BIT

Booking now open: Managing organisational change Secure your place on our exclusive one-day course for business leaders, equipping you with the tools to understand and influence human behaviour and drive business success. Taking place at our riverside London office on Thursday 7 November, participants will leave with a deeper understanding of: - The factors that drive the behaviour of employees (as well as your supply chain, partners and customers), and how to nudge them to make better decisions - Tools and techniques to improve the quality of decision-making in your team How to design innovative, low-cost solutions to business challenges using behavioural insights Led by experts at BIT, a global leader in behavioural science, this course equips participants with the knowledge and tools to deliver measurable results. Find out more about the one-day programme and secure your place: https://lnkd.in/evuctbPc 📅 Thursday 7 November 📍London

The UK government has announced today that disposable vapes will be banned in England and Wales from June 2025 onwards. When the last government announced their own crackdown on disposables, we published a piece comparing vaping policies around the world to summarise important lessons for the government, and our advice is still just as relevant now: 1. Regulation is only as good as its enforcement - the ban should be complemented with increasing enforcement to prevent a rise in black market sales, particularly as unregulated e-cigarettes may pose greater health risks to vapers. 2. Strike the right balance for harm reduction - smokers will still have the opportunity to quit using rechargeable e-cigarettes, but with recent increases in the number of smokers who think that vaping is more harmful than cigarettes we think more could be done to encourage smokers to switch to vapes (particularly as our own research has shown that even short positive stories can improve harm perceptions) 3. Avoid the ‘closing down sale’ - the government could consider limits on imports, advertising or the number of disposables that can be sold individual customers to help prevent customers from stockpiling in the months leading up to the ban 4. The most effective enforcement rests on public support - around 80% of the public support a ban, and the government can capitalise on this support by encouraging the public to report retailers that contravene the new restrictions. You can read our piece in full here 👇 https://lnkd.in/dmwAtjtd

We want to create new ways of using behavioural science so it can fulfil its promise and deal with emerging challenges. Today, along with our new identity and website, we’re launching Four Big Shifts - the changes we want to see in our work and in the wider sector to ensure we’re ready for the future. Get a sneak peek of the Four Big Shifts from our Chief Behavioural Scientist Michael Hallsworth 👇 https://lnkd.in/ebYJ9_uW

We’ve got a new look! While our brand visuals have evolved, our purpose remains the same: to create positive social impact through behavioural science and evaluation. Take a look at our new-look website 👇 https://www.bi.team/

📣 Calling all UK small and medium business owners We are conducting a study of small-to-medium businesses in the UK, funded by the UK government. As part of this study we’re offering SMEs the chance to receive 1-2 days of free HR consultancy provided by CIPD-accredited HR professionals. Participate in this study, claim £70 in Amazon vouchers, and contribute to research that could shape the future of UK businesses. Take part 👇 https://bit.ly/4f8iRU9

🚺 New mini experiment on World Menopause Day: We asked 4000 people about support for workplace adjustments like flexible working or additional sick leave for people experiencing menopause. 🏢 The vast majority of the public (70%) are supportive. But when asked to estimate the level of support they thought others would have for such policies, respondents significantly underestimated the level of support, estimating on average that only 54% would be in favour. 🤔 The research suggests that this gap between actual and perceived support might be linked to the concept of 'pluralistic ignorance', where individuals mistakenly believe their personal beliefs differ from the majority. This misperception can lead to a reluctance to speak up or seek help, fearing negative judgement or social stigma. ♀ BIT's findings highlight the need for employers to consider offering menopause workplace adjustments to staff and to look at increasing awareness of any available workplace support for menopause. Check out the findings here: https://lnkd.in/ek_edjne

BIT researchers found that using a behaviourally-informed chatbot more than tripled COVID-19 vaccine uptake compared to a control group 💡 The findings are reported today in Nature Portfolio's journal of human behaviour research. The research team included BIT's Sebastian Salomon–Ballada and Adelaida Barerra 👏 Findings are based on a large-scale study of 250k participants in Chaco, Argentina 🇦🇷 Participants were randomly assigned into three groups: 1) No message or intervention 🙅♀️ 2) a single, one-way message via WhatsApp 📩 3) an interactive WhatsApp chatbot 🤳 The chatbot nearly doubled uptake compared to the one-way message and more than tripled uptake compared to the ‘no message’ control group. The study's findings have significant implications for public health beyond the COVID-19 pandemic. Similar chatbots could be developed to promote other health behaviours, particularly those involving in-person consultations. These include routine vaccinations, cancer screenings, or management of chronic conditions. Learn more about this project here👇 https://lnkd.in/eTEJ32GU

Deelan Maru and David Halpern delving further into the issues raised in our recent A Blueprint for Better International Collaboration on Evidence report over on LSE Blogs. You can read the report in full here: https://lnkd.in/ebSSWhZb

In partnership with the Education Endowment Foundation (EEF) and Envision (with funding from the EEF, The Careers & Enterprise Company and Bank of America), we evaluated a programme supporting teenage students in the UK to design and deliver a fundraising campaign for a charity of their choice 🏫   The programme aimed to help students develop: 🙇♀️ Self-efficacy 👯 Social confidence 🤝 Teamwork skills In the long run, this programme aimed to increase students’ participation in social action and develop skills that will help them thrive in careers beyond the classroom. This builds on BIT's previous research which has shown that youth social action can positively affect young people's skills and attitudes, and can increase their likelihood of political participation in the future. Learn more here 👇 https://lnkd.in/eMpV-Wva

Our Social Capital project, funded by the Nuffield Foundation, explores how social connections influence people’s life outcomes, with a focus on social mobility 📈 In collaboration with Stripe Partners, we're publishing a series of regional social mobility statistics for England 🗺️ We’ve examined social mobility statistics across 326 local authorities in England to understand regional differences, and our analysis highlights areas with the highest and lowest social mobility rates. Explore our interactive map to find out more about your local area 👇 https://bit.ly/3Yqi76w