Todd Rogers

This information is accurate as of the fellowship year indicated for each fellow.

Todd Rogers is a behavioral scientist who is a professor of public policy at Harvard Kennedy School (HKS). He uses behavioral science insights and methods to understand and address important social challenges. For example, two streams of his research examine how to help families more effectively support student success (e.g., increasing attendance or homework completion) and how to improve democratic effectiveness (e.g., increasing election participation or openness to opposing views). As an overarching goal, he is committed to ensuring that behavioral policy research is implemented widely and with fidelity.

While at Radcliffe, he intends to study what leads to the diffusion and widespread adoption of welfare-enhancing innovations and practices, especially those leveraging behavioral insights. This research naturally follows from his work over the past two decades in the area of behavioral policy. The end product will likely help scholars and practitioners design, identify, and invest in welfare-enhancing innovations that are especially likely to successfully scale.

At Harvard, he is faculty director of the Behavioral Insights Group and director of the Student Social Support R&D Lab. Prior to HKS, he was founding executive director of Analyst Institute, which uses randomized field experiments and behavioral science insights to understand and improve voter communication programs. He received a PhD jointly from Harvard’s Department of Psychology and Harvard Business School and received a BA from Williams College, majoring in religion and in psychology.