Nesta Buys 'Nudge Unit' Behavioural Insights

UK-based innovation charity Nesta has acquired Behavioural Insights Limited (BIT), previously known as the 'Nudge Unit', in a £15.4m deal.

Set up by former UK Prime Minister David Cameron in 2010 after he had read Richard Thaler and Cass Sunstein's book 'Nudge', BIT's remit is to apply the authors' theory that people's habits can be changed without government regulation, by nudging them in the 'right' direction. In 2014, the unit was spun off into a mutual joint venture with Nesta, with BIT's employees and the government each owning a third of the business. At the time, Private Eye magazine criticised BIT for charging government departments 'eye-watering rates' for work the magazine says it used to do itself, and for the salaries of the unit's directors.

BIT has worked with governments in more than 50 countries; owns subsidiary businesses in the US, Australia, Singapore, Canada and France; and now has more than 250 staff and an annual turnover above £20m. Nesta says the deal will help it tackle some of the UK's 'most pressing social challenges', including ten-year missions to halve obesity rates, eliminate the school readiness gap, and slash household carbon emissions by 28% to reach net zero. BIT will remain a 'commercial social purpose company', whose profits will be invested in social impact initiatives and also help Nesta to advance its social missions.

Commenting on the deal, Nesta CEO Ravi Gurumurthy (pictured) said: 'At Nesta we know our 2030 goals are ambitious, but we are determined to meet the urgency of the challenges facing our society. By coming together in this way, we will accelerate innovation in our three missions and we'll benefit from BIT's experience of translating behavioural insights into policy impact'.

Web sites: www.nesta.org.uk and www.bi.team .