Research Project on Behavioural Economics Led by Rotman School Professor Receives Partnership Grant from the Government of Canada

Toronto, Jul. 29, 2019 – A research partnership led by Prof. Dilip Soman and housed at the Behavioural Economics in Action Research Centre at the Rotman School [BEAR] at the University of Toronto has been awarded a $2.5 million Partnership Grant from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC) for research on "Behaviourally Informed Organizations: Creating an Integrative Theory of Behaviour Change and Embedding it in Organizations" over the next five years (2019-2024). The partnership is composed of a team of 20 researchers and 18 partner organizations across Canada, the U.S., and internationally including private sector firms, government agencies and non-profits. The partnership includes researchers from McGill University, the University of British Columbia, and the University of Pennsylvania; and organizations including The Behavioural Insights Team, ideas42, the Privy Council Office of the Government of Canada, Manulife, and PricewaterhouseCoopers. With support provided by SSHRC, the University of Toronto, other partner universities, government units, and organizations, the project commitment totals $4.8 million.

Prof. Soman holds the Corus Chair in Communication Strategy and is the Canada Research Chair in Behavioural Science and Economics at the Rotman School. He is director of the Rotman School’s Behavioural Economics in Action Research Centre [BEAR], which conducts leading edge academic research in the field of behavioural economics to help organizations better understand how real people act and in turn, design better products, services, and programs for them.

The grant was announced earlier this month by the Honourable Kirsty Duncan, Minister of Science and Sport, as part of more than $285 million in grants for over 6,900 researchers and graduate students across Canada through SSHRC, a federal research funding agency that promotes and supports postsecondary-based research and research training in the humanities and social sciences.

The Rotman School of Management is part of the University of Toronto, a global centre of research and teaching excellence at the heart of Canada’s commercial capital. Rotman is a catalyst for transformative learning, insights and public engagement, bringing together diverse views and initiatives around a defining purpose: to create value for business and society. For more information, visit www.rotman.utoronto.ca.

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Ken McGuffin
Manager, Media Relations
Rotman School of Management
Voice: (416) 946-3818
E-mail: mcguffin@rotman.utoronto.ca