On June 25–26, 2026, the School of Governance at GIPA – Georgian Institute of Public Affairs, in cooperation with the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) and the International Behavioural Public Policy Association (IBPPA), hosted the First International Behavioural Public Policy Workshop (IBPPW) in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE).
The two-day international event brought together internationally renowned scholars, academic researchers, public policy experts, and practitioners from across Central and Eastern Europe in Tbilisi. The workshop aimed to promote the exchange of knowledge and experience in behavioural science, strengthen international academic cooperation, and explore how behavioural science can contribute to the design and implementation of effective, evidence-based public policies.
The workshop marked an important milestone in strengthening the behavioural public policy community across the region and served as a new platform for academic collaboration. Participants explored how behavioural mechanisms operate in different institutional and cultural contexts, how behavioural interventions can be designed, tested, and evaluated, and how behavioural science can improve public policy effectiveness, governance quality, and evidence-based decision-making throughout Central and Eastern Europe.
The programme featured theoretical, empirical, and interdisciplinary research, including work-in-progress papers intended for future international publication. Particular attention was devoted to region-specific issues, such as institutional capacity, challenges in public policy implementation, behavioural governance, and the effectiveness of behavioural interventions.
The workshop featured presentations by leading international scholars in the field of behavioural public policy, including Ralph Hertwig (Max Planck Institute for Human Development, Berlin), Yuval Feldman (Bar-Ilan University), Adam Oliver (London School of Economics and Founding Chair of the International Behavioural Public Policy Association), Lucia Reisch (University of Cambridge), and Giuseppe Veltri (National University of Singapore).
The participants were welcomed by Professor Maka Ioseliani, Rector of GIPA, Gareth Ward, the British Ambassador to Georgia, and Professor Michael Sanders, President of the International Behavioural Public Policy Association, who emphasized the growing importance of behavioural science in contemporary public policymaking and the need for international platforms of this kind in the region.
Among the distinguished guests was Giorgi Margvelashvili, the fourth President of Georgia (2013–2018), academic, and former Rector of GIPA. In his keynote address, he focused on choice architecture and decision-making in transitional states, highlighting the importance of behavioural approaches in strengthening democratic governance and public institutions.
By hosting the first International Behavioural Public Policy Workshop in Central and Eastern Europe, GIPA once again reaffirmed its role as a leading regional center for international academic cooperation, innovative research, and the advancement of evidence-based public policy.
