b'ViewpointsBehavioral Science in the Federal Governmentimplementation guidance for the recently-passed The use of behavioral science tools has evolved rapidly overFoundations for Evidence-Based Policymaking Act of 2018.the past five to seven years in the public sector. This growth is in tandem with related evidence-based trends such as dataThe office is located in GSAs Office of Governmentwide and analytics, rapid cycle testing, and pressures to improvePolicy and has a staff of about 15 to 20 specialists that customer experience with government services. are a mix of career civil servants and rotational staff from academia or nonprofits who serve one- to four-year terms. In the U.S. federal government, these different threadsStaff members typically oversee two to four projects at a intersect in the Office of Evaluation Sciences (OES). Thistime. Office director Bidwell says the use of rotational staff small office in the U.S. General Services Administrationkeeps the career staff connected to cutting edge intervention (GSA) was created in 2015 to provide a cadre of talent todesign techniques such as appropriate sample size, help agencies use these new techniques to get better resultsevaluation design, analytic techniques, etc.in their programs.She also says that, because they are federal employees, they Interestingly, this office preceded the adoption of thehave greater access to the use of federal administrative data Evidence Act earlier this year, which will create an evensets for analyses than would academics or other nonfederal greater demand for its specialized talents as agencies areresearchers.pressed to develop their own evidence and evaluation strategies, which also include the use of behavioral scienceThe OES teams approach is to undertake rapid cycle techniques. For example, the Department of Labor hasprojects, using low-cost solutions (e.g., redesigning a already developed a guide for its operational bureaus on hownotification letter). Their core deliverables are actionable to best use behavioral interventions in their programs.results to drive better programs and policiesall projects are posted and summarized on their website.The Office of Evaluation Sciences OES is a multidisciplinary team that blends a range ofWhat They Do professional disciplines comprising the field of behavioralAgencies approach OES to help them conduct projects that science. These include psychology, economics, politicalrequire expertise that they may not have on their own staffs. science, ethnography, statistics, and program evaluation.OES typically works on 20 to 30 projects at a time with a Under the leadership of Kelly Bidwell, the officewide range of agencies to help clarify identified problems conducts work that spans behavioral science, evidence,(e.g., define the gap between a programs goal and reality in and evaluation. It supports agencies, for example, inorder to identify the key trip points), test interventions (often implementing the Office of Management and Budgetsusing randomized control trials and large existing data sets), and where successful to help agencies determine how to scale the pilot to a larger population.According to Bidwell, many of the OES teams solutions are inexpensive to apply and can be implemented relatively quickly, based on 6- to 12-month trials. Their proposed interventions typically dont require legislation, regulatory changes, or significant funding. Where possible, they like to conduct large-scale testing using federal administrative data, develop rigorous findings and results, and use evaluation techniques. Their approach is experimentaltypically iterative, and trial-and-error. Oftentimes their solutions involve changing the way a program is described, timing, and/or the sequence of choices being offered.Bidwell says her team likes to work in partnership with agencies with the goal of transitioning ownership of the project to the agency partner. Over the long run, Bidwell WINTER 2019 / 2020 IBM Center for The Business of Government 75'