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Reint Jan Renes

(Professor at the University of Utrecht & Wageningen University)
Reint Jan Renes at UXinsight

Applied professor Cross-media Communication in the Public Domain at the University of Applied Sciences in Utrecht &  associate professor social psychology of behavior change at Wageningen University

Reint Jan Renes is applied professor Cross-media Communication in the Public Domain at the University of Applied Sciences in Utrecht and is associate professor Behaviour Change Communication at Wageningen University. In 2005 he received a PhD in Social Psychology at the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam. He (co-)authored a large number of scientific reports, papers and books on persuasive communication and the social psychology of behavioural change.

At the University of Applied Sciences in Utrecht, Reint Jan supervises a research team (PubLab) that develops effective and innovative ‘behavioural change’ interventions and examines how (cross-media) communication and design can be implemented to create a more healthy and sustainable society. For example, his group developed the “campaign strategy instrument” for the Dutch Ministry of General Affairs, the “communication decision making instrument” for the Dutch Employment Insurance Agency (UWV), and a “persuasive by design” model and “behavioural lenses” for (and in cooperation with) the creative industry.

Reint Jan is an experienced scientific advisor of national committees (e.g., chairman of the national analyses/solutions team of the Ministry of Infrastructure and Environment, member of the committee “youth impulse health lifestyle and social media” of the Ministry of Health, Welfare, and Sport, and member of the advisory committee Public Communication of the Ministry of General Affairs). In 2015 he was nominated (top 3) for ‘Dutch Communication Man/Woman of the Year’ and last year he was ranked number 5 in the Dutch top 25 ‘most inspiring people working in communication’.

At UXinsight 2018, Reint Jan will inspire us with his closing note Persuasive ‘nudges’ don’t design themselves

Keynote – Persuasive ‘nudges’ don’t design themselves >>

Behaviour change design has much to gain with the integration of insights from social psychology in the design process. Similarly, behavioural scientists can greatly benefit from adopting designerly methods to make sure their persuasive strategies ‘work’ in a broad range of user contexts. This integration needs to be done carefully without hampering the creative process nor the scientific validity of the persuasive designs.

In his keynote, Reint Jan presents an evidence-based model (Persuasive by Design) and useful tool (The Behavioural Lenses) that contribute to the design of effective ‘nudges’. The model and tool offer possibilities to enhance user research and concept development by informing designs with principles central to the behavioural sciences.