Sludge vs. Nudge

1 min read · Oct 6, 2023
New Power Labs

Tl;dr: Seemingly small barriers can push our systems to fail those already marginalized. Better quality data helps unpack this context, but we need to be intentional about how we respond once we know more. 

Most of us didn’t think much about QR codes prior to the pandemic. Nowadays, you’d be hard-pressed to find a business without one, or a customer that doesn’t know how to engage with one.

These types of social context cues enable specific behaviours and are referred to as nudges. Their opposite — sludge — can be less obvious; it is the friction that impedes progress, and can be just as important in considering how systems shape behaviours.

Sludge helps explain why 84% of low-income Canadians fail to access government grants, despite the availability of such supports. Whether it’s forms to fill out or timing a bank’s opening hours against a demanding work schedule, in building inclusive systems, we can’t stop at rewards and incentives; we also need to consider removing sludge.

Southern New Hampshire University (SNHU) has been lauded as one of the most innovative community colleges in the US, but was once struggling to survive. To improve graduation rates, SNHU built systems to recognize red flags for virtual students and creatively intervened as early as possible; when an assignment wasn’t opened within a few days, or when a test went poorly, an advisor called the student directly to check in and address barriers. Removing the sludge helped push their graduation rate to soar above virtually every community college in the US. 

Better quality data helps us unpack what’s happening, but we need to be intentional about how we respond once we know more. 

Contributed by: Kasha Huk

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