In this case study on a "Nudging in Education" research project, we used the Productive Interactions (SIAMPI) approach as introduced by Spaapen & Van Drooge (2011) to evaluate societal impact. Our experiences and impressions on the case study, impact assessment method, and results are summarised below.
The case study: Nudging in education
The case study focuses on the research project "Nudging in Education", which ran from 2018 to 2022 and was funded by the grant for "Practical Research from NWO-NRO". It involved a range of partners, including Erasmus University Rotterdam, Da Vinci College, Hogeschool Rotterdam, De Rooi Pannen, Breda University of Applied Sciences, Expertisecentrum Beroepsonderwijs, and Eindhoven University of Technology. Researchers, teachers, and institutional management worked together towards the common goal of helping students demonstrate autonomous learning behaviour at MBO levels.
Nudges are almost imperceptible changes to our decision environment that are meant to subtly guide behaviour into (more) healthy or otherwise "desirable" directions. As part of this project, teachers learned about nudging theory, developed nudges together with researchers and professionals, and tested these nudges in their educational practices through experimentation. Based on these experiments, the researchers generated insights on the applicability of nudging in education (specifically for teacher professionalisation) and practical tools for educators to support students in their learning process.
The project impact assessment using SIAMPI
The impact assessment took place from February to June 2021, and it followed the SIAMPI Framework. This framework is widely used for understanding and assessing the quality of interactions between researchers and their collaborators in society. To understand the productive interactions from the research project, the ESI team reviewed available documents and websites and conducted eight interviews with diverse stakeholders. The interviews were coded to distinguish between different interactions, as well as related changes in attitudes, knowledge, relationships, networks, and skills (outcomes) that would deem such interactions "productive". These behavioural changes were also linked to Theory of Change (Belcher et al., 2020) in order to further define (intended) societal impacts.
Results of the SIAMPI analysis
The impact assessment, guided by the SIAMPI framework, resulted in a report that contains a narrative on the ways that the "Nudging in Education" project aims to achieve societal impact, and a table with the different kinds of productive interactions (direct, indirect, financial) that contribute to societal impact, or that may do so in the future (see report p. 13). In addition, a visualisation of the web of productive interactions was created in close consultation with the actors involved in the project. This visual element made the role of the partners more transparent and created an opportunity to discuss and (re)evaluate stakeholders’ role in achieving impact and their modes of interaction.
Downloads
Please find the full report Nudging in het Onderwijs 2021 below as a downloadable file (in Dutch).
- More information
The first version was written by Lisa Burghardt and published on February 23, 2022. Recent revisions have been made by the Evaluating Societal Impact team on June 2025.
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