Friction in our systems—such as lengthy forms, complex websites, excessive documentation, and unclear communication—wastes time, deters access, and exacerbates inequality. We all want our government and workplaces to actually work, and our lives to be easier. A behavioral approach to reducing friction can help us get there.

How Kansas City Municipal Court is leveraging insights from behavioral science to help more people voluntarily clear their nonappearance warrants, without the threat of being arrested.

Fifteen years of honing our approach has yielded an evidence-informed, people-centric framework that is responsive to the varied contexts and communities in which we operate. So what does this look like?

Combatting OSAEC in the Philippines: Explore the urgent need to address online sexual abuse and exploitation of children in the country.

In this edition, we’re turning to a promising practice, rooted in behavioral science, that’s ripe for more courts to take up: grace periods following a nonappearance.

How a detective's understanding of the impact of missed court dates is preventing arrest and changing lives.

In the United States, there are deep-seated narratives about who deserves what, and why. One of the most pervasive (and false) narratives in American society is that people experiencing poverty have only themselves to blame—that their circumstances are the result of individual choices, rather than flawed social policies and programs that reinforce inequality.

Court date reminders are becoming a go-to tool for many courts, and for good reason: the more rigorous evaluations have found that reminders reduce nonappearance by 20-40%. Just like the reminders we’ve come to expect from our doctors, dentists, and hair salons, court reminders—whether sent by text message, email, phone call, or mail—work by making the court date details and consequences for nonappearance clear and top of mind.

Across the 2018, 2020, and 2022 elections, only 70% of eligible voters participated at least once, and a meager 40% voted in all three.It’s easy to look at these figures and think Americans don’t actually care about voting. Behavioral science tells a more nuanced story.