Nesta

Line graph shows the electricity to gas price ratio in GB since 2019. It was very high before the energy crisis, then fell (due to higher gas prices) and was flat since until jumping sharply in the new price cap period

There’s some very bad news hidden in the Ofgem price cap for January announced yesterday: the electricity to gas price ratio has jumped to 4.67, its highest level since before the energy crisis.

This is a big barrier to households adopting heat pumps in Britain, and threatens our climate goals

Seven reasons we still need heat pump subsidies Accelerating the switch from gas to electricity, make electricity cheaper, and balancing electrification with insulation are key policies that could reduce bills and carbon emissions for households

Cutting the Boiler Upgrade Scheme would be a serious mistake.

Heat pump subsidies play a crucial role in stimulating the heat pump market and moving the UK towards clean, affordable heating.

We outline seven key reasons why we still need these subsidies, drawing on our latest data analysis ⤵️

I'm looking forward to speaking at @nestauk.bsky.social & @bitglobal.bsky.social on 26 November, diving into Japan’s approach to healthy ageing – and what the UK can learn.
Join me in London or online, alongside experts from Japan and the UK in health and social care: bit.ly/3XA1iVv

Health, early years, net zero, growth - what have been 2025’s boldest policy ideas, and why do they matter?

Come together with Nesta & BIT to reflect on the policies that defined the year - and hear sharp analysis on how they’ll shape 2026.

🗓️ 9 Dec, London .
Register 👉 https://bit.ly/4nWcXZI

Planning for healthier communities: opportunities in the Scottish planning system How Scotland’s planning system can be used to create healthier food environments

How can Scotland’s planning system support healthier food environments & tackle obesity?

Our new report with @publichealthscot.bsky.social draws on research, stakeholder engagement & lessons learned from England to offer practical steps for integrating food environment policies into local planning.

What is the Energy Company Obligation (ECO)? This explainer breaks down the history of the Energy Company Obligation - from its inception through to its delivery and future.

There’s been plenty of noise around the future of government-funded heating schemes - crucial to reducing UK carbon emissions and eradicating fuel poverty.

The Energy Company Obligation scheme has spent over £13bn in the last 12 years - but what has its impact been and what's next? ⤵️

Hackathon to habit: Embedding AI at Nesta and BIT | BIT Research suggests AI could boost the UK economy by up to £400 billion by 2030. You may be sceptical of such grand promises, but this much is certain: any economic gains from AI will depend on widespre...

Many organisations hesitated when AI tools first appeared.

At Nesta and BIT, we leaned in – and now 9 in 10 of our staff use AI weekly.

A new blog by @bitglobal.bsky.social shares four 4 lessons that helped us move from curiosity to deep adoption, experimenting and embedding AI across teams ⤵️

Paying for heat pumps Exploring how innovative business and finance models could enable consumers to install a heat pump for zero or boiler-parity upfront cost

How should we pay for heat pumps in future? What are the best ways to offer zero upfront cost, along with lower bills?

We've got a @nestauk.bsky.social project looking at this at the moment, very interested in any perspectives on this

www.nesta.org.uk/project/payi...

Our latest report estimates that health targets for large, out-of-home food businesses could improve the nation’s health - reducing obesity by around 2.5% over 3 years. But key policy development questions remain.

Nesta's John Barber walks through five key insights from the report in a new blog ⤵️

As proud supporters of Figurative, we're delighted to see that the Arts & Culture Impact Fund has been extended until August 2027 with an extra £10 million - helping arts, culture, and heritage organisations design and scale solutions for real-world impact.

Read more about the fund below ⤵️

Targeting the health of the nation: health targets for the out-of-home food sector An exploration of how health targets could be applied to the out-of-home sector

Obesity rates have doubled in the last 30 years. This stems from our food environment: the food that’s available, affordable and promoted to us.

In our latest report, we look at how health targets for large out-of-home food businesses could help to improve health. ⤵️

🇯🇵 What can we learn from Japan on healthy ageing?

Join us on 26 Nov for a breakfast event to learn about Japan's innovative policy response to an ageing population - and how learnings can be applied in the UK in the face of demographic shifts.

📍 London / online
Register ➡️ https://bit.ly/42MIQfA

Technological progress is often equated with shiny gadgets: rockets, robots and AI.

But many of history’s most important innovations have been 'boring', and that has big implications for those working on innovation for social good.

Nesta's Laurie Smith explores how dull can change the world:

Tax-free electricity A proposal to remove most taxes on electricity to reduce bills and promote clean heating

The Treasury is widely reported to be considering cutting energy bills, perhaps via a VAT cut. What's the best way to do this?
We think the answer is to remove the taxes from electricity bills. Here is Nesta's proposal out for Tax-free Electricity:

@nestauk.bsky.social

How does parenting impact children's development? What forms of support are most helpful in enabling caregivers to be their best? Nesta explores research on effective parenting 'types' and how to improve children's development.

Our aim is for every child to have a fair start in life.

A substantial body of research highlights that parenting plays a powerful role in supporting children’s early learning and development.

Our article explores research on effective parenting 'types' and how to improve children's development.

The UK government has promised to make energy bills cheaper - and a VAT cut for energy bills could be on the table. But is removing VAT the best way to cut energy bills?

Our new blog looks at the effective, sustainable and fair options that could make energy bills cheaper ⤵️ https://bit.ly/42ElFDV

Household energy bills include green levies. What are they and why do we need to pay them? When energy providers set tariffs for gas and electricity, the price includes a range of costs.

If the UK is serious about net zero, we have to fix our green levies. Our explainer shows the current system charges 16% on your electricity bill but only 5.5% on gas, making electricity more expensive and discouraging people from adopting low-carbon heating.

Learn why this system needs to change ⤵️

Last month we hosted Policy Live 2025, bringing together fresh perspectives and exploring solutions to the UK's biggest social challenges.

Here's our keynote Rt Hon Wes Streeting on why the UK should do policy differently ⤵️

👉 Watch back a selection of sessions: https://lnkd.in/mwncu

How can data improve early years services and help every child reach their potential?

Join Nesta + Born in Bradford on 19 Nov for a full day event to explore new ways to use data in early years support.

📍Bradford | Register: https://bit.ly/3JfxpXc

Affordability, energy prices and paying for clean heat By reforming electricity levies and increasing renewable generation, we can decouple electricity from gas prices, reduce bills, and overcome upfront costs - making heat pumps a viable solution for mor...

Electricity is 4.2x more expensive than gas - caused by levies that should fund the green transition instead of taxing clean power. This unfair system is slowing the switch to heat pumps and driving up bills for the most vulnerable.

Read why we think levy reform can reduce the cost of clean heat ⤵️

Innovation Growth Lab Learn more about us IGL aims to increase the impact of innovation and productivity policies through novel ideas, experimentation, data and evidence. To do so, we bring together policymakers…

We're officially on Bluesky! 🥳

The Innovation Growth Lab (IGL)'s purpose is to increase the impact of innovation and productivity policies through novel ideas, experimentation, data, and evidence.

Learn more about IGL: www.innovationgrowthlab.org
Subscribe to our newsletter: shorturl.at/Jxd9q

The future of heat How to drive decarbonisation with innovative tariffs and automated flexibility

This is still at an early stage, of course, but it shows promise that remotely operated heat pumps could be part of a consumer-friendly, bill-saving service.

Big credit to @nestauk.bsky.social colleagues Max Woollard and Oli Berry, plus the team at OVO for their work on this!

Do you want to directly influence how the European Commission supports policymakers to try new ideas?

Help the European Commission understand how policymakers try new ideas in R&I policy by completing a 10-minute survey and see how your views compare to others.

📝: shorturl.at/VZQ5V

Mission Radar: emerging trends and signals in affordable low-carbon heating Innovations to improve the affordability of low-carbon heating

We used AI to scan thousands of signals in low-carbon heating.

The clear message? The move to make heat pumps affordable and accessible is officially underway.

Take a look at emerging trends we've identified in venture and research funding, parliamentary discourse and business trends ⤵️

Delivering clean heat: a policy plan Nesta sets out a comprehensive view of what the new Government should do to decarbonise homes and the choices it faces

A clear plan is needed to fix the UK's slow progress on heat decarbonisation.

We've laid out a credible, evidence-led policy roadmap for the UK government to eliminate nearly a fifth of UK emissions and end fuel poverty.

Full plan here ⤵️

Thank you for sharing your view @janrosenow.bsky.social. Tim Leunig is writing in a personal capacity for the Financial Times, although we appreciate that the introduction could be clearer on this.

🇯🇵 What can we learn from Japan on healthy ageing?

Join us on 26 Nov for a breakfast event to learn about Japan's innovative policy response to an ageing population - and how learnings can be applied in the UK in the face of demographic shifts.

📍 London / online
Register ➡️ https://bit.ly/42MIQfA

Mission Radar chart (a type of bubble chart) for Nesta's "A sustainable future" mission, updated Q2 2025. The radar is divided into four quadrants representing categories of innovation: "Ventures and investments" (top right), "Research funding" (bottom right), "Policy" (bottom left), and an unlabeled top-left quadrant (representing trends that are not primarily investment, funding, or policy). A dashed vertical line separates signals in the "Policy" and unlabeled quadrant from those in "Ventures and investments" and "Research funding." Blips are positioned based on time to expected impact, from the center outwards: "0-2 years," "3-5 years," and "5+ years." Blip size indicates potential impact on home decarbonisation, with larger blips signifying greater expected impact and smaller blips signifying smaller or more niche impact. Main Trends and Findings (Blips): Venture and Investment (High Impact, Short/Medium Term): Ikea heat pumps (Small, 0-2 years) Digital platform for local installers (Medium, 0-2 years) Energy-as-a-service (Small, 0-2 years) Retail investment in green finance ventures (Medium, 3-5 years) Research Funding (Medium Impact, Short/Medium Term): Turbo air-source heat pump (Medium, 0-2 years) Net zero terrace streets (Medium, 3-5 years) Community operated energy infrastructure (Small, 3-5 years) Policy (Medium/High Impact, Short Term): Increased government publications on electricity prices (Medium, 0-2 years) Increased references to electricity prices in debates (Small, 0-2 years) Top-Left Quadrant (High Impact, Medium Term): One large, dark blip is visible in the 3-5 years range. Source: Nesta's analysis of innovation trends. Companies and research projects included are those identified in Q2 2025. Blip size and positioning determined by expert judgement.

Happy to share my first piece of analysis work with the Discovery team at @nestauk.bsky.social on 𝗠𝗶𝘀𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗥𝗮𝗱𝗮𝗿!

The Mission Radar is a briefing series on innovation signals and emerging trends in Nesta’s missions. We use AI to scan for innovation across business, academia and policy. (1/7)

Decades of research show that early childhood experiences shape lifelong outcomes - and parenting plays a crucial role.

Our new explainer explores what 'types' of parenting most support children’s development and the interventions and community support help children thrive: https://bit.ly/3KQVFPT

Start at Home

Heating engineers: With @nestauk.bsky.social's Start At Home initiative, you can get up to £7,500 funding towards a heat pump to install in your own home.

Find a scheme and claim your heat pump here: www.startathome.org.uk