42-398: The Behavioural Insights Team ( BIT ), also known unofficially as the " Nudge Unit ", is a UK-based global social purpose organisation that generates and applies behavioural insights to inform policy and improve public services, following nudge theory . Using social engineering , as well as techniques in psychology , behavioral economics , and marketing , the purpose of the organisation
84-431: A corporation , in some U.S. states that enables, but does not require, considering social or environmental issues in decision making. SPCs are similar to benefit corporations (B corporations). In California, "[t]he amendment, S.B. 1301, changes existing law (found under Corporations Code Sections 2500–3503) to emphasize the social-purpose nature of the flexible purpose corporations , most notably by changing its name to
126-401: A horizontal network of employees, practitioners, and researchers across the government that allows for sharing information, research methodologies, and experimentation results. This community of practice has an open model, wherein all Canadian public servants at all levels are able to take part. BI CoP also has a mandate to "include education, training, and awareness-building." Complementing
168-719: A limited company in 2014 and is now fully owned by British charity Nesta . Today, its work spans across several regions, having run more than 750 projects including 400 randomised controlled trial (RCTs) in various countries. With its headquarters in London and another UK location in Manchester , BIT also has offices in the United States ( New York and Washington, DC ); Singapore ; Australia ( Sydney ); New Zealand ( Wellington ); France ( Paris ); and Canada ( Toronto ). The OECD notes that 202 organisations around
210-474: A $ 3.75m from the Global Innovation Fund . On 5 February 2014, BIT's ownership was split equally between the government, the charity Nesta , and the team's employees, with Nesta providing £1.9 million in financing and services. Reportedly this was "the first time the [UK] government has privatised civil servants responsible for policy decisions." The Financial Times expected it "to be
252-567: A 1st in natural Sciences specialising in experimental psychology . He then went on to complete a PhD in social and political sciences, also at St John's College, Cambridge . Halpern was a research fellow at the Policy Studies Institute (1991–94), a Nuffield College, Oxford prize research fellow (1993–96) and a lecturer in social human sciences at the University of Cambridge (1996–2001). From 2001 to 2007 Halpern
294-443: A Florida SPC may bring lawsuits against a Florida SPC for failure to pursue or create a public benefit, but the corporations, their directors, and their management are shielded from monetary damages in such lawsuits for failing to create a public benefit. Florida SPCs must prepare an annual report on the company's achievements towards its public benefit goals, but unlike Florida B Corporations, these reports do not need to be assessed by
336-591: A July 2023 interview with The Daily Telegraph , he proposed that through his unit's measures the public were now well "drilled" for future emergencies, going on to suggest that using fear was a useful tool "if you think people are wrongly calibrated" . In 2016, Halpern was elected a Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences (FAcSS). He was appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in
378-566: A formal partnership with Harvard University ’s Behavioral Insights Group (BIG) and close relationships with several universities, including University College London , Harvard University, and the Universities of Oxford , Cambridge , and Pennsylvania . As of May 2021, members of the BIT global board include: As of May 2021, academic affiliates of the BIT include: In the UK, BIT tested
420-409: A set of variants on any given intervention and testing them against each other. He called the cycle of making variants, testing them, learning what works best and starting again from there "radical incrementalism ." BIT follows a basic, linear process combining fieldwork and behavioural science literature in approaching projects. This four-step methodology involves defining the outcome, understanding
462-469: A third-party standard. Washington State passed the law for social purpose corporations in 2012. Florida became the second state to adopt social purpose corporations in 2014. Although there are no official requirements for social purpose corporations to have a positive social or environmental impact, most of the companies which have registered as social purpose corporations in Washington State,
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#1732776177390504-400: Is essentially a zero-risk proposition, there were very few people installing it. The team discovered that people's lofts were full of junk, and provided low-cost labour to clear them; this caused a fivefold increase in the proportion of installed insulation. In June 2012, they published a policy paper on the use of randomised controlled trials in collaboration with Ben Goldacre . Tasked by
546-464: Is headed by Laura Litvine. According to the OECD , 202 institutions globally have applied behavioural insights to public policy, and many of these firms have established their own behavioural insight teams to undergo behavioural research (including in behavioural economics ) and policy solutions. Social purpose corporation A social purpose corporation ( SPC ) is a type of for-profit entity,
588-670: Is one of the 56 individuals named by the UK government as contributing to the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies in response to the COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom , focusing on behavioural changes such as increased handwashing. On 11 March 2020 he gave an interview to the BBC on the importance of shielding vulnerable people during the COVID-19 pandemic until herd immunity had been achieved. In
630-471: Is the corporation's sole benefit purpose, the corporation could appropriately be a SP corporation. However, if the corporation is a B corporation, directors and officers would be mandated to consider as well employee programs, environmental concerns, community issues, and similar societal factors, and cannot concentrate on a single benefit program to the detriment of other general benefit concerns. Shareholders, directors, and persons owning more than 5% equity in
672-582: Is to influence public thinking and decision making in order to improve compliance with government policy and thereby decrease social and government costs related to inaction and poor compliance with policy and regulation. The Behavioural Insights Team has been headed by British psychologist David Halpern since its formation. Originally set up in 2010 within the UK Cabinet Office to apply nudge theory within British government , BIT expanded into
714-553: The Department for Work and Pensions to investigate the effectiveness of "sanctioning" recipients of disability benefits (punishing them with fines of up to three years ineligibility to benefits for supposed bad attitudes or non-compliance), the nudge unit noted that these methods were ineffective, but rather than recommending they be withdrawn, proposed changes which might make sanctions and benefit conditionality more effective. Behavioural insights has been used by governments across
756-808: The Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet called the Behavioural Economics Team of the Australian Government ( BETA ) to apply behavioural insights into public policy. Having worked with agencies of the Singaporean government since 2012, BIT opened a permanent office in the city-state in 2016 following successful work with the Ministry of Manpower , the Public Services Division of
798-563: The Direction Interministerielle de la Transformation Publique (DITP; 'Interministerial Directorate of Public Transformation'), under the ministère de la Transformation et Fonction publiques ('Ministry of Transformation and Public Service'). As work grew in France, BIT opened its Paris office in 2020, its first permanent office in continental Europe , with a team of advisors transferring over from London. BIT France
840-565: The Government of British Columbia individually have a Behavioral Insights Group ( BIG and BC BIG , respectively). BIT was set up in 2010 by the 2010–15 coalition government of the United Kingdom in a probationary fashion. It was established at the Cabinet Office and headed by psychologist David Halpern . In April 2013, it was announced that BIT would be partially privatised as a mutual joint venture . In 2016, BIT won
882-643: The Government of Canada , Government of British Columbia , Rideau Hall Foundation , Ontario Securities Commission , University Health Network , and the Region of Peel . The Director of BIT Canada is Sasha Tregebov. In 2016, Employment and Social Development Canada and the Privy Council Office 's Impact and Innovation Unit (IIU; formerly Innovation Hub) launched the Behavioural Insights Community of Practice ( BI CoP ),
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#1732776177390924-581: The Ministry of Primary Industries , and the New Zealand Police . In 2012, BIT Australia worked with the state Government of New South Wales (NSW) to establish the Behavioural Insights Unit ( BIU ) at the Department of Premier and Cabinet (now in the Department of Customer Service ), intended to provide policy advice and support to NSW Government agencies. In 2016, the federal government created its own "Nudge Unit" at
966-452: The Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs . The federal Office of Science and Technology Policy also has a "Social and Behavioral Sciences Initiative," whose goal is "to translate academic research findings into improvements in federal program performance and efficiency using rigorous evaluation methods." On 15 September 2015, Obama issued an Executive Order that formally established
1008-652: The Prime Minister’s Office , and the Ministry of Home Affairs , among other departments. Work in Singapore has focused on improving social policy in consideration to empiricism and social impact. The ASEAN-Australia Strategic Youth Partnership has expressed consideration for establishing a centralised behavioural economics team for the region as a modest investment which can deliver measurable benefits for ASEAN communities. BIT's global headquarters are based in London , not too far from 10 Downing Street , where
1050-679: The Social and Behavioral Sciences Team and directed government agencies to use insights from the social and behavioral sciences to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of their work. BIT has an office in Sydney , Australia , and in Wellington , New Zealand . Expansion into Oceania began at a state-level, followed by the setup of teams on a sub-national level. The Wellington office was established in 2016, working with central and local government clients including Ministry of Social Development ,
1092-639: The "Social Purpose Corporation". With the law change, corporate directors are now required to account for company mission in decision making. A SPC must state that it has a specific purpose to pursue a public purpose that a traditional nonprofit corporation would normally have pursued. Because an SPC is a for-profit organization, they do not qualify for tax-exempt status as a nonprofit corporation. S.B. 1301 took effect on January 1, 2015. On that date, extant FPCs automatically continued their existence as SPCs. Florida created both social purpose corporations and benefit corporations in 2014. The main difference between
1134-599: The Behavioural Economics Team of the Australian Government (BETA) conducted a trial with the Australian Department of Human Services on timely reminders to report on time. Individuals on welfare payments for job seekers and students are required to report their income every fortnight before the payment is made. This is essential for the accuracy of payments. Over 80,000 individuals are late for reporting every fortnight which can result in
1176-523: The United States and internationally, whereas the DC office was established in early 2020 to focus on the United States itself, with partnerships at all levels of government. During his terms, U.S. President Barack Obama sought to employ nudge theory to advance American domestic policy goals. In 2008, the federal government appointed Cass Sunstein , who helped develop the theory, as administrator of
1218-468: The cancellation of payments. BETA designed three different SMS reminders to be sent the day before reporting was due. The SMS messages included a short reminder, a cost-emphasising reminder and a benefits-emphasising reminder. The findings illustrate that any SMS option increased the number of individuals reporting by 13.5% at a faster rate than ones who did not receive a text. This further led to 1.7% in fewer payment cancellations. Although loft insulation
1260-466: The context, building the intervention and finishing by testing, learning and adapting. In testing, BIT heavily uses randomised control trials to increase the evidence base and take an empirical approach to government. BIT is headed by psychologist David Halpern , and is now owned by the charity Nesta . It works in partnership with governments, local authorities, non-profits, and private organisations to tackle major policy problems. The organisation has
1302-570: The first of many policy teams to be spun off as part of plans to shrink central government and create a private enterprise culture in Whitehall ." In December 2021, the group became wholly-owned by Nesta. The mission of the organisation is to inform policy and improve public services for citizens and society. In reporting achievements, annual update reports are published highlighting key areas of focus addressed. UK government departments that had previously received policy advice for free now pay for
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1344-410: The impact of tax payment reminders with carefully constructed messages to cue individuals to make tax payments. BIT partnered with Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs (HMRC) to assess the effectiveness of norm-based and public good statements in prompting taxpayers to pay on time. The norm-based statements gave statistics showing the timeliness of conscientious individuals paying their tax on time and that
1386-418: The individual was not part of this group as they had failed to pay on time. Additionally, the public good statements illustrated the beneficial public services the individual would have access to if taxes were paid on time and the poor social outcomes that could happen if the individual did not pay tax on time. The outcomes of the trials indicated an increase in likelihood of individuals paying tax on time, with
1428-640: The internal BI CoP, the IIU established a Behavioural Insights Network to bring together provincial, territorial, and municipal governments in Canada that work in the field of behavioural insights. Various provincial governments in Canada also operate nudge units: BIT has expanded to the United States , setting up an office in New York City as well as in Washington, DC . The New York office works both in
1470-618: The norm-based statements increasing total taxes paid within 23 days by more than £1.6 million. BIT prompted those owing the UK Courts Service fines with a text message ten days before the bailiffs were to be sent to a person, which doubled payments made without the need for further intervention. This innovation has reportedly saved the Courts Service £30 million a year by "sending people owing fines personalised text messages to persuade them to pay promptly." Similarly,
1512-587: The pioneering state for SPCs, have a focus on social or environmental impacts. David Halpern (psychologist) David Solomon Halpern CBE FAcSS (born June 1966 ) is a British civil servant, heading the Behavioural Insights Team (unofficially known as the Nudge Unit) spun out from the Cabinet Office . Halpern attended King's School, Rochester , before attending Christ's College , University of Cambridge achieving
1554-455: The service, as the cost of maintaining the team is no longer borne by government. Although specific ideas devised by BIT have been imitated in several other countries (see below), chief executive David Halpern said in a 2018 interview with Apolitical that the unit's underlying methodology has still not been widely understood. He said BIT's "greatest legacy" would not be any individual behavioural insight, but rather its commitment to creating
1596-649: The team was originally formed. BIT North was established in Manchester, UK , in 2016. Working in close partnership with the Greater Manchester Combined Authority and the Greater Manchester Health and Social Care Partnership, BIT North focuses on various local issues, from recycling to education to health and social care. BIT has been operating in France since 2018, initially through a framework agreement with
1638-686: The two is that B corporations must pursue a "general public benefit", which applies to all of the company's activities, while SPCs may pursue a public benefit in limited areas. This example from the Florida Bar Journal illustrates this difference between SPCs and benefit corporations: Suppose that a for-profit corporation plans to manufacture and sell an anti-malarial drug and, as part of its business plan, will distribute that drug at low or no cost in African countries. If distribution in Africa
1680-581: The world have applied behavioural insights to public policy. Many of these organisations have established their own behavioural insight teams to research the field of behavioural economics. These teams include the Behavioural Insights Unit ( BIU ) in the New South Wales Government and the Behavioural Economics Team of the Australian Government (BETA) in the Australian Government. Meanwhile, Harvard University and
1722-696: The world to successfully improve outcomes in numerous policy, program, and service areas, including retirement savings , access to post-secondary education , on-time tax payment , and healthcare . The North American operation of BIT is working with cities and their agencies, as well as other partners, across the United States and Canada, running over 25 randomized controlled trials in the first year of operation. The BIT Canada office at Toronto, Ontario , opened in October 2019, working with all levels of government (municipal, provincial, and federal), as well as nonprofits and foundations. Clients of BIT Canada include
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1764-537: Was chief analyst in the Prime Minister's Strategy Unit . He was then director of the Institute for Government from 2008 to 2010, where he remains a senior fellow. Since October 2010 Halpern has been director of the Behavioural Insights Team , initially as part of the Cabinet Office and since 2013, as a partially privatised venture. He currently is a visiting professor at King's College London . He
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