What if local people had the power to respond to the challenges most important in their communities? We worked with …
Project
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 …
Project
Digital futures for mental health
The challenge There’s a real bottleneck for support. People present with a mental health disorder and then have to wait. …
Project
Supporting community-led routes into work
The challenge When I think about a job, I get doubts in the back of my head. It makes me …
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 …
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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 …
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Embedding human-centred design at UK Youth
The opportunity UK Youth is a leading charity with a vision that all young people are equipped to thrive and …
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Supporting older people into fulfilling work
The Challenge Not all employers offer what’s needed to retain an older workforce or recognise the benefits of doing so. We’re …
Research
Inverting the question: RCT findings on reframing borrowing in terms of repayment
Findings from our second RCT with Fair Finance and Paul Adams exploring the role of repayment framing in online loan …
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Developing mental health support networks around children and young people
The challenge The size of the problem of child mental health is impossible for mental health professionals to deal with …
Supporting people affected by Covid-19 to access financial support and information
Immy Robinson and Louise Cooper share reflections on the design and prototyping process as Fair Finance launch a new online …
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? …
Learning modules: Design Thinking for Nonprofits
5 video modules | 1 hour per module | Downloadable templates Design thinking – with its various methodologies and …
Design ethics and relationship-centred practice
Relationships Project co-lead Immy Robinson writes for Readymag on multiplying power through relationship-centred design practice.
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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. …
Our takeaway: What we’ve learnt running a healthier local food business
In late 2019, with support from Impact on Urban Health (then Guy’s and St Thomas’ Charity), we launched Medleys, an …
Research
Empowering students and clinicians with mental health data
In-depth user research exploring the experiences and perspectives of college students and clinicians around opportunities for mental health innovation.
Human-centred moonshots: Putting people at the heart of mental health tech
Today we launch our report Empowering students and clinicians with data, the culmination of a two-year partnership between Shift and …
Covid-19 and financial vulnerability: What did we learn from contextual research?
In this blog, researcher Leonie shares what we learnt from conducting contextual research on the impact of Covid-19 on Fair …
Project
Empowering students and clinicians with mental health data
The opportunity Student mental health is in crisis on both sides of the Atlantic. Colleges and universities across the UK …
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
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 …
Open enquiry: How can we multiply the collective impact of funding for youth mental health?
Shift’s Nick Stanhope shares the new open enquiry for youth mental health funders from Foundation Design Lab
#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 …
Urgent: Housing associations must act now to design, deliver, and adapt support for their tenants before the longer term impacts of Covid-19 begin to take hold
This blog is an introduction to a mini-series on what housing associations can do in the short-term to help mitigate …
Stories about the lived experience of Universal Credit
The challenge Universal Credit puts people at high risk of spiralling into debt and falling into rent arrears. For our …
US Team Launches Shift Collective
Today marks the launch of Shift Collective: a spin off from Shift focusing on social justice in cultural memory, based …
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.
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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.
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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.