Nudging giving forward

Richard Harrison
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Hidden within the fog of the UK’s economic difficulties, the concept of the 'nudge' has blossomed, and it's something that's helping to answer questions of how to keep our economy, and charitable donations, as buoyant as possible, says Richard Harrison, from Charities Aid Foundation. 

The 'nudge’ is no longer  just a theory. It has become a reality that is re-shaping the leading edge of academic thought. It is starting to show how it can re-invigorate thinking across the private, public and third sectors. The time has come for us all to understand it and for leaders in the charity sector to embrace it. 
 
But what is it? Nudge says that positive reinforcement and indirect suggestion can and do work wonders. It challenges us to consider the power of small, shrewd common-sense interventions. Equally, it reminds us of the importance of making sure our communication is human, real, and down-to-earth. It is of considerable interest to CEOs and CFOs, as it encourages marketing directors to think about whether they might get the same result from a six-figure campaign as they would from making a habit out of saying thank you more, or showing a friendly photo in a mail shot. 
 
Our own journey with Nudge began in 2008. As the recession began to bite, the Charities Aid Foundation (CAF) listened to a pitch for research funding from two exceptionally bright minds at Bristol University. Their ask was to fund a series of real-world trials – artfully crafted and controlled experiments - designed to further our knowledge of what truly makes charitable giving tick. Dr. Sarah Smith and PhD student Michael Saunders – both behavioural economists - approached us with the quiet confidence of people who appreciate the power that their experiments can bring to light. Four years later, their work is done, and the results have been broadcast by the national press.
 
Their findings show that if only we keep asking in the right way, the pay-off can be overwhelming. One of the pilots, for example, showed how people who make long term payments through their payroll would end up giving £1000 per person more in their lifetimes, if only they were asked differently.  
 
The report, which is available for free on the CAF and Cabinet Office websites, says that there are four key insights that fundraisers should be aware of; to 'make it easy' for the donor, to 'attract attention', to ‘focus on the social', and to remember that ‘timing matters'. 
 
So what does this all mean for fundraisers? Most professional fundraisers will have already read a huge range of research in this field and, and so these four broad themes will not be alien to them. Moreover, the truth is, that many of the things fundraisers do every day are Nudge with a small ‘n’. However, what I think will surprise fundraisers who read the report is how great the pay-off is for keeping things simple and intuitive.  Also, the report is a great reminder not to get overly bogged down in the minutiae of back-office operations. Nudge is an opportunity for fundraisers to be alert to the small opportunities in each small detail of the chain of communication. In the years to come, staying in touch with what experiments academics are undertaking will prove a shrewd investment in time, especially if charities are able to learn ‘what works’ and validate those experiments in their own unique environments. 
 
And more strategically, what does this mean for charities? I believe it is up to the larger charities, and the umbrella bodies that represent them, to coordinate to create joined-up trials of this nature.  After years of economic hardship, we need to work smart together in order get out of the situation we are in. Based only on the experiments conducted by us and the Government, the prize is thought to be as much as an additional £4bn going to charity every year. That matters when public donations float around the £10bn mark. Nudge is, of course, neither a panacea nor the beginning of a revolution. But it is an important evolution that now sits beside ‘open’ and ‘big’ data as parts of the information ecosystem that we must make work for us. To get us out of the doldrums, we need to have the courage and the presence of mind to put our faith in emerging but proven concepts such as this.