Q Life Magazine Q Magazine (US) June 2017 | Page 48
Science and Technology |
| Issue 3
How Innovation is
Improving Delivery of
Public Services in Qatar
| The Pearl, Qatar
I
n August 2016, Qatar’s Supreme
Committee for Delivery & Legacy
launched the Middle East’s first
“Nudge Unit”, a team of specialized
behavioral scientists drawing on
economic and psychological research
to drive and improve public policy.
Qatar’s new Behavioral Insights
Unit (QBIU) has since taken a lead
role in policy experimentation and is
helping develop policies to navigate
Qatar and the region towards
improved public service delivery.
QBIU, in cooperation with a UK
Government-owned social purpose
company, The Behavioral Insights
Team, presented its initial findings
at the November 2016 World
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Innovation Summit for Health
in Doha.
The report covered three parts:
quality of life and well-being of
citizens, public health, and the
delivery of healthcare. It also
explored how behavioral insights
can be applied to public policies and
the design of public services in a
range of sectors.
David Halpern, Chief Executive
of The Behavioral Insights Team
said, “Behavioral factors – such as
diet, smoking, and accidents – now
account for the majority of healthy
years of life lost. Yet these behavioral
factors have received comparatively
little attention, and
the behavioral models within
the medical community remain
surprisingly undeveloped.”
Later this year, QBIU plans to
host the Middle East’s first-ever
“behavioral exchange” event.
This top-level meeting of globally-
renowned speakers, academics, and
practitioners will aim to deliver
further ground-breaking results
to help improve delivery of
public services.
Technological
Breakthroughs at
Qatar Shell Research &
Technology Center
T
he Qatar Shell and Research & Technology Center
(QSRTC) is a vital part of Shell’s R&D network
and the wider energy sector’s research and development
community.
Opened in 2008, the center has a $100 million decade-
long investment plan that focuses on bringing cleaner
burning and more efficient fuels to the energy market. In
order to achieve this, QSRTC collaborates actively with
global industry leaders such as Qatar Airways and Qatar
Petroleum as well as government departments including
Qatar’s Ministry of Municipality & Environment.
Through its large-scale investments and close
partnerships in Qatar and beyond, QSRTC is able to
deliver ground-breaking advances for the energy sector.
One major outcome from the center’s research has been
the development a new aviation fuel – the first new fuel
to be licensed for use in the industry for more than
two decades.
QSRTC is also pioneering new research to understand
Qatar’s subsurface, which holds tremendous potential for
| Shell Aviation Fuel
oil, gas, and water reserves. This includes a $70 million,
10-year research project in conjunction with Imperial
College London, Shell, and Qatar Petroleum.
Qatar recognizes that the world will need a mix of
energy resources to meet growing global demand.
Through the work of QSRTC and its partners in Qatar
and abroad, the future looks bright for cleaner and more
efficient energy sources.
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