What if local people had the power to respond to the challenges most important in their communities? We worked with …
Project
Making a Meal: 3 years making affordable good food for families
Making a Meal is a report charting three years of Shift’s work to increase families’ access to affordable good food …
Research
Making a Meal
Learning and reflections from three years making affordable good food for families.
Project
Radically redesigning social investment for underserved founders
The challenge Investment needs a radical redesign. New evidence is highlighting the barriers that underrepresented founders face. The Adebowale Commission …
Growth Impact Fund: Our approach to continuous learning
A deep dive into the continuous learning approach we helped develop for the Growth Impact Fund.
The case for change: why we need a fund dedicated to under-represented founders
Why the Growth Impact Fund was set up and its case for change in the social investment sector.
A Shift reset: Our renewed focus for the future
Following on from our blog about becoming a self-organising, ‘leaderful’ team, here Louise and Rachel share a glimpse at Shift’s …
Project
Making collective progress towards shared ambitions
The challenge There is strength in following the lead of the margins. Principles for Network Thinking and Action. Ogden, Curtis. …
Research
Making collective progress: Towards shared ambitions for social change
Looking to collaborate for social change? Here’s a review of existing approaches and principles to get you started.
Research
A bigger role for young people in health & science research
Young authors explore how they can play a bigger role in health and science research. Supported by Wellcome and Beatfreeks.
Shift in practice: Our design principles for social change
Looking for some principles to practise when designing for social change? Here, Tori Flower shares some of the key principles …
Our big SHIFT: becoming a flat, roles-based team
Over the past 18 months, we’ve been exploring and transitioning to a new, flatter way of operating. We’ve been experimenting …
Project
Building eBay’s support for social entrepreneurs
The Challenge Shift have helped us from the inception of eBay for Change to ensure that we are building the …
Funders’ Collaborative Hub: the new role that is emerging
Nick Stanhope shares how the Funders’ Collaborative Hub’s role has evolved as it seeks to inspire and support greater interdependence, collaboration and collective action amongst UK grant funders.
Young co-leads share insights from shaping a peer-led research project
What are the benefits of young people running a research project? What are the challenges of taking a participatory approach? …
Research
Urban Food Futures: Changing the fate of our food environments
This foresight report, published by Impact on Urban Health and SOIF with support from Shift, explores key platforms for changing …
Putting communities at the heart of programme design
Duncan shares five key learnings from our work supporting the development of Impact on Urban Health’s Good Food Fund.
Project
Behaviours to guide nonprofits in times of change
The challenge We needed to help charities take control of their development and understand their motivation for change. Harriet Stranks, …
Project
Young people shaping solutions to global challenges
There are around 1.5 billion young people in the world today. 40% of the population is under 24 years of age. …
Connected from the start: Collective support for parents in the pandemic
This year I had the privilege of collaborating with around 25 organisations on a project called Connected from the Start. …
Project
The impact of Covid-19 on financial vulnerability
The challenge Fair Finance is a social business that offers lending and advice services to people who struggle to access …
Project
A Design Lab for foundations and philanthropy
The opportunity Philanthropy and grantmaking is under increased scrutiny, at a time when the role of foundations and their resources …
#OpenOD research insights: part 1
The first insights from user research with UK nonprofits, as part of our project inspiring and supporting radically better organisational development.
Conditions for Collaboration — Part 2: the role of shared infrastructure
Intentions for collaboration are only as good as the shared infrastructure they need to thrive.
Exploring radically better organisational development
Introducing a new project to inspire and support radically better organisational development in the UK nonprofit sector.
Housing associations: act now to build trust with your tenants before the longer-term impacts of Covid-19 take hold
This is the second blog in our mini-series that explores the role that trust and relationship-building across the entire tenant …
What if the way we think about fixing misinformation is wrong?
Imran Khan, Head of Public Engagement at Wellcome, asks how we should look at the conditions that create misinformation online.
Conditions for Collaboration — Part 1: When it’s really hard
Collaboration, even amongst well-intended organisations that share the same values and purpose, can feel way too hard.
How can we make social media a healthier platform for health information?
Carla Ross, Research and Evidence Lead at our partner Wellcome, calls for the health and research sector to step up and play its role in creating a healthier internet.
Research
The Moment We Noticed: The Relationships Observatory & Learning from 100 Days of Lockdown
Bringing together learning from 50+ contributors after 100 days of lockdown, this report explores how we can build back better …
Getting out of debt: Solving the equity equation for social innovation
Kicking off a series with Pioneers Post, Shift’s Commercial Director shares our own experience accessing social investment.
Project
Using data and insights to improve early years services
The challenge West London Zone does important, impactful work improving the lives of children and young people in West London, …
Beyond Demand: the social sector’s real need for patient capital
We’re publishing brand new social investment research that reveals a significant funding gap in the social sector. Here, Commercial Lead …
Research
Beyond Demand: the social sector’s need for patient, risk-bearing capital
Research conducted by Shift in partnership with CAF Venturesome, Unltd and principal funder Esmee Fairbairn Foundation.
Project
Better support for parents, even during the pandemic
The opportunity For each week COVID-19 continues to disrupt, over 12,000 children will be born. Six months of social distancing …
Testing a Universal Credit survival pack for Housing Association tenants
The problem While Universal Credit claims in 2020 had already increased by 5% since the previous year before COVID-19, the …
Redesigning Libraries, Archives and Museums Post-COVID-19
Shift’s US family offer five ways we can rebuild the cultural sector beyond COVID-19 in ways that better reflect the values of an equitable society.
Final year design students set brief for brand strategy for our food venture
BA (Hons) Graphic Branding and Identity students at London College of Communications pitched ideas for our Better Everyday Takeaway venture.
Project
Specialist support for National Lottery Community Fund grantees
The Challenge When charities and social enterprises embark on major change and innovation, they’re faced with so many challenges and …
Catalyst COVID-19 strategy: building a scalable system for a sector-wide digital response
How, as part of Catalyst, we’re responding to the COVID-19 crisis.
Introducing the Relationships Observatory
Inviting you to observe, capture and share amazing examples of responses to COVID-19 that have relationships at their heart – all to help us learn for the future.
Project
Powering nonprofits to respond to the crisis
The challenge Many nonprofits spent the first months of the Covid-19 pandemic working hard under immense pressure to implement quick …
Catalyst Digital Teams available to help charities respond to COVID-19
Are you a network of charities in need of digital support? Catalyst Digital Teams offer expertise to help you respond and adapt.
Research
Encouraging Affordable Borrowing
In this report, published with Fair Finance, we share our RCT findings on anchoring loan amounts.
Coronavirus and social disruption
A view from the Relationships Project on how our lives and relationships are changing as a result of coronavirus.
Research
The Relationship-Centred City: Building a better London by building better relationships
A report from the Relationships Project unearths learning for cities the world over.
Research
Case studies: relationship-centred practice
A collection of inspiring examples of relationship-centred practice from across the UK.
Introducing Catalyst Clusters and some big collective ambitions
The Catalyst is a big opportunity to build digital capabilities as networks, fields and ecosystems, not just as individual organisations. Blog by Shift’s CEO Nick Stanhope.