The Young Foundation brings together insight, innovation and entrepreneurship to meet social needs.  We have a track record of over 50 years success with ventures such as the Open University, Which?, the School for Social Entrepreneurs and Healthline (the precursor of NHS Direct).

We work across the UK and internationally – carrying out research, influencing policy, creating new organisations and supporting others to do the same, often with imaginative uses of new technology.  We now have over 60 staff, working on over 40 ventures at any one time, with staff in New York and Paris as well as London and Birmingham in the UK.

We work with a wide range of organisations – from charities and businesses to governments and local authorities – using a comprehensive set of tools and approaches.

Research – on contemporary life and changing needs, ranging  from teenage parents to isolated older people, and from nightworkers to civility.

Our research draws on direct observation and ethnography, as well as statistical analysis, covering topics including changing needs and finding innovative ways to cut crime.  In some cases promising ideas are turned into new ventures, such as Maslaha (providing advice to Muslim communities on the dilemmas of daily life), Uprising (developing a new generation of public leaders), and Fastlaners (supporting unemployed graduates).

Venturing and investment – we develop and support new ideas turning them into sustainable organisations through our launchpad team.

We manage three social venture funds: Health, Learning and Youth Leadership. Each has a portfolio of ventures underway which range across the public, non-profit and commercial sectors.  Examples include Studio Schools and the School of Everything, Neuroresponse and Working Rite. We also advise national and local governments on how to manage innovation.

Local projects – we work in dozens of areas on practical projects ranging from ways to improve neighbourhoods to teaching resilience in schools.

Our local work includes collaboratives bringing together leaders from across the public sector as well as programmes developing local websites and practical projects to improve wellbeing.  We’re also developing more effective services to support older people, and better ways to design new communities to avoid the risk of them becoming ‘sink estates’ in the future.

International – we coordinate the Social Innovation eXchange (SIX) which brings together hundreds of practitioners from across the world.

SIX links social entrepreneurs, businesses, governments and charities and hosts events in Asia, Australia, Europe and North America.  We’re also building the field of social innovation, by systematizing skills and methods, for example in finance, design and user engagement, and providing training and advice for organisations wanting to innovate more effectively.

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