The behavioral insights movement has flourished over the last decade. There is now a vibrant ecosystem of practitioners, teams, and academics building on each other’s work across the globe. Their focus on robust evaluation means we know that this work has had an impact on important issues. However, as high-profile recent debates show, many people also know that applied behavioral science needs to evolve further over its next decade.

In this talk, Michael Hallsworth, Managing Director (Americas) for the Behavioural Insights Team, will outline the criticisms and challenges facing the field. He will then present several proposals to address them, based on a new blueprint for the future of applied behavioral science, forthcoming in Nature Human Behaviour. He will talk about what different actors need to do in order to make these solutions happen – and thereby help to fulfill the field’s potential.

Guest Speaker: Michael Hallsworth, Managing Director (Americas) for the Behavioural Insights Team,

Michael Hallsworth has been a leading figure in developing the field of applying behavioral science to government. His work has been published in, among others, The Lancet, the Journal of Public Economics, and Nature Human Behaviour. He is the author of the book Behavioral Insights (MIT Press, 2020.

Before his current role, Michael served in various positions in the UK government, as an Assistant Professor (Adjunct) at Columbia University, and as an analyst at the RAND Corporation. He has a PhD in behavioral economics from Imperial College London and is a member of the Editorial Board of the journal Behavioral Public Policy.

Note: this event will be held in hybrid format. Harvard community members are encouraged to attend in person on the HKS campus. Members of the public and anyone who cannot attend in person are welcome to join the Zoom webinar. Register here for either format.