Nudge unit goes private
DAVID Cameron’s so-called nudge unit, a team that works on subtle ways to influence the public’s behaviour, is being spun off into a private company.
The Behavioural Insights Team, set up in 2010, will seek out new work around the world as a mutual firm owned by charity Nesta and the Cabinet Office.
The unit’s 16 staff have worked on ways to encourage Brits to become organ donors, give more to charity and use less energy in their homes.
In 2012, the team said it had identified cost savings worth £300m to the public purse in its first two years.
“As a mutual joint venture, the new company will be able to grow its business and export services across the globe,” said cabinet minister Francis Maude in a statement yesterday.
Cameron set up the unit after reading Nudge, a book by Richard Thaler and Cass Sunstein about how to encourage people to change their behaviour for the public good.