Ravi Gurumurthy
@raviguru.bsky.social
CEO, Nesta and Behavioural Insights Team. Governor, Health Foundation. What I do: applied research, venture building, policy. Particularly in net zero, education and health.
With Burnham winning, the focus now should be on what a new PM must do to drive economic growth. My essay in @prospectmagazine.co.uk sets out an approach which combines muscular collective action by the state and more dynamic markets. www.prospectmagazine.co.uk/politics/737...
A plan for Britain
Labour lacks a philosophy or a plan for government. A few simple changes could transform the country’s fortunes
prospectmagazine.co.uk
There’s a lot of these around at the moment but I think @raviguru.bsky.social is one of if not the best I’ve read so far. Worry though it’s (in this framing) difficult to match with Burnham’s stated objectives on the role of the state
Prospect Magazine@prospectmagazine.co.uk · 2mo agoPhil and Ravi discuss what changes the current government could make to re-energise the country, and debate everything from housing to data. 🔗 Click here to listen to the full episode:
Friendship's quiet power to boost social mobility - great piece from @raviguru.bsky.social at Nesta - also relevant to cohesion, combatting loneliness, a whole host of issues we face - with some proven solutions we actually understand www.ft.com/content/2978...
The quiet power of friendship
Mixing with people of different backgrounds is an ingredient for success
ft.com
How do friendships affect social mobility. I wrote in @financialtimes.com about research from BIT colleagues replicating Raj Chetty's US work analysing facebook data. Perhaps the department with communities in its name can run trials on cross-class interaction, and reducing 'friending bias'.
Journalists - want to write something sensible about what might happen in the budget? Use the @nestauk.bsky.social & IFS "Be the Chancellor" tool and see what might be needed...
Nesta@nestauk.bsky.social · last yr.Our Chief Economist @timleunig.bsky.social reflects on what the tool tells us about public spending, tax and growth: www.nesta.org.uk/blog/be-the-...
What do social democrats do when there's no money? Clearly this is the primary challenge facing the current government. I've written here about Labour's constraints - and sketched out what an escape hatch (or even a few!) might look like ravigurumurthy.substack.com/p/labours-co...
Well worth reading @jo3hill.bsky.social on the perils of everythingism reform.uk/publications... I've made a case for the defence here: ravigurumurthy.substack.com/p/in-defence... TLDR I think it's often a necessary part of governing well - not bat tunnels though.
In defence of everythingism
Why it's a necessary part of governing well
ravigurumurthy.substack.com
2 of the people I interviewed for my book on #SocialMobility used the same phrase about what influenced their journey (“I had a posh friend”) Others said similar things Now there's data to quantify the opportunity-boosting effect of socially-mixed schools, neighbourhoods, sports & hobby groups⬇️
Hetan Shah@hetanshah.bsky.social · last yr.On the importance of ‘bridging’ social capital not just the ‘bonding’ kind www.thetimes.com/article/1a87...
Fascinating findings on friendship and social mobility from BIT colleagues. It builds on Chetty's work in the US which found that economic connectedness is a powerful motor of social mobility. With found some similar (and some quite different) patterns: ravigurumurthy.substack.com/p/what-we-fo...
What we found from studying 6 billion friendships
Dogs, social capital, and how we can become more upwardly mobile
ravigurumurthy.substack.com
How can we halve obesity, without putting food bills up or lecturing people on what to eat. Check out my latest substack on the maths of obesity and what policies will drive radical change without stoking a culture war. open.substack.com/pub/raviguru...
How to halve obesity
And why we shouldn't fear the politics
open.substack.com
Food for thought this weekend from @raviguru.bsky.social on how to deal with one of those long-term policy problems all govts duck (and with loads of win/wins around). Come on Wes...(and Rachel) How to halve obesity open.substack.com/pub/raviguru...
How to halve obesity
And why we shouldn't fear the politics
open.substack.com
🚀 How to design effective economic policies Join us on 4 Feb for a breakfast event with @timleunig.bsky.social, architect of the UK furlough scheme, & our CEO @raviguru.bsky.social to discover how effective policy design & robust data targeting protected 3.25 million jobs. Register: bit.ly/4alDn1Y
What can we learn from the UK furlough scheme? Insights from inventor Tim Leunig
As a new government gets to work, we’re looking at successful past policies from across the globe and what UK policymakers can learn from them as part of our event series: how to make good things happ...
bit.ly
A new substack by Nesta CEO @raviguru.bsky.social is out today 🗞️ In this edition, Ravi writes about coherence in government and policy-making - and how to do strategy well. There's also a bit about Donald Trump, the Ministry of Defence and golf courses in Cyprus. Free to subscribe ⬇️
Better strategies in government
Plus - why we should be golfing with Donald Trump
ravigurumurthy.substack.com
Today’s substack is on strategy - with 7 tips on how the government can create compelling strategies. Plus a suggestion on what the MoD should do with its 19 golf courses (Yes, 19!) ravigurumurthy.substack.com/p/better-str...
Better strategies in government
Plus - why we should be golfing with Donald Trump
ravigurumurthy.substack.com
If you're looking for new reading in 2025, check out my substack Policy Fix. I'll be writing every other Friday. This week: overconfidence (including a calibration quiz that will tell you where you stand), and what started out as a laughable idea on heat pumps....https://ravigurumurthy.substack.com/
Great opening salvo from @raviguru.bsky.social. Love the idea about installers. Kevin @mulagostarr.bsky.social and his team like to ask their orgs "exactly who needs to do exactly what differently". This is a great example of how asking that question creatively gets you to interesting answers...
Ravi Gurumurthy@raviguru.bsky.social · 2y agoGet your Policy Fix! I'll be writing fortnightly on policy and innovation. First up is how to check whether you are overconfident, and why we should offer free heat pumps to 150,000 installers. Please share, subscribe, and tell me what you think. ravigurumurthy.substack.com/p/the-overco...
Get your Policy Fix! I'll be writing fortnightly on policy and innovation. First up is how to check whether you are overconfident, and why we should offer free heat pumps to 150,000 installers. Please share, subscribe, and tell me what you think. ravigurumurthy.substack.com/p/the-overco...
The overconfidence trap
Plus - why we should give installers free heat pumps
ravigurumurthy.substack.com
What are the different paths to halving obesity? Check out our ‘Blueprint’ project blueprint.nesta.org.uk, where we’ve reviewed thousands of papers with an expert group of academics, and rated interventions based on their cost, benefits, impact, and strength of the evidence.
A blueprint to halve obesity in the UK
A tool to support the design, implementation and scaling of dietary health policies that are most likely to work.
blueprint.nesta.org.uk
Democracy: doing it for ourselves Join a Nesta conversation with Nicholas Gruen (Kings College London), Martin Wolf (Financial times), Claire Mellier (GlobalAssembly / ISWE) and @raviguru.bsky.social (Nesta) on 15 November in London or via live stream. #CitizensAssembly
Democracy: doing it for ourselves
democracy-doing-it-for-ourselves
nesta.org.uk
Not sure I wanted my first post on here to be about #strictly. And so far, can't see any such chat on here. But...vote for a suitably monstrous Krish tonight
