A Charity Just Bought A Behavioral Science Agency, Why?
Nesta is a social change, UK foundation whose seed money came from government. The Behavioral Insights Team (BIT) is a behavioral insights consultancy whose seed money also came from government. With a little bit of creativity in financing and deal making, the former just bought the latter for £15mil.
Why? The answer from Nesta’s own words,
Policies and servicesFundraising and marketing can be far more effective if designed in a way that is informed by an understanding of human behaviour- Some of the biggest challenges facing
the countryfundraising fromclimate changepoor retention to poorhealthresponse rates toeducationgetting beyond one size fits all depend to a large extent on the decisions, behaviours and relationships made by people. Public policyFundraising has paid too little attention to gaining a detailed understanding of what will motivate and engageteachers, parents, patients or consumersdonors.- The traditional tools of
governmentfundraising are critical butpoliciescommunications andservicesinteractions can be far more effective if designed in a way that is informed by an understanding of human behaviour. - Small, highly cost-effective and scalable interventions are even more valuable given that so many
public policy interventionsfundraising tests are costly and either lack evidence of effectiveness, or show no effect when evaluated.
And lastly, Nesta’s reason for choosing to buy BIT over other choices,
- One of
BIT’sDonorVoice’s (sorry, just couldn’t help myself) most important achievements has been to raise the standards of evidence in public policymaking.BITDonorVoice (oops, there I go again) as shown how rigorous standards can be delivered in a timely and cost-effective way, and therefore become standard practice.
Thank you Nesta for showing us the way. The path is lit. The choice is clear.
Kevin
One response to “A Charity Just Bought A Behavioral Science Agency, Why?”
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Kevin,
What an interesting development. Over the years the Behavioural Insights Team have come out with hard evidence of the benefits for charities to understand their supporters better and consequently achieve better results. My own successful PhD thesis builds on some of their observations and demonstrates again how helping givers to achieve their own objectives will trigger more, more sustainable, and larger gifts. How nice to see charities responding positively and decisively to the evidence and opportunities!