Behavioural Insights experts take on 'complex challenges' at the BIG Difference BC 2025 conference

The BIG Difference BC 2025 conference brought together a global community of behavioural insights (BI) practitioners, researchers, and public- and private-sector professionals for its eighth edition. Over 1,500 attendees from 56 countries tuned into the free virtual event, which showcased BI initiatives tackling complex societal challenges.

Kirstin Appelt, Research Director of UBC Sauder’s Decision Insights for Business & Society, explained the theme: "As the practice of behavioural insights matures, we're expanding from simple to more complex problems, which call for more diverse methods and innovative research designs."

The conference provided a platform for sharing case studies, tools, and perspectives. From promoting organic food choices and reducing credit card debt to experimenting with hybrid work and leveraging AI, this year’s sessions highlighted how BI helps policymakers address pressing challenges.

Kirstin emphasized the importance of collaboration: "This year, we explored the keys to successful cross-sectoral partnerships. To tackle big problems from the climate crisis to unemployment, partnerships need to be multi-directional and informed by government and industry priorities."

Proactive partnerships between BI practitioners and policymakers

Elizabeth Linos is the Emma Bloomberg Professor for Public Policy and Management and Director of The People Lab at Harvard Kennedy School. In her keynote address, Elizabeth explored how 

behavioural science can be leveraged to build the core pillars of a thriving public sector: from investing in the public workforce to improving interactions between residents and their governments. 

The part that resonated deeply with the audience was the importance of bridging the gap between BI practitioners and policymakers. In this chasm, effective BI-powered initiatives can often stall because they weren’t financially prudent in the first place.

Elizabeth said: “There’s incredible academic work pushing the boundaries of behavioural science. At the same time, many interventions can’t be implemented at scale unless we consider feasibility and cost early in the design process. Academics should think about cost-benefit trade-offs and operational realities alongside traditional measures of success like effect sizes and statistical significance.”

Echoing Kirstin’s call for collaboration, Elizabeth said BI practitioners and academics have the responsibility to use their expertise and resources to support the complex work of public service. And this collaboration should be proactive and start much earlier in any BI-powered project.

“I’d like to see partnerships that are sustained over time and embedded within institutions, rather than driven by one-off projects or individuals. That means creating spaces where policymakers and researchers can co-design questions, share data responsibly, and learn from each other continuously—not just at the end of the research process,” said Elizabeth.

Harnessing intellectual curiosity & practical insights

Jeff Mackey, Senior Manager of Organizational Change Management at the City of Vancouver, moderated a session and hosted a conference watch party. A session on hybrid work stood out to him.

"The presentation on the efficacy of hybrid work was very timely. Hybrid work and return-to-office mandates are a hot topic. It is encouraging to see evidence-based results showing this is an effective model of work," said Jeff.

The conference sparked practical ideas: "My team at the City of Vancouver immediately pinged me for materials and ways to apply these studies. It's uncommon outside of BIG Difference BC to have a day dedicated to intellectual curiosity," he added.

Making a case for qualitative research in BI

Rhiannon Mosher, Qualitative Research Advisor at the Public Health Agency of Canada's Behavioural Science Office, highlighted the role of qualitative research in understanding 'why' behaviours occur. Using a case study about fighting antimicrobial resistance in long-term care facilities, she showed how qualitative methods can inform every project phase, from intervention design and evaluation to reporting. 

"Behavioural science depends on understanding the context of the people whose lives you're trying to change. Qualitative research digs into that lived experience and helps us understand the things we care about in behavioural science," said Rhiannon.

She praised the conference for inspiring new approaches: it successfully brought different BI conversations together, highlighting the value of different tools and perspectives in addressing complex problems.

Spurring societal impact through collaboration

BIG Difference BC was praised for inclusivity and fostering practical ideas. "This is a great conference," said Rhiannon. "It makes it accessible for students, public servants, industry professionals, and academics. You get a real picture of the work being done in Canada and around the world."

Jeff felt invigorated: "I left with a level of energy at the end of that day that I don't recall having in quite some time. Conferences like this help combine previously disparate groups to provide collaborative and centralized support. Can't happen fast enough for my liking."

Kirstin, who has led the event since its inception in 2018, sees collaboration as its future: "I hope the event continues to cement existing partnerships and create new ones. Almost everyone working in BI is committed to tackling challenges to create a positive difference. The more we come together, the bigger difference we can make — that's why we co-created the conference, and named it BIG Difference BC!"

To view the full program, pdfs and videos of each presentation, click here to navigate to the BIG Difference BC website.