At Nesta, we recognise that to tackle complex social challenges across our three missions - a fairer start, a healthy life, and a sustainable future - we need to fuel imaginations, spark new ideas and convene powerful collaborations.

Arts and culture provide unique opportunities to creatively engage with and address Nesta’s missions in a multiplicity of ways. The arts have an unparalleled ability to highlight inequality, stimulate empathy and shift attitudes in new and unexpected ways.

Our arts and culture experts work to harness the potential of culture and creativity to explore complex issues, engage diverse audiences, and inspire the innovation needed for a better future.

We collaborate with artists to bring fresh perspectives to big picture questions and help shape ideas around our missions. We build partnerships with the creative and cultural sector to develop, drive, and deliver large-scale social impact. We explore how new narratives can shift attitudes, inspire action and connect with audiences.

We work in partnership with creative practitioners and with the cultural sector. Within Nesta, our arts experts collaborate closely with mission and method specialists, including data scientists, designers, behavioural scientists, researchers and evaluation experts. This integrated way of working allows us to embed creative thinking directly into our programmes of work across the organisation, and to channel the unique powers of creativity and culture into our three mission goals. As well as aiming for impact, we aim to generate work that is inclusive, grounded in humanity, and informed by a deep understanding of the societal challenges we hope to address.

As an innovation partner, we run large-scale projects in collaboration with the creative and cultural sector