spotlights & events

bspa hosts a range of annual events aimed at fostering networking within the behavioral science and policy communities. Spotlight workshops bring policymakers, practitioners and scientists together to brainstorm various research ‘best-practices’ and topic areas

2025 BSPA Online Conference Was a Global Event

The 2025 BSPA Online Conference on Behavioral Policy – Applying Behavioral Science in your Own Backyard –  had attendees from all over the world zooming in to hear from a star-studded line up of speakers on: international development without a federal mandate; experimenting in your organization; behavioral aspects of policing; scaling and implementation of behavioral interventions; injecting behavioral science insights for health care policy; improve behavioral science interventions; topic-focused panel sessions; new publications and much more. 

Also announced at the conference were the winners of the 2025 BSPA Best Publication Award:- 
Wu, S. J., Mai, K. M., Zhuang, M., & Yi, F. (2024). A large-scale field experiment on participatory decision-making in China. Nature Human Behaviour, 1-8.

and the winner of the 2025 BSPA New Investigator Award:-
Jan Voelkel
Incoming Assistant Professor at the Jeb E. Brooks School of Public Policy at Cornell University

Spotlight Workshops

Our Spotlight workshops bring policymakers, practitioners and scientists together to brainstorm various research ‘best-practices’ and topic areas in a local setting. Topics such as energy, pre-K education, health and financial decision making can drive the agenda; alternatively, these working groups can coalesce around local government priorities in order to facilitate actionable insights being put into practice on a state or municipal level.

Does your research institution have a pressing research priority that would welcome a behavioral science lens? We can help! BSPA convenes ‘spotlight’ sessions where we help support your agenda while providing a vehicle for publication.
Whether in the public sector or a government division, we welcome the opportunity to partner. Let us know what spotlights you are interested in pursuing and together we can help support your agenda
From the private sector and interested in co-hosting a spotlight workshop with us? Get in touch! We’re always interested in a fresh perspective on issues that you care about, as you seek to develop a behavioral science capability in your organization
Want to set a research agenda for behavioral science? Send us ideas for partnership to [email protected]!
Have an idea for a spotlight proposal? Download our RFP to find out more about our work in this space!
Upcoming spotlights include ‘Safe Driving’ with the University of Kansas, and Health Equity with the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. Have a research interest in either of these topics? Let us know so that we can be sure to include you in the invitation and call for papers

Event Highlights

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There is a growing movement among public and private sector leaders to help bridge the divide between behavioral research and policy. We are a key part of this movement — as an information hub and as a community builder, fostering collaboration and connecting those applying behavioral science to specific problems for the greater good. We need you to join us in making this effort have a lasting impact.

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