Collaborative Innovation at UEA’s Nudgeathon 2025

Age UK Norwich was proud to take part in the University of East Anglia’s Nudgeathon 2025 event earlier this week, hosted by the School of Economics. The day brought together an inspiring mix of UEA students, academics, and partners from across the city, including Aviva, Norfolk Citizens Advice, Norwich City Council, the NHS, and Business in the Communit, to explore one central question:

How can behavioural science help Norwich residents access support earlier and prevent crisis?

Norwich faces widening health inequalities, with life expectancy in the poorest areas almost a decade shorter than in more affluent communities. Against this backdrop, delegates worked collaboratively to examine how behavioural insights could encourage people to seek help sooner, improving wellbeing and easing pressure on already stretched services.

Throughout the day, mixed teams co-designed early concepts for a new SupportNoW app, an ambitious idea aimed at making local support simple, visible, and accessible to all. The energy in the room was remarkable, with creative thinking and lived experience coming together to shape ideas for more personalised and intuitive support pathways.

Participants received constructive feedback from an expert judging panel, including Dan Skipper, Chief Executive of Age UK Norwich, alongside Amrish Patel (School of Economics, UEA) and Tracey Drake (Business in the Community). The panel challenged teams to consider practical barriers, user journeys, comparative advantages, and the realities of embedding behavioural prompts - “nudges” - that truly help people take timely action.

Reflecting on the event, Dan Skipper said “This is exactly the type of collaboration that should be core to the reshaping of our healthcare system. Innovation from all corners of the system, using academic learning, community experience, problem-solving through population data and real-life resident stories.”

For Age UK Norwich, Support NoW represents a vital step toward making help easier to find, especially for residents who may be navigating complex issues or are unsure where to begin. By empowering people to act early, the app has the potential to prevent problems from escalating, improve outcomes, and reduce strain on essential services.

The ideas generated at Nudgeathon 2025 will now feed into the next stages of the Support NoW concept’s development. All attendees gained valuable insights into the power of behavioural science and the practical application of nudging to improve community health.

Age UK Norwich is committed to continued collaboration with partners across the city to create innovative, sustainable solutions that strengthen local support systems and ensure every resident can thrive.