On June 25–26 the School of Governance at GIPA 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 facilitate the exchange of knowledge and expertise in behavioural science, strengthen international 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 in the region and served as a new platform for collaboration. Participants discussed how behavioural mechanisms manifest themselves and operate across different institutional and cultural contexts, how behavioural interventions can be designed, tested, and evaluated, and how behavioural science can contribute to improving 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 given 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 experts 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, His Excellency Gareth Ward, British Ambassador to Georgia, and Professor Michael Sanders, President of the International Behavioural Public Policy Association. In their opening remarks, they emphasized the growing importance of behavioural science in contemporary public policymaking and highlighted the need for international platforms of this kind across the region.
One of the distinguished guests of the workshop was Giorgi Margvelashvili, the fourth President of Georgia, who delivered a keynote address focusing on choice architecture and decision-making in transitional states.
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.
