Nesta

Applications closing soon for Nesta’s residency programme 🚨 Our part-time, paid residencies are a chance to work with Nesta’s teams, bring in new ideas and lived experience, and explore bold ways to tackle major UK social challenges. We’re especially keen to hear from people with non-traditional routes into these sectors. Bring your unique experience and help shape new models for public impact. We’re currently looking for a range of residents to join us in Autumn 2025: 🤖 Machine learning engineer - apply by 3 August 📦 Delivery management expert - apply by 8 August 🧸 Early years expert - apply by 10 August 📄 All the details and how to apply: https://lnkd.in/dU5GiZgw

Join us on Tuesday 9 September 12:00-13:00 BST for an online webinar where you will learn more about the collaborative project between Nesta and Camden Council.

Join us on Thursday 2 October 13:00-14:00 BST for an online session to learn more about the latest guidance and innovative approaches to heat pump planning.

Diplomacy is slow. Wars are not. What if foreign policy could move at the speed of a startup? Rather than set out detailed policies then hand them over for delivery, multidisciplinary teams could instead adapt ideas as they go. In other parts of government, the adoption of ‘test and learn’ principles - pioneered by Nesta and BIT - are seeing conventional policymaking being replaced by a more iterative approach. Nesta's Laurie Smith explores how the test and learn approach could transform government diplomacy: https://bit.ly/3ZEFlX7

The government has committed to a national roll out of family hubs, but how do we ensure that those most in need of support have meaningful access? We’re working with Camden Council to support and evaluate an innovative pilot providing a £500 cash grant to low-income parents-to-be, alongside a personalised introduction to local Family Hubs. On 9 September, we’re hosting an online session to share insights and learnings from the project, including how it was implemented, the impact so far, and how other local authorities can do the same. 🗓️ Tuesday 9 September 12:00-13:00 | Online Register to attend: https://bit.ly/3U0ShmO

Clean heat neighbourhoods - where communities transition to low-carbon heat together - could be the key to a future where our homes don't pollute the planet. But the UK will need innovative service design, collaborative and community-led thinking and support for local authorities, to make it a reality: https://bit.ly/3UAJgRC

Our healthy life mission aims to halve the prevalence of obesity, so more people can live longer, healthier lives. The NHS is buckling under the pressure of chronic diet-related illness - recent Nesta analysis found the cost of obesity and excess weight to the NHS is £12 billion per year. Obesity is a preventable condition, and there's good evidence that prevention measures could halve national obesity levels, particularly those that improve diets. But what do we mean by prevention in health, and why is it the right approach? Our explainer dives into the role of prevention in public health and why focused government leadership on prevention is essential if we are to build a thriving economy and a health service capable of caring for future generations. https://bit.ly/43rGPX1

Come and join the Nesta residency scheme 📣 Our residency programme invites experts into Nesta for part-time paid residencies, to bring fresh thinking, lived experience and practical insight into our teams and help us solve some of the UK’s biggest social challenges. We're currently looking for: 🧸 Early years expert | Are you experienced in leading family support services in a local authority in England? Join us to help shape and scale innovations that strengthen support for families. 📅 5-6 months, part-time 📍 Apply by 10 August 📦 Delivery management expert | Want to apply your delivery skills to real-world mission-driven work? Join us to explore how delivery techniques can help drive impact across our programmes. 📅 4 months, part-time 📍 Apply by 8 August https://lnkd.in/eWsaaKbQ

To limit global warming and meet climate targets, 450,000 households need to install a heat pump every year by 2030. Now the UK is in the early adoption phase - early adopters are switching to heat pumps, but they are not yet the norm. So how can we support people across the country to engage with heat pumps? We worked with Experian and MCS to produce a detailed segmentation of the country to better understand the population’s relationship to heat pump adoption. Based on 30 million UK households, we’ve developed profiles of eight distinct segments at different points in their heat pump journey - from techie young families to tech-cautious pre-retirees. Understanding these segments, their characteristics, challenges and motivations, is vital in providing tailored and effective information, services and support for people at every stage of their heat pump journey. If you are interested in finding out more about this work, these segments, or exploring ideas and opportunities to use these insights, get in touch with us. https://bit.ly/45s9yL9

We’ll be convening experts to deep-dive into Nesta’s new report 'A policy plan for clean heat in Scotland', exploring how Scotland can unlock policy action and provide clear direction for the clean heat transition.