National Social Marketing Centre

The Sustainable Development Commission recently launched a new report, Making Sustainable Lives Easier: A Priority for Governments, Business and Society.

From 3.40pm today, the House of Lords Science and Technology sub-committee will be hearing further evidence on behaviour change and the government's ideas around 'nudging'.

This afternoon's session will feature Oliver Letwin MP, Secretary of State, Cabinet Office; Anne Milton MP, Under Secretary of State, Department of Health; and Norman Baker MP, Under Secretary of State, Department for Transport.

Click here to access the live feed.

The NSMC is moving out of its current home in Victoria. Along with our partners at Consumer Focus, we'll be moving to Blackfriars to share office space with The Office of Fair Trading.

Following a productive month of scoping work with the Department of Health (DH) in Hong Kong last November, we are pleased to be continuing our work with the DH throughout this year on a social marketing project to increase breastfeeding rates in Hong Kong.

A key focus of our work at The NSMC is to build the social marketing capacity and skills of our partners. This partnership will see The NSMC providing guidance and support to a local team at the DH Family Health Service through the development, implementation and evaluation stages.

If policymakers and service providers changed ourselves rather than the public, could we achieve lasting behaviour change?

According to Dr Bill Smith, the answer is emphatically yes. Posing the question at today's NSMC breakfast seminar, Behavioural economics and social marketing – lessons from the US, the American social marketing expert argued that the public services are too focused on trying to alter consumers.

The Health and Social Care Bill goes before Parliament later today.

Commenting on its publication, NSMC Director John Bromley said:

'The plans put forward represent both a huge opportunity and a grave risk to the NHS and, more importantly, the millions who depend on it every day.

'There is potential for a new era of community-based, people-centred healthcare. But GPs must be supported and encouraged to see beyond the needs of the people walking through their surgery doors.

The NSMC's latest e-bulletin is has gone out to over 3,600 recipients and is available to view online here.

Future editions will contain exclusive content for registered users and will only be made available on the website a month after the initial mail-out. So, if you want to be first with news, events and exclusive content, please take two minutes to sign-up.

The organisers of the 2nd World Non-Profit and Social Marketing Conference have just published the full programme for the event taking place on 11-12 April 2011, Dublin, Ireland.

Click here to visit the conference website for details.

The government's Behavioural Insights Team has just published Applying behavioural insight to health. The paper outlines the work of team, as well as providing examples of various projects attempting to tackle various health issues.

Attachments: 

Applying behavioural insight to health

The NSMC has been delivering a capacity-building work programme for the Department of Health and NHS since 2006, to help realise the potential of social marketing. A number of key projects are due to come to fruition next year.