Behavioral scientists study how we – human beings – naturally interact with each other and our environment, in ways that impact our preferences, decisions, and behaviors. In this interactive three-part e-learning seminar, you will gain an inside look into the psychology shaping budgeting and finance decisions as well as how you can use this knowledge to design better processes and achieve better outcomes for your organization and the community. All attendees will be sent a short set of decision exercises to complete prior to the first session, and results will be interactively revealed in the sessions themselves.

Session 1: The Budget Officer as Behavioral Scientist

Developing a budget requires a lot of decision-making. Approaching these decisions from a behavioral scientist’s point of view can give us a better understanding of – and control over – how those decisions play out. In this engaging session, you will learn the surprisingly simple origin of decision-making biases, how to recognize them in yourselves and your stakeholders, and most importantly, how to fix them with small changes to the communications, processes, and overall environment of your organization.

Session 2: Of Narratives and Numbers

Any data can weave a story, but is the story accurate? Session 2 of this series will allow different parties involved in budgeting and budget monitoring to understand and reflect on how common biases might distort their own or others’ financial assumptions and analyses – and how to use these biases for good.

Session 3: If You Build It, Will They Choose It?

Whether you realize it or not, as a budget officer, you are a choice architect. Using budget-related examples and scenarios, you will build your choice architecture toolbox and learn how you can re-design the choice environment to shape how choices are made.

Who Will Benefit: CFO/Finance Director, Budget Manager & Analyst, Department Director

• Session 1: The Budget Officer as Behavioral Scientist: Learn how to think like a behavioral scientist; Learn how behaviors—and budgets—are a function of both the person and the environment; Learn how you can improve your communications and processes to achieve better outcomes
• Session 2: Of Narratives and Numbers: Learn how the shortcuts we follow can undermine seeing the world as it is or will be; Learn about different types of bias, how they affect decision-making, and how to minimize their effects; Learn how to avoid common pitfalls of data analysis and presentation
• Session 3: If You Build It, Will They Choose It?: Learn the key concepts of choice architecture and how you can use this toolkit to improve decisions; Learn how to give stakeholders a clear “reason” to select, or reject, an option; Learn how the number of options presented, their order, their attributes, their framing and even their units can systematically shape decisions in the budgeting process