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

2023 BSPA  Annual Conference

May 4 & 5 2023

The Behavioral Science & Policy Association (BSPA) will hold its annual conference virtually on May 4 and 5, 2023. More than 500 leading behavioral scientists, policy makers, executives, and members of the media will join our speakers Naomi Oreskes, Cary Funk, Carol Graham, Chris Bail, Geoffrey Cohen, Jonathan Morduch, Erika H. James, Wafaa El-Sadr, Barry Rabe, Jerry Davis, Joel Brockner, Cassie Mogilner, Elizabeth Dunn, Laura D. Kubzansky and many more to gather for the 2023 BSPA Online Conference. We have worked hard to ensure that this experience will be a great one for both participants and presenters by trying to take full advantage of the unique opportunities a virtual format provides, and by engaging a very experienced technical team to support the event.  We will announce more of the details very soon. Be assured that most of the usual activities will remain on the program, including keynotes and panels, parallel sessions, audience participation, and networking opportunities. Some of the advantages of the online format are:

  • Participants will be able to attend all of the parallel sessions since they will be recorded and thus can be viewed asynchronously.
  • Q&A and other interaction with speakers can be more substantive since we will have an early release of their presentations and create discussion boards so that the live Q&A session (online but real-time) can facilitate more participant involvement.
  • You can participate from your home or office, and view presentations at convenient times with live scheduled events being the only hard time constraint. 

The BSPA team is thrilled to announce that Professor Thomas (Tom) D’Aunno and Professor Mary Steffel will be leading our efforts as the Conference Chairs for our 9th annual conference.

Register Now

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Call for Papers

The Behavioral Science & Policy Association (BSPA) seeks proposals by February 14, 2023 for short presentations highlighting issues relating to key areas in which behavioral scientists could have significant influence on policy. Each area will be introduced by an invited keynote speaker, followed by a handful of compelling 8-minute presentations.

Policy Area
Poverty & Financial Wellbeing
Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion
Global Health
Environment & Sustainability
Organizational/Management
Justice & Ethics
Education

Each short presentation session is designed to inform and influence academics, policy makers, and managers. Presentations may demonstrate recent key research findings (potentially from multiple papers) with meaningful implications for policy and practice and need not present new work-in-progress. These presentations should not be highly technical.

Click here to learn more and to submit: LINK

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

Become a Member

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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