Abstract

The Capacity Development Forum (CDF) is an initiative of the Indian Institute for Human Settlements (IIHS) that aims to bring together diverse stakeholders involved in capacity development in India into a ‘community of practice’ to consolidate learnings from across the country and around the world into a strong and value-added network to consolidate learnings across the country and from around the world. The longer-term objective of the forum is to collaborate on  Capacity Development practices and create a repository of knowledge on Capacity Development.

The third convening of the IIHS Capacity Development Forum was held on 27-28 June 2024 in a hybrid format – at IIHS, Bengaluru City Campus and online, on the theme: ‘Capacity Development and Behavioural Insights – Implications for Institutional Design and Public Policy’. The CDF 2024 focussed on how the understanding of human behaviour and motivations is key to achieving larger objectives not only at an individual level, but also within institutions and societies. The panels brought together stakeholders from a range of sectors to discuss how nudges and incentives can be used to influence human behaviour at various scales, and how this in turn informs the design, formulation and implementation of policies and programmes to make them more effective.

Day 1 of the convening comprised panels that brought together capacity development practitioners from the public and private sectors, to discuss various aspects of policy capacity and enhancing it through incorporating behavioural insights, international perspectives on the role of Capacity Development agencies in developing behavioural science capacity of public officials, and the role of leadership in organisational behaviour change. This was followed by a learning hub on Day 2 focussing on cases from practice incorporating behavioural insights from different sectors, and a game-based learning workshop incorporating behavioural insights and illustrating various biases in human behaviour.