Who We Are

we are a global community of public and private sector decision makers, behavioral science researchers, policy analysts, and practitioners with a bold mission to promote the application of rigorous behavioral science research that serve the public interest. we serve as an information hub, and community builder- connecting individuals and organizations through our conferences, spotlight workshops, taskforces, and the publication of newsletters and behavioral science & policy.

Our Philosophy

the impact of public and private sector policies depends critically on the behavior of individuals, groups, and organizations. we believe a clear understanding of the power of behavioral science research and interventions can provide innovative solutions for addressing challenges faced by policymakers and other practitioners.

Our Community

bspa is a global hub where behavioral scientists, policymakers, and other practitioners interact via conferences, workshops, briefings,and our membership portal. in addition, our membership services facilitate information exchange and collaboration to promote thoughtful application of behavioral science research in ways that serve the public interest. we actively collaborate with a number of behavioral policy oriented organizations and direct our members to their activities and services.

Meet Our Team

  • All
  • advisory board
  • bspa team
  • executive committee
  • founding co presidents
  • governing board

Leadership Council

BSPA has a leadership council that provides guidance in setting the strategic direction of the field.  By coalescing under one umbrella, we hope to have more impact together than we would individually.

Members Include

Areas of Focus

  • Education & Culture

    focuses on formal and informal education from early childhood to post-secondary education and lifelong learning as well as a range of cultural institutions, including the arts, sport, media, and other cultural institutions. Research in this area focuses on enhancements in pedagogy, teacher training, and educational administration as well as improvements in the functioning and effectiveness of cultural organizations.

  • Energy & Environment

    research investigates the environmental effects of energy acquisition, transport, and production, as well as efforts for conservation and cleanup. Research in this area also focuses on the integration of environmental considerations into strategic development plans to support sustainable development.

  • Financial Decision Making

    is concerned with developing quantitative methods and decision tools to help individuals, groups, and organizations make better financial decisions.

  • Health

    research considers how the organization and financing of care affect choices of patients and providers of health care including costs, quality, access, and outcomes. The scope of this area includes physical health, mental health, and subjective well-being. Areas of focus include health care costs and outcomes, organizational and inter-organizational structures and processes, health insurance, health care reform, health information technology, patient decision making and behavior, and health care provider behavior.

  • Justice & Ethics

    encompasses issues relating to the legal system, professional and organization ethics policies and regulations, including civil and criminal justice, corrections policies, crime information, juvenile justice, international law, court system and legal practice government and industry ethics procedures, and other civil and public safety issues. Researchers provide insights relevant to policy issues such as crime definition, policing, procedures for responding to crime, resources allocation, and sentencing structures and processes.

  • Management & Labor

    research examines issues concerning workplace design and management, organizational governance and strategy, and workers. Specific topics include improved organizational design and incentives, effective governing boards, managerial communication and decision implementation, workforce compensation, employee-employer dispute resolution, human resource policies and practices, unions, and workplace safety and health.

  • Technology & Innovation

    research examines factors that influence individual, group, organizational, and societal innovation and the development and deployment of technology. Specific topics include the effects of new technology on communication, privacy, and productivity; the influence of policy on innovation; and individual and organizational situational effects on creativity, invention, innovation, as well as innovation diffusion and adoption.

  • Behavioral Economics

    aims to incorporate scientific insights on human behavior into the economic analysis of individual decision making, strategic interactions, and performance of financial markets.

  • Cognitive & Brain Science

    includes the study of sensation, perception, learning, memory, language, reasoning, and judgment, as well as the study of brain development, functioning, and neural substrates of behavior.

  • Decision Marketing & Management Sciences

    are concerned with how individuals and groups make judgments and choices, incorporating a variety of disciplinary perspectives, including economics, management, marketing, psychology, and statistics.

  • Organizational Science

    is the study of organizational processes, structures, and strategies, including understanding how groups of organization members behave. This research draws on a number of fields, including human resources management, industrial and organizational psychology, organizational behavior, organizational communication, organizational sociology, organizational theory social psychology, and strategic management.

  • Political Science

    investigates the theory and practice of politics with regard to political systems, behavior, and culture; it draws on theory and methods from numerous disciplines, including anthropology, sociology, economics, and psychology.

  • Social Psychology

    investigates social behavior and individual behavior in a social context, including such topics as aggression, attitudes, attribution theory, group processes, interpersonal processes, prejudice and discrimination, self concept, social cognition, social influence, and stereotypes.

  • Sociology

    researchers study social life, social change, and the social roots of and implications for human behavior, with a focus on the structures of groups, organizations, and societies.

frequently asked questions

  • What is 'Behavioral Science'?
    BSPA takes a broad view of Behavioral Science, describing it as the cross-disciplinary science of understanding the causes of individual, group and organizational behavior across different levels. Behavioral Science encompasses the social sciences, and brings together insights and methods from a variety of fields and disciplines, for example judgement and decision-making, behavioral economics, organizational behavior, neuroscience, and social and cognitive psychology. Under the umbrella of Behavioral Science, these disciplines, which separately do not provide a complete picture of human behavior, offer a comprehensive toolkit to bridge the gap between economic models and everyday reality to shape both private- and public-sector policy and practice.
  • Why does BSPA exist?
    BSPA is a 501(c)3 nonprofit, bi-partisan organization promoting public understanding of how empirically validated insights from behavioral science can provide innovative and effective policy solutions. A membership organization, BSPA fosters engagement between the behavioral science and policy communities, helps link existing organizations in the space, aggregates resource and event information, prioritizes, vets, and promotes new research, and facilitates the spread and implementation of actionable insights within the field through matchmaking and other activities.
  • Is BSPA linked with any particular political ideology?
    BSPA is a nonpartisan, independent organization, free from political bias or an obligation to favor members of a particular institution. We instead focus on promoting collaboration across individuals, disciplines, and organizations – publicizing work of merit, regardless of the source.
  • How is BSPA funded?
    BSPA relies on dues from individual members, grants, sales of our publication Behavioral Science & Policy, and the generosity of foundations and philanthropists to fund our operations.
  • How can I participate?

    We are constantly looking to partner with others, and would love to have you join us, as a paid member, or a volunteer! To stay up-to-date on our activities and opportunities, sign up for our monthly newsletter which features calls for papers, participation in work groups, and highlights BSPA events as well as our other community members.

    Have an idea for ways that we can add further value to the community? Send your thoughts to [email protected]