58 Victoria Embankment, London, United Kingdom EC4Y 0DS
Area served
Global
Key people
David Halpern, Chief Executive
Owner
Nesta
Number of employees
100 – 500
Website
www.bi.team
Part of a series on
Nudge theory
Social scientists
Richard Thaler
Shlomo Benartzi
Cass Sunstein
Maya Shankar
Government programs
Race to the Top
Affordable Care Act tax provisions
Social Credit System
Vision Zero
Government agencies
Behavioural Insights Team (UK)
Social and Behavioral Sciences Team (US)
Nudge theory in business
Loyalty program
Safety culture
Related concepts
Behavioral economics
Social proof
Default effect
Paternalism
Libertarian paternalism
Choice architecture
Social engineering
IT-backed authoritarianism
Design for behaviour change
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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.[1] Using social engineering, as well as techniques in psychology, behavioral economics, and marketing, the purpose of the organisation 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 a limited company in 2014 and is now fully owned by British charity Nesta.[1][2] Today, its work spans across several regions, having run more than 750 projects including 400 randomised controlled trial (RCTs) in various countries.[1] 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).[3]
The OECD notes that 202 organisations around 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.[4] These teams include the Behavioural Insights Unit (BIU) in the New South Wales Government[5] and the Behavioural Economics Team of the Australian Government (BETA) in the Australian Government.[6] Meanwhile, Harvard University and the Government of British Columbia individually have a Behavioral Insights Group (BIG and BC BIG, respectively).[7][8]
^ abcCite error: The named reference :1 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^"Nesta acquires Behavioural Insights Team to help tackle society's biggest social challenges". www.gov.uk.
^"Where to find us". www.bi.team. Retrieved 4 May 2021.
^OECD. "Behavioural insights". OECD Better Policies for Better Lives. Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. Retrieved 2 November 2020.
^"Behavioural Insights Unit". New South Wales Government. Retrieved 7 August 2023.
^"Who we are". Australian Government. Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet. Retrieved 7 August 2023.
^Agency, BC Public Service. "Behavioural Insights - Province of British Columbia". www2.gov.bc.ca. Retrieved 4 May 2021.
^"Behavioral Insights Group". cpl.hks.harvard.edu. Retrieved 4 May 2021.
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popular among policymakers, leading to the formation of the UK's BehaviouralInsightsTeam and the White House "Nudge Unit" for example. While many behavioral...
2009-01-24. Retrieved 2009-09-09. "About Us". BehaviouralInsightsTeam. "About Us". BehaviouralInsights. NSW Department of Premier and Cabinet. Archived...
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decades. Thaler was also involved in the establishment of the BehaviouralInsightsTeam, which was originally part of the British Government's Cabinet...
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journalism, and related topics. In June 2012, he collaborated with the BehaviouralInsightsTeam of the UK government on a policy paper on the use of randomised...
'breathtaking' ambition of the system and the 'massive quantities of behavioural data' going into the system without substantiating these claims in any...
Professor Julia Gog, University of Cambridge Dr David Halpern, BehaviouralInsightsTeam, Cabinet Office Dr Jenny Harries, Deputy Chief Medical Officer...
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Business Standard. 20 July 2011. Retrieved 28 July 2011. "i-mint and PAYBACK team up in India". Colloquy. 17 June 2010. Archived from the original on 13 August...
development were exempt. In 2010, the BehaviouralInsightsTeam was set up to apply nudge theory (behavioural economics and psychology) to try to improve...
Change.[citation needed] He was an advisor to the UK government's BehaviouralInsightsTeam. He is a Fellow of the Cognitive Science Society and the British...
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and promoted in European Union countries including Belgium. The BehaviouralInsightsTeam (BIT) were originally established under the auspices of the Cabinet...
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Obama Campaign in 2008 then adopted by the UK Government BehaviouralInsightsTeam. Behavioural methodologies then became subject to great controversy in...
by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills and the BehaviouralInsightsTeam at the UK Cabinet Office, sought to introduce voluntary measures...
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