UofT’s Rotman School of Management Part of Research Group to Support New U.S. Government Initiative on Behaviourial Science.

Toronto – Yesterday, it was announced by the White House that U.S. President Barack Obama signed an Executive Order that directs Federal agencies to use behavioral science insights in their work. Included in the announcement was that the University of Toronto’s Rotman School of Management would be the only Canadian institution to join in the “Behavioral Science and Policy Series” to develop research for the initiative. A white paper series will be launched by the Behavioral Science & Policy Association (BSPA) with results to be delivered by September 2016 which will propose particular applications of behavioral science that can be applied, tested, and implemented at the Federal level in the near term.

Behavioral science insights—research insights about how people make decisions—not only identify aspects of programs that can act as barriers to engagement, but also provide policymakers with insight into how those barriers can be removed through commonsense steps, such as simplifying communications and making choices more clear.

The Rotman School’s participation will be led by the Rotman Behavioural Economics in Action (BE@R) team which is coordinated by Prof. Dilip Soman, who holds the Corus Chair in Communication Strategy, and Prof. Nina Mažar and includes contributions from several faculty members in the marketing and organizational behaviour and human resource management areas.  This research hub partners with non-for-profit organizations and governmental agencies to use the findings from research in behavioural science and apply them to solve problems such as financial literacy, obesity, and fraud.

The Rotman School of Management is located in the heart of Canada’s commercial and cultural capital and is part of the University of Toronto, one of the world’s top 20 research universities. The Rotman School fosters a new way to think that enables our graduates to tackle today’s global business challenges.  For more information, visit www.rotman.utoronto.ca.

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For more information:

 For more information:
Ken McGuffin
Manager, Media Relations
Rotman School of Management
University of Toronto
Voice 416.946.3818
E-mail mcguffin@rotman.utoronto.ca
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