CABS

Behavioral Solution Design

Though each context and program is unique, we draw on our team’s experience and the behavioral science literature to identify interventions that are likely to work and that make sense for a partner organization and its participants. At each phase of our approach, we follow the data where they lead and work with end users and their experiences in mind. We are particularly adept at working within the resources partners have and designing solutions to fit naturally with existing procedures and relationships.

We take a multidisciplinary, creative approach that employs behavioral science research, human-centered design and design thinking techniques, collaborative brainstorming processes, data-driven solutions, learning cycles, and evidence-based implementation approaches. We ensure that the solutions we create are both innovative and achievable, and then evaluate whether those solutions are making a difference through rigorous evaluations.

Blog Post
Behavioral Science in Higher Education, Part 1

Principles for Infusing Behavioral Insights into Higher Education Institutions

The OnPath project facilitated a powerful combination of people and knowledge by bringing together college staff members from 13 community colleges with operational knowledge about administrative barriers, evidence from rigorous MDRC research about what helps students persist in college, and facilitators from MDRC’s Center for Applied Behavioral Science. Learn more about the project and the behavioral insights that are being used to help improve the student experience in the first post in this blog series.
Blog Post
Behavioral Science in Higher Education, Part 2

Behavioral Insights Related to Structural Barriers

The OnPath project, led by MDRC’s Center for Applied Behavioral Science, aims to help students stay enrolled in community college and overcome administrative barriers that can make it difficult to succeed. Learn more about how the project identified these barriers in the second post in this blog series.
Blog Post
Behavioral Science in Higher Education, Part 3

Possible Behavioral Solutions for Removing Structural Barriers

The OnPath project, led by MDRC’s Center for Applied Behavioral Science, identified specific areas that could cause barriers to success for community college students. Learn more about the possible solutions that were developed to address these barriers in the third post in this blog series.
Infographic
An Equity Perspective

A Family’s Journey to Middle School in New York City

The Lab for Equity and Engagement in School Enrollment worked on identifying “pain points,” especially digital pain points, that families of rising middle-schoolers faced in applying for middle school during the pandemic.
Brief
Benefits of Incorporating Behavioral Science and HCD

5 Reasons Why Social Programs Should Use Behavioral Science and Human-Centered Design

Behavioral science and human-centered design can help social service program operators better understand how the perceptions and experiences of participants influence how they react to program processes and policies. Learn five reasons why social programs should use behavioral science and human-centered design.
Infographic
Effective Communications Checklist

Getting Your Message Across with the Effective Communications Checklist

The Effective Communications Checklist helps programs use findings from our projects that applied behavioral science to improve program notices, reminders, and encouragements. This checklist focuses on three key goals of any communication: information, motivation, and action.
Video
A framework for communications

SIMPLER Design Solutions

The SIMPLER framework describes a set of behavioral principles applied across the 15 tests in MDRC's Behavioral Interventions to Advance Self-Sufficiency (BIAS) project, which was the first major effort to apply behavioral insights to human services in the United States. SIMPLER was developed to summarize behavioral concepts that can help make communications more memorable and actionable.
Brief
Elevating the Voices of Program and Service Participants

How CABS Incorporates Users’ Perspectives

The CABS approach to problem-solving covers a wide range of engagement strategies to elevate the perspectives of end users. Learn about some examples from our projects.
maze image