Behaviourl Science and the Wider World Series

Over the last five or six years I have been running the Behavioural Science and the Wider World seminar as a space where colleagues, alumni, policymakers, practitioners, and students can come together to think about how behavioural science is developing and how it is being applied in different settings. During this time the seminar has hosted a very wide range of contributors, including Cass Sunstein, David Halpern, Michael Hallsworth, Lucia Reisch, Laura Giurge, Jet Sanders, Phil Newall, Jas Virhia, Will Sandbrook, and colleagues from Busara, Nudge Lebanon, and several public bodies such as the Dutch Public Health Agency. The topics have ranged from public health, gambling policy, and ethical behavioural science, to AI, labour markets, organisational behaviour, and the practical challenges of running behavioural units around the world. 

I am now putting together and finalising the format for next year’s series, and giving some thought to how the seminar might develop in the years ahead. There are several directions that seem promising. Some sessions may remain in the familiar conversational style, but I am also considering panel discussions that bring together multiple perspectives on a theme, as well as continuing occasional online sessions to allow participation from the much broader community of alumni and collaborators around the world. I am also thinking about ways to create more direct engagement between our MSc students and senior practitioners, and about how the seminar can continue to function as a point of reunion for those who have passed through the programme. As I work on this, I would be very interested in thoughts or suggestions from anyone who has attended, spoken at, or followed the series.