This report from Nesta explores whether changing the rules on political party funding can rebuild public trust in our political system. The topic of political party finance has increasingly captured media and public scrutiny in recent years, culminating with the Rycroft Review in December 2025, which examined foreign financial influence and interference in the UK....

This report from Nesta explores how British people view heat pumps. There are low-carbon solutions already working in homes in this country, and heat pumps can play a major role. They are efficient and reliable – and proven. But compared to other countries in Europe, heat pumps are not very well known or understood in...

This report from Nesta explores integrating early education with family support in England and Scotland. Nesta commissioned Isos Partnership to run an exploratory study of current and ideal levels and types of service integration between ECEC/ELC and wider family support. The report seeks to fill the knowledge gap by drawing on evidence from nine local...

This report from Nesta examines the potential economic benefits associated with weight loss medications and digital behavioural support. To better understand the wider economic impacts of weight loss medications, Nesta partnered with Oviva to analyse real-world data from around 2,000 NHS patients living with obesity who took part in a digital weight management programme including...

This report from Nesta indicates that improving the nation’s health requires reshaping the environments where most food is purchased. Nesta partnered with Asda to improve the UK’s food environment by setting a target health score based on sales-weighted nutrient profiling, running trials on positioning, messaging, merchandising, and incentives, which showed promising impacts without harming sales....

This report from Nesta clarifies the nature of consumer protection risks and supports policymakers in assessing the viability of TPO models for financing heat pumps. Private finance to cover the upfront cost of a heat pump offers a promising route to scaling the technology and addressing affordability barriers. Third-party ownership (TPO) models, such as leasing...

This report from UK think tank Nesta provides an evidence-based assessment of the technical and clinical digital infrastructure underpinning the UK’s health data assets. The new Health Data Research Service (HDRS) can create the technical infrastructure, operational capacity and governance processes to join these capabilities into a coherent national system. As a once-in-a-generation opportunity to...

This report from UK think tank Nesta provides a comprehensive analysis of public spending on early years support in Wales. Early years spending in Wales spans both devolved and reserved policy, and hence comes from a combination of UK government and Welsh Government or Welsh local authority budgets. Healthcare, funded childcare, and children’s services and...

This report from UK think tank Nesta explores the different options for paying for heat pumps. One of the largest barriers to widespread heat pump adoption is the high upfront cost. Households often pay more for a heat pump than for a replacement boiler, even after the £7,500 grant from the Boiler Upgrade Scheme (BUS)....

This report from UK think tank Nesta provides a comprehensive analysis of public spending on early years support in Scotland. Early years spending in Scotland spans both devolved and reserved policy, and hence comes from a combination of UK government and Scottish Government or Scottish local authority budgets. Healthcare, early education and childcare, and children’s services...