Nigel Oakes

Nigel Oakes is the Chief Executive Officer of Strategic Communication Laboratories (SCL}, the "leading supplier of strategic communications, information operations and public diplomacy to governments and military clients around the world"^[5].

According to the SCL website in September 2007:

Oakes was educated at Eton College and studied psychology at University College London (UCL). In 1982 he joined Monte Carlo TV as a producer and in 1985 became its Head of International Production. He joined Saatchi and Saatchi as a Senior Producer in 1987.

In 1989 he established the Behavioural Dynamics Working Group at UCL and in 1990, the Behavioural Dynamics Institute (BDi) was formed as a centre of excellence and a research facility for strategic communication and social marketing. Over the next nine years BDi commissioned $17m in pioneering communication research programmes. In 1993 Oakes set up Strategic Communication Laboratories and using the new communication methodology from BDi, ran election campaigns and national communication campaigns for a broad variety of international governments. Published clients include South Africa, USA, St Vincent & the Grenadines, Antigua, Indonesia, Thailand, Philippines, Grenada, Nepal, Pakistan and Switzerland^[6].

FoI requests to UCL revealed that 'Nigel Oakes never attended UCL' and that 'we can find no record since 1955 of Nigel Oakes studying psychology at UCL. We have been trying to locate information about the BDWG, but so far have failed to find any information. However the psychology department have still to confirm definitively one way or the other. We will continue to investigate, and respond one way or the other.' Finally it was reported that 'Neither the Behavioural Dynamics Working Group or Nigel Oakes are known to the UCL Psychology Department.' UCL then wrote (on 17 september 2007) to Oakes asking him for details of his alleged involvement with the university and that 'If [he] did not study at UCL [to] please confirm that [he] will amend the SCL website' according to UCL Oakes did not reply. However the SCL website was altered to remove references to UCL. It now (January 2008) reads:

Nigel Oakes was educated at Eton College and later studied Psychology. In 1982 he joined Monte Carlo TV as a producer and in 1985 became its Head of International Production. Two years later Nigel joined Saatchi and Saatchi as a Senior Producer. In 1989 he established the Behavioural Dynamics Working Group and, in 1990, the Behavioural Dynamics Institute (BDi) was formed as a centre of excellence and a research facility for strategic communication and social marketing.

Elsewhere, on the BDI site it is said that 'In 1989 Nigel Oakes set up an academic working group at London University to develop a more effective method of communication for conflict reduction.' An FoI request to the University of London drew the following response:

There is no record of a person of this name being designated a Professor, Reader or Teacher of the University of London, although he could have been connected to one of the nineteen self-governing Colleges without being given one of these designations. The central University has no knowledge of or connection with a Behavioural Dynamics Working Group or a BDI.