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Tackling inequalities through proactive support during pregnancy

In A fairer start

9 Sep 2025 12:00 – 13:00

Online

Free

This event took place on Tuesday 9 September. You can watch the recording below.

Event recording

The opinions expressed in this event recording are those of the speaker. For more information, view our full statement on external contributors.

Inequalities in early childhood development begin before birth. How can we leverage existing data to identify and support families most in need?

Nesta have been collaborating with Camden Council to support and evaluate an innovative pilot providing a £500 cash grant to low-income parents-to-be, alongside a personalised introduction to local Family Hubs. Together with Camden Council, the Central North West London NHS Trust and Policy in Practice, we are exploring the potential of combining NHS data, which tells us who is pregnant, and local authority data, which tells us which families receive means-tested benefits. By linking these two datasets, we are delivering a pilot which proactively offers support to low-income families during pregnancy, without them needing to apply for it.

On Tuesday 9 September we hosted an online webinar where we learnt more about the project and the innovative approaches implemented.

We heard a summary of what the pilot involves and why it was needed from Cllr Camron Aref-Adib, Cabinet Member for Finance and Cost of Living, London Borough of Camden.

We then invited Mary-Alice Doyle, Principal Researcher for the fairer start mission at Nesta, Jun Nakagawa, Behavioural Insights Lead at London Borough of Camden and a family navigator at London Borough of Camden to discuss the project, how it was designed, the opportunities and challenges it presents and how to implement it in other local authorities.

This online event was of interest to intervention developers and those in the charitable sector who work in child development.

Ghazal Moenie

She/Her

Ghazal is a Behavioural Scientist at Nesta’s fairer start mission. She has a strong interest in applying evidence from psychology and behavioural science to design practical solutions for real-world challenges. Before joining Nesta, Ghazal gained experience in applying behavioural insights across various sectors, including finance, education and public policy, with a focus on improving well-being, sustainability and effective decision-making. During a master’s programme at LSE, she explored the intersection of behavioural science and technology by developing a gamified three-dimensional simulation for workplace training.

Mary-Alice Doyle

She/Her

Mary-Alice is a principal researcher in the fairer start mission, leading research work on the link between family income and child outcomes. She is passionate about the potential for rigorous evidence to inform policy and practice and ultimately improve lives. Originally trained as an economist, Mary-Alice has worked across academia, government and the non-profit sector. Before Nesta, she served as research lead at Policy in Practice, leveraging administrative data to generate local and national policy insights in the UK. Prior to that, she worked at J-PAL North America managing large-scale randomised controlled trials of public and health economics interventions. Mary-Alice holds a PhD in Social Policy at the London School of Economics, in which she analysed the channels linking children's very early life experiences with health and wellbeing trajectories.

Camron Aref-Adib

He/Him

Camron has served as a councillor in the London Borough of Camden, since being elected in 2022, and as Cabinet Member for Finance and Cost of Living since 2024. He is an economist at the Resolution Foundation, focusing on improving living standards for low and middle income families. He holds a BSc in Government and Economics from LSE, and a Master’s in International and Development Economics from Yale University.

Jun Nakagawa

She/Her

Jun is the Behavioural Insights Lead at the London Borough of Camden. She has over a decade of experience applying behavioural science to improve outcomes in real-world settings, across local government and international organisations including the OECD and WHO. Her work focuses on early intervention, data-driven design, and cross-sector collaboration to better support underserved communities. She holds a Doctor of Public Health from Harvard University and a Master’s in Public Health from Johns Hopkins University.

Lorraine Richardson

She/Her

Lorraine is a Family Hub Navigator and Grant Assessor in the Money Advice Camden team. She has a background in Outreach work and early years education. Her current role focuses on offering proactive, personalised support to expectant parents. As a navigator she provides a warm welcome and introduction to Camden Family Hubs, supporting families to feel confident in navigating the services available during and after pregnancy.

Tackling inequalities through proactive support during pregnancy

About Nesta

Tackling inequalities through proactive support during pregnancy

This event took place on Tuesday 9 September. You can watch the recording below.