In July 2010, the new coalition government set up the Behavioural Insights Team in the Cabinet Office. It became known unofficially as the “Nudge Unit.” Its annual report described randomised controlled trials as being “at the heart of the team’s methodology for testing new initiatives and demonstrating what works.”
In June 2012, the team published a paper with Ben Goldacre and David Torgerson. Its title set out the method: Test, Learn, Adapt.