Behavioural Science | Data Analytics | Strategy

We specialise in change

Changing behaviours.

Changing mindsets.

Changing culture.

Our clients have to win - their situations require it

We were pioneers in the application of behavioural science, establishing the world renowned ‘Nudge Unit’ in 10 Downing Street with Professor David Halpern.

Our experience in using behavioural science in high-stakes situations - where failure is not an option - is unrivalled.

We’ve built high-performing behavioural and data science infrastructure for organisations who understand the opportunities of the future, in London, Singapore, Delhi, Jakarta, Abu Dhabi, and Riyadh.

We have shown the value of scientifically robust, pragmatically applied behavioural solutions, in government and business.

But, unusually for this field, we also recognise the challenge is not simply to nudge: in an age of instant reactions and identity politics, it is also to create enduring shifts in mindsets and culture.

What We Do

  • Designing cognitive-behavioural interventions. Touchpoint optimisation to shape choice. Incentive design. AI-persuasion bots. User journey analysis.

  • Strategies to change workplace culture and behaviours. Cultural audits and influence mapping.

  • Full scale set up of behavioural science units. Bespoke training packages in behavioural science and related domains, from foundational to advanced.

  • Narrative development and testing. Designing Theories of Change. Audience analysis with behavioural insights and advanced analytics.

  • In-depth consumer behaviour analysis, identifying barriers and drivers of choice. Segmentation.

  • Evaluation. Econometric modelling and machine learning to predict choice. Tech-enabled new data sources to reveal insights and measure effect.

About us

Simon and Samuel first met in Admiralty Arch in 2010, working at the Prime Minister’s Strategy Unit, within a small team which would become known as the Behavioural Insights Team – or more commonly, the ‘Nudge Unit’. At that time, we had huge hopes for an emerging discipline – behavioural science. And in the years since, behavioural science has become popular and well known around the world.

But outside of some important success stories, behavioural science has not reached its potential, despite advances in parallel fields like data analysis, which can support behavioural work.

We think there are a few reasons for this.

  • Behavioural science practitioners have been affected by echo chambers and skewed incentives, both in academia and the commercial world;

  • Focussing on narrow aspects of behaviour can obscure the bigger, strategic picture; and

  • Behavioural science itself can be poorly defined, often understood as low-cost nudges and tactical messages. This is of limited value when targeting complex problems of culture and belief

We created Arch10 to rethink how we can use the tools and principles of behavioural science, advanced data analysis, and intelligent strategic thought to solve difficult problems.

Our Approach

We are relentless empiricists. Asking people what they do, what they believe and why rarely reveals the full story. Instead, we test hypotheses, measure outcomes, and refine tactics.

We trust data, not hunches, but we know that not everything can be measured and even the best data will never tell the whole story.

Our work is collaborative, evidence-based, and unapologetically practical.

We’ve seen how durable behavioural change comes not just from non-conscious nudges but from moments where people pause and recalibrate.

Whether it’s identifying how ideas spread through an organisation, or affecting the context in which decisions are made, the key lies in thoughtful, tested strategies that speak to our emotional and rational selves.

Define

We help you understand your objective – how to measure it; track success and build a theory of change to align your efforts towards achieving it.

Diagnose

We use surveys, social network analysis, and ethnographic field work to unpick how and why people act as they do. We will help you identify channels, touch points and levers of influence.

Design

We read and interpret the scientific research; design interventions with a multidisciplinary team of experts; conduct feasibility analysis; and test and refine our ideas.

Do

We use our experience delivering national change programmes to finalise recommendations; get you ready for scale; train and prepare your teams; and set up metrics for ongoing impact assessment.

Get our recent think piece:

How to encourage your team to return to the office

Get our report to understand the evidence on when and whether it’s worth it - and how to encourage them effectively.

The debate around returning to the office has become highly charged, with employees often resistant to mandated returns. This report examines the complex realities of hybrid and remote work, drawing on recent research to understand its impact on organisational performance, collaboration, and employee engagement.

It explores the psychological factors influencing employee choices and offers practical, behaviorally informed strategies for organizations seeking to navigate this challenging landscape effectively.

Partners

  • Simon Ruda

    Simon was a founder, Board Director and Senior Director of the Behavioural Insights Team (widely known as the ‘Nudge Unit’), where he helped scale the organisation from 6 to 300 people before its sale; a Director in the Metropolitan Police Service; and a Managing Director at Teneo, advising FTSE 100 firms.

    In government, his roles have included the UK Prime Minister’s Strategy Unit, The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (UK), and as an Advisor to the Presidential Court of Abu Dhabi.

    Simon has advised governments in 35 countries worldwide and published numerous academic and journalistic articles. His non-executive roles include serving as Chairman of the Board of Trustees of a national policing charity and Executive Board member of a leading research institution at University College London.

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  • Samuel Hanes

    Samuel was a founder and Senior Director of the Behavioural Insights Team. He was the team’s first economist and quantitative researcher; ran its economy, labour market and education practice in the UK for several years and established the Singapore office and led all projects in South East Asia from 2016. 

    Thereafter, he was Head of Economics for the South East Asian ride-hailing start-up, Grab, helping them achieve Decacorn status in 2019 ($10bn USD valuation); Chief Operating Officer for the innovation charity, Nesta; and Director of Performance at the Artificial Intelligence company, Faculty.

    Samuel has led some of the most ambitious and complicated behavioural science projects in the world – including a trial in UK job centres that affected hundreds of thousands; and the design of a driver incentive scheme at Grab worth over $100m USD.

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Specialists

  • Prof Tom Kirchmaier

    Advanced Data Analytics + New Data Sources

    Tom is a Professor of Economics at LSE, Director of Policing and Crime at the Centre for Economic Performance and founder of Eagle AI. We work with Tom to measure the impact of our work using new data sources from satellite imagery and remote sensing.

  • Dr Ariella Kristal

    Managerial Decision-Making

    Ariella is currently a postdoctoral scholar at the UCLA Anderson School of Management, was formerly a postdoctoral scholar at Columbia Business School. Her PhD is in Organisational Behavior from Harvard Business School.

  • Greg Power OBE

    Institutional Governance

    Greg is Founder and Chair of Global Partners Governance, formerly a Special Advisor to UK Foreign Secretary Robin Cook, and author of Inside the Political Mind. He has advised governments on constitutional reform for 30 years. We work with Greg on cultural change within the public sector.

  • Lisa Judes

    User Insight

    Lisa has 20 years’ experience in brand strategy and user insight. As a Director at Mash and previously at Clear, she helped the largest consumer facing companies in the world understand their customers better. Also formerly insight strategist at 10 Downing Street.

  • Dr Antonio Silva

    Academic Methods in the Real World

    Antonio is Head of Social Cohesion at the Behavioural Insights Team and Senior Research Fellow at the University of Lisbon. We work with Antonio on using behavioural science methods in non-permissive, real world environments.

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