Tackling Administrative Burdens and Behavioural Frictions

Behavioural frictions such as "administrative burdens" (complex paperwork, multi-step processes...) can make it harder for us to do what we want. Frictions can impact both local communities seeking to access UN programmes, and UN employees working to deliver these programmes. Behavioural science can help us understand how frictions impact our behaviour, and what we can do about it. This session brought together academic researchers and UN practitioners working to tackle administrative burdens. It featured Professor Elizabeth Linos (Harvard University) and the World Bank's eMBeD team on reducing burdens in programme delivery, followed by a discussion on frictions in internal UN operations, with contributions from FAO and UNOG.