developments within behavioural economics and their possible applications within the domain of agro and food. In this regard, the emphasis is on:
- Pre-emptive predictions of the implementation of innovations/measures.
- Characterisations of the utility function (relationship between adoption and the strength of the incentive) for the various interested parties.
- The initiation of a research protocol for an experiment that will provide the data needed to validate the theoretical model.
The decision to implement phase two is based on the findings from phase one.
Phase 2
An experiment is carried out to assess an intervention. Based on the design of phase one, an experiment is carried out within the domain of Global One Health. On the basis of this experiment, the model which has been developed will be further refined. The result will be a model that can make pre-emptive predictions of the effectiveness of innovations and measures and therefore can provide support to policymakers.