Designing Public Policies Based on Behavioral Sciences: from Theory to Implementation in Smart Governance

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

1 Full Professor, Strategic Management Department, Faculty of Strategic Management, National Defense University, Tehran, Iran.

2 PhD Candidate in Futures Studies at the National Defense University, Tehran, Iran.

Abstract

The aim of this study is to examine the capacities and prerequisites for integrating behavioral sciences into public policy within the framework of smart governance in the Islamic Republic of Iran. This applied research employs a qualitative, exploratory design. A document analysis was conducted to review national and international theoretical and empirical literature, and semi-structured interviews with nine experts were used to enrich the findings and capture locally grounded data. Through thematic analysis of both the documentary evidence and interview transcripts, key barriers, opportunities, and implementation strategies for behaviorally informed policy design were identified. The results reveal that institutional resistance, the absence of data-driven infrastructure, and a lack of legal frameworks hinder the widespread adoption of behavioral policy approaches for smart governance; however, the country also possesses significant scientific and technological capacities that could support the establishment of this approach. Finally, a conceptual model is proposed—comprising five stages: local behavioral diagnosis, policy design, pilot implementation, data analysis, and continuous feedback—which aims to enhance policy effectiveness and foster greater social participation.

Keywords

Main Subjects

References

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    2025  by the authors. Published by The National Defense University. This article is an open-access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0

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