Our strategy to 2025

In September, we launched our refreshed organisational strategy, with the aim of at least doubling the UK social impact investing market over the next three years. We estimated the size of the social impact investment market to be £6.4 billion as of the end 2020, and our vision for the new strategy is to help it grow to £10-£15 billion by 2025.

The pandemic highlighted deeply entrenched social issues and the need for significant funding to address these. The UK 2070 Commission estimates that the UK government’s “levelling up” plans carry a £1 trillion price tag (Source: Financial Times, February 27 2020) while Crisis data shows the cost of ending homelessness by 2041 is over £19 billion. With the cost of responding to Covid-19 increasing government debt and putting public finances under pressure, a combination of private and public funding is needed to invest in solutions for tacking these social issues.

Over the last decade, we have learned what works when ideas, investment and expertise are united. Together with partners, we have helped drive significant growth in key areas of the social impact investment ecosystem. Our strategy is to concentrate on what we have learned so far and put this into action. We are, therefore, focused on building four key market systems where we believe there is the greatest potential for scaling impact, and we can make the biggest difference by increasing the quantity and quality of capital flowing to the social enterprises and charities that create the impact.

Alongside this, we will also continue our innovation work with partners, collaborating with frontline organisations and investors to create new social impact investment solutions, with potential for transformational change in the future.

We recognise that we are just one part of a wider social impact investment ecosystem, made up of social investors, fund managers, advisers and frontline organisations. Most importantly, we realise that the only way we can achieve our goals of growing the market (within each of the four systems) is by continuing to work in partnership.

Most importantly, we realise that the only way we can achieve our goals of growing the market (within each of the four systems) is by continuing to work in partnership.