BEHAVIOURAL GOVERNANCE AS A NEW PARADIGM FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION SYSTEM

Abstract

The article substantiates behavioural governance as a new paradigm for the development of the public administration system. It goes beyond the occasional use of nudges and requires systematic consideration of the actual behaviour of citizens, public servants, political leaders, organisations, and governance networks throughout the policy cycle. Behavioural public policy, behavioural public administration, behavioural government, and behavioural governance are distinguished. Behavioural governance is defined as an interdisciplinary, humancentred, evidence-informed, and ethically bounded system for shaping rules, processes, services, communications, and accountability mechanisms in which behavioural regularities are used both to influence individual choice and to improve the institutional environment and the capacity of public authorities for self-correction. The methodology combines systemic, institutional, structural-functional, comparative, and process approaches with analysis, synthesis, typology, and conceptual modelling. Seven contours are substantiated: epistemological and diagnostic; policy design; organisational and administrative; service and digital; participatory and communicative; experimental and evaluative; and ethical, legal, and institutional. A behaviourally informed decision cycle, a behavioural intervention passport, and an institutional readiness index are developed. The principles of transparency, proportionality, preservation of autonomy, non-discrimination, data protection, evidential sufficiency, and contestability are specified. The behavioural paradigm does not replace legal regulation, resources, or structural reform; it enhances their effectiveness by identifying barriers more precisely, adapting administrative processes, and creating continuous institutional learning. The framework can support the modernisation of public services, regulatory policy, public communication, human resource management, integrity systems, and citizen participation in Ukraine. Its practical value lies in a structured approach to diagnosing problems, selecting proportionate instruments, conducting ethical review, testing interventions, scaling verified solutions, and monitoring unintended effects.