Behavioural science has transformed how we think about public policy. In recent decades, it has been used to shape citizens’ behaviour in low-cost but important ways, prompting more people to pay their taxes, increasing voter turnout and improving adherence to medication, among countless other examples.

In the UK, much of this work was originally driven by a Cabinet Office group known as the “nudge unit”, which went on to become the Behavioural Insights Team. Now, there are hundreds of other organisations using and investing in behavioural science – yet most of their work happens “behind the scenes”.

Join us to explore how these teams operate and hear stories and insights from pioneers in the field, as we mark the launch of Behavioural public policy in a global context: practical lessons from outside the nudge unit, the new book edited by the Policy Institute’s Michael Sanders with co-editors Syon Bhanot and Shibeal O’Flaherty.


Speakers:

- Syon Bhanot, Associate Professor of Economics, Swarthmore College

- Vanessa Hirneis, Social Psychologist and Researcher, Experimental Government Team, the Policy Institute at King’s College London

- Lucy Makinson, Head of Policy, the Behavioural Insights Team

- Adam Oliver, Professor of Behavioural Public Policy, LSE

- Michael Sanders, Director, Experimental Government Team, the Policy Institute at King’s College London

- Anisha Singh, PhD candidate with the Psychological and Behavioural Science programme, LSE and former Vice-President, the Busara Center for Behavioural Economics