A 'nudge' in the right direction: Small scale incentives to encourage compliance with social work regulatory and professional standards

Behaviour change strategies are gaining popularity with some government administrations. Nudge theory suggests that small interventions - ‘nudges’ - in the arena in which choices are made can alter people’s behaviour... [ view full abstract ]

Behaviour change strategies are gaining popularity with some government administrations. Nudge theory suggests that small interventions - ‘nudges’ - in the arena in which choices are made can alter people’s behaviour in predictable ways. In the context of increasing concern about regulatory failures they are seen as a mechanism to generate low cost alternatives to high cost government-imposed regulatory strategies. For example, the Behavioural Insights Team, established by the UK Government in 2010, suggests that policies and interventions – including regulatory interventions – can be designed to efficiently enable people to make better choices. This paper presents findings from a research study exploring the behavioural impact of introducing a regulated register alongside protection of title for social workers in the UK.
The research found evidence that ‘perverse incentives’ seemed to be associated with this model of regulation, including defensive and personal risk-avoidant social work practice. Decision-making about choices in the space between professionalism and boundary transgression resulted in potentially less positive outcomes for service users. Nudge Theory was used to interrogate the moments of decision-making relating to professionalism and boundaries. Pre-cursive moments where possible workplace nudges could have been applied to support positive choice-making in line with social work values are identified. Local ‘nudges’ which might reduce the need for higher level regulatory intervention are suggested. The paper will conclude with an evaluation of the usefulness of nudge theory as a contributor to improvements in social work practice