What The Behavioural Insights Team does

The Behavioural Insights Team (BIT) is a global research and innovation consultancy that applies behavioural science to public policy, commercial, and social challenges. Founded in 2010 as the world's first "nudge unit" inside the UK government, it spun out as an independent entity in 2014 and was acquired by Nesta, a UK innovation charity, in 2021; it now operates as part of the Nesta Group across eight offices (London, Manchester, Sydney, Toronto, Paris, Singapore, New York, and Mexico City) with 200-250 staff and a cumulative portfolio of more than 2,000 projects in 100+ countries.

BIT delivers four core service lines - Insight, Intervention, Evaluation, and Capacity Building - grounded in randomised controlled trials and proprietary frameworks including EAST (revised 2024), MINDSPACE, TESTS, and the Behavioral Government framework. Its in-house platform Predictiv runs online experiments, audience surveys, and AI-augmented behavioural trials, while BIT Academy offers training programmes from short workshops to 13-week and multi-year courses. Methodology is reinforced by 800+ RCTs and 317+ publications, and AI capability has been layered across evidence review, predictive modelling, and chatbot-based interventions, including a 2025 AI and Human Behaviour Framework.

BIT serves governments (national, regional, local), businesses, NGOs and foundations, and multinational organisations such as the UK Cabinet Office, French Government, UNDP, UNICEF, Gavi, Meta, Ontario Securities Commission, Inter-American Development Bank, and Bloomberg Philanthropies. Revenue is generated through project-based consulting engagements, framework agreements with public-sector buyers, and training delivery via BIT Academy; pricing is not publicly disclosed. Leadership includes CEO Rachel Coyle MBE, Group CEO Ravi Gurumurthy (also CEO of Nesta), and Chief Behavioural Scientist Dr Michael Hallsworth.

Name

The Behavioural Insights Team

Legal name

Behavioural Insights Team

Website

https://bi.team

Company type

Private

Founded year

2010

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

251–500 employees

Short description

The Behavioural Insights Team is a global research and innovation consultancy applying behavioural science to public policy, commercial, and social challenges. Founded in 2010 as the world's first nudge unit, it now operates across eight offices as part of the Nesta Group, serving governments, businesses, NGOs, and international organisations.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

London

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices8 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Consulting Services: Project-based consulting engagements for governments, businesses, NGOs, and international organisations seeking behavioural insights, intervention design, evaluation, and capacity building services.
2. Training and Capacity Building: BIT Academy offers bespoke training courses ranging from two-hour workshops to 13-week or multi-year programmes. Training is delivered by BIT's behavioural science and evaluation experts.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels9 records

Core offering

BIT is a global research and innovation consultancy that delivers applied behavioural science through four service lines: Insight (problem definition, user research, evidence review), Intervention (design of behaviourally-informed solutions), Evaluation (rigorous measurement via RCTs and quasi-experimental methods), and Capacity Building (training and organisational development). It sells proprietary platforms including Predictiv (an in-house online experiments platform) and BIT Academy (training programmes), supported by frameworks such as EAST, MINDSPACE, TESTS, and the Behavioral Government Framework.

Product overview

The Behavioural Insights Team (BIT) is a global research and innovation consultancy that offers a comprehensive suite of behavioural science services and products. The core offerings include four main service areas: Insight (problem definition and user research), Intervention (designing behaviour change solutions), Evaluation (measuring impact through RCTs and other methods), and Capacity Building (training and organizational development). BIT provides proprietary platforms including Predictiv, an in-house online experiments platform for testing policy ideas and AI-augmented experiences, and BIT Academy, a training platform offering programmes for individuals and teams. The company has developed sector-leading frameworks such as EAST, MINDSPACE, TESTS, and Behavioral Government for applying behavioural insights. BIT's work spans multiple focus areas including AI & technology, economy, education, environment, government & society, health, and transport. The company publishes extensive research reports, playbooks, and toolkits including the AI and Human Behaviour Framework, Vaccines in the Age of Engagement, and The Alcohol Substitution Playbook.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Predictiv: BIT's online experiments platform for testing policy ideas and behavioural interventions
• BIT Academy

Products and services

• BIT Insight Services Strategic services turning complex challenges into solvable problems through evidence review, data science methods, user research, focus groups, surveys, field observations, and persona development. Sells to governments, businesses, NGOs, and international organisations seeking to identify where behavioural insights can have the biggest impact.
• BIT Intervention Services Design and development of behaviourally-informed interventions solving real-world problems through co-design, prototyping, pilot testing, and human-centred design methods. Sells to organisations seeking to design solutions grounded in how people actually behave.
• BIT Evaluation Services Robust evaluation services including randomised controlled trials (RCTs), difference-in-difference designs, synthetic controls, regression discontinuity designs, propensity score matching, and theory-based evaluation. Sells to clients needing rigorous impact measurement of programmes and interventions.
• BIT Capacity Building Services Organisational capability development through bespoke training courses, workshops, and programmes to build behavioural insights and evaluation skills. Includes assistance establishing behavioural insights functions and units within client organisations.
• Predictiv BIT's in-house online experiments platform specifically designed for testing policy ideas and behavioural interventions. Conducts audience surveys, complex simulations within RCTs, and AI-augmented experiences. Can rapidly probe audience understanding, sentiments and estimate real-world behaviours among thousands of participants.
• BIT Academy Training platform offering programmes for individuals and teams to understand human behaviour, design evidence-based interventions, and evaluate impact. Includes courses ranging from two-hour workshops to 13-week or multi-year programmes delivered by BIT's behavioural science and evaluation experts.

Quantifiable outcome

• AI-assisted evidence reviews completed 23% faster (90.5 hours vs 117.75 hours) with 56% time reduction in analysis phase
• +8 more outcomes

Named customers17 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability8 records

Feature6 records

Partnerships

Eleven partnerships are on record, tiered core, major and minor.

• NestacoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2021In 2021, BIT was acquired by Nesta, an innovation charity. BIT is now part of the Nesta Group, sharing offices with Nesta's 280 colleagues in London. They share a vision and purpose, coming together to design, test and scale solutions to society's biggest challenges.
• UNICEFcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership for global health programmes including vaccination projects across multiple countries. BIT has worked on more than 30 vaccination projects with UNICEF, WHO, and Gavi.
• United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerInternational development partnership for applying behavioural insights to development programmes globally.
• Global Innovation FundcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership to build an ecosystem of behavioural insights capacity across 12 partners in Bangladesh, Guatemala and Indonesia. Global Innovation Fund is a $42 million philanthropic initiative.
• Education Endowment FoundationmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership on education programmes including large-scale school attendance intervention with 108 schools and 100,000+ pupils.
• Professor Richard ThalermajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerNobel Prize-winning economist (2017) and academic affiliate providing academic oversight and credibility to BIT's work.
• UK Government (Cabinet Office)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerBIT was originally established within the UK government in 2010 and continues to work with government clients including the Cabinet Office.
• Inter-American Development BankmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership for Latin America development programmes applying behavioural science to regional challenges.
• Future Skills CentreminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership for skills and workforce development programmes in Canada.
• International Organization for MigrationminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership for migration and humanitarian programmes applying behavioural insights.
• Sitra (Finnish Innovation Fund)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCommissioned BIT to study young people's experiences on social media and political content encountered (Algorithms and Democracy study).

Scale indicators12 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• ideas42: US-based behavioural science nonprofit consultancy applying insights to social issues across health, education, finance, and international development. Closest direct peer to BIT given shared mission, methodology (RCTs), and public-interest consulting model.
• The Decision Lab: Canadian behavioural science consultancy applying behavioural insights to government, business and NGO clients. Directly comparable to BIT in service offering (insight, intervention, evaluation) and target customer segments.
• BEWorks: Toronto-based behavioural economics consultancy serving Fortune 500s and governments with applied behavioural science. Comparable to BIT in methodology and client base, though more weighted toward private-sector engagements.

Emerging players

• Common Cents Lab: US behavioural design lab focused on financial wellbeing for low-income consumers. Niche player with overlapping behavioural-science methodology and partial overlap with BIT's poverty/health focus areas.
• IDEO: Global design and innovation consultancy using human-centred design and behavioural research. Partial overlap with BIT's intervention design and co-design services, particularly in government and social-sector engagements.

Others

• Nesta: UK innovation charity and BIT's parent organisation. Operates adjacent missions (innovation, social impact) and shares offices in London; comparable in mission and scale rather than direct service competition.
• The World Bank Mind, Behavior, and Development Unit (eMBeD): World Bank unit applying behavioural science to international development programmes. Comparable to BIT in applying RCTs to policy in low- and middle-income countries; often a partner/collaborator rather than competitor.

Broad incumbents

• RAND Corporation: Large US policy research organisation conducting rigorous analysis for governments and foundations. Comparable as a research-driven policy consultancy with experimental methods, though broader in scope than behavioural science.
• McKinsey & Company (Behavioural Science practice): Global management consultancy with a dedicated behavioural science practice serving governments and corporates. Competes with BIT on large policy engagements where consulting breadth is valued alongside behavioural expertise.
• Deloitte (Behavioural Insights practice): Big Four professional services firm with behavioural economics capabilities serving public and private sector clients. Overlaps with BIT on government consulting and large-scale programme evaluation work.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/b_i_tweets
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/behavioural-insights-team

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles12 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds2 records

Investors2 records

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M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about The Behavioural Insights Team