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ImpactScope
University of Oxford
London, England, United Kingdom
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Articles by Cliff
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GSG's next push for an impact futureJan 31, 2022
GSG's next push for an impact future
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Together for the recovery we all want…May 4, 2020
Together for the recovery we all want…
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Moving on from Big Society Capital to…Feb 4, 2020
Moving on from Big Society Capital to…
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Cliff Prior shared thisLooking forward to attending Reset Connect London at Excel! It will be my 4th time with this event - always valuable and making great connections. This is the place to be for everyone passionate about sustainability and innovation. Join me on June 23-24 at Excel London for two exciting days of learning, sharing, and creating impactful connections. With over 7,500 professionals and 400 speakers, this event is all about driving real change. Let's explore practical solutions and advance our net zero strategies together! #RCL26#ResetConnect#ResetConnectLondon Register here https://lnkd.in/e3EnFnJd
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Cliff Prior posted thisFrom Sci-Fi Vision to Reality: The Rise of the AI Companion In 1995, I read a masterpiece by #NealStephenson called #TheDiamondAge. It featured a device called the "Young Lady’s Illustrated Primer"—a magical, interactive book designed to protect and educate a young girl named Nell. The Primer wasn't just a textbook; it was a life-long mentor that adapted its stories to her real-world challenges, growing in complexity as she grew in age. I have dreamed about this Primer for decades. For 30 years, this was brilliant writing but pure science fiction. In 2026, it is becoming our reality. #Education: Building the "Primer" for every child We are finally moving beyond passive screens: The Socratic Shift: Tools like #Khanmigo now act as that adaptive mentor, refusing to "just give the answer" and instead guiding students through the struggle of learning. Personalized Quests: New platforms are using LLMs to turn curriculum into interactive stories, where a child’s progress in math directly affects the "hero's journey" they are reading. #Aging: The "Memory Anchor": The "Primer" concept is now being developed to support elders. For those facing memory loss, AI is becoming a vital "cognitive bridge." Proactive Companions: Devices like #ElliQ don’t wait for a command - they notice silence, initiate "reminiscence therapy" using old family photos, and help bridge the gap when words or names start to slip away. Digital Legacies: We are seeing the rise of "Memory Vaults"—AI that learns a person’s life story so it can act as a familiar, supportive anchor during moments of confusion. How close are we for these developments? The "Brain." We have the conversational AI to teach and comfort. The "Body." We’re moving from tablets to ambient home AI and robotics. The Vision: A world where technology doesn't just disrupt our lives, but provides a scaffold for them from childhood to our final years. Neal Stephenson’s #DiamondAge wasn’t just a story about a gadget; it was a story about how the right support at the right time can change a life. Finally, we can build that support. So here's the big question! Does this make you hungry to see these kinds of technology? Or worried that it would be such an intimate role in our lives? I’d love to hear your thoughts – and that book, The Diamond Age, is still a fabulous read! #AI #TheDiamondAge #EdTech #AgeTech #FutureOfHealth #Innovation #PersonalGrowth #CyberPunk
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Cliff Prior shared thisScaleup Champions at the #ScaleSummit in the #BusinessDesignCentre - how joined up investors and smarter policy can grow UK innovation globally, without forcing scale ups offshore - with Grace Almendras Castillo @Marcus Stuttard, @Lewis D'Ambra, @Michael Smith, moderated by @Rupert Hargreaves of City AM. Much positivity in many areas but also recognising complexity, caution, and hesitancy. "We need to take more risks, open up pension funds, and invest within the UK" From Grace Almendras Castillo - "we need to recognize the changes in UK SMEs - modern SMEs, tech savvy, digital native, light on physical assets and low on big teams, often not recognized by investors". Getting this right is crucial to the future for modern SMEs and for the future of the UK's future."
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Cliff Prior shared thisDelighted to see the European IP Helpdesk bulletin on exploring impact investing from multiple perspectives. Thanks to colleagues including Bjoern Struewer - Roots of Impact, Silvie Daniels European Network Coordinator - Impact Licensing Initiative, and Steven Serneels, alongside my material on #impactinvesting from experience with #GSGImpact. Impact Licensing creates opportunities for intellectual property to be used for societal value - particularly into low and middle income countries. Congratulations to all the participants in this work, and looking forward to more IP and more value for the countries that need this most.Cliff Prior shared this📢📗 Bulletin Alert: Impact Investment The European IP Helpdesk has published a new Bulletin edition exploring impact investing from multiple perspectives and its strong link to intellectual asset management. The publication also highlights how responsible IP practices, including impact licensing, can support the effective translation of research and innovation into societal and economic value. This edition features: 🔹 Expert interviews 🔹 Insights from practitioners 🔹 Practical examples showcasing how impact investment ecosystems are evolving in practice Read more 👉 https://lnkd.in/deDUVDAn A big thank you to all our contributors as well as to the editorial team🎉 Alessandro Fazio Cliff Prior Bjoern Struewer Silvie Daniels Steven Serneels Christian Polman Pieter Lavens Jennifer Marzullo Johan Moyersoen Klara Schneider, MBA Jörg Scherer Stephanie Weber Claire Fritz Cemresu Yucebalkan Impact Licensing Europe Impact Licensing Initiative Impact Licensing Studio Infinira Ventures GmbH Roots of Impact Impact Finance Belgium #ImpactInvestment #IntellectualProperty #Innovation #ImpactLicensing #KnowledgeValorisation
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Cliff Prior shared thisLooking forward to joining #Gifftid.ai at #SCALEExpoSummit 14.50-15.30 23rd April - The Decision Intelligence to Unlock Modern SMEs in the UK's Real Economy. See you at the Business Design Centre, Islington London.
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Cliff Prior shared thisthank you Grace Almendras Castillo for these key questions of stewardship - and fundamentally, who is it for. Looking forward to hearing the outputs from this session at #ImpactSummitEuropeCliff Prior shared thisIncreasingly I am learning more about the different aspects of finance, investing, and where I am personally most interested in … Investing that leads to impact but this time moderating the discussion among institutional investors and asset owners on Stewardship in a Fragile and Fragmented World. There are tensions in Stewardship I hope to put forward to as moderator recognising the drivers of change. Regulation, Asset Ownership Pressure and Reputation and Legitimacy At a high level, - How are we thinking about the balance between fiduciary duty and broader responsibility? - How do we reconcile long-term stewardship ambitions with short-term performance expectations? - As private markets grow in influence, how should we think about accountability and stewardship in less visible parts of the market? - In a more complex environment, the quality of decision-making becomes even more important and that depends on the signals we use. Are we leveraging other signals that could illuminate more aspects of stewardship in the real world? Perhaps the question is not whether expectations around stewardship are increasing but whether our systems, incentives, and information are evolving fast enough to meet them. Looking forward to having a dynamic conversation with more relevant questions with Jamie Broderick Hanna Lukács Marta Jankovic and the broader audience. Thank you Phenix Capital Group Prachi Modi for inviting me to moderate. #Impactsummiteurope https://gifftid.ai/
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Cliff Prior shared thisThe move from "global north" to Asia is clear. Thanks to Andrew Kuper for this data.Cliff Prior shared thisInvestments in global growth markets have surged 33% to record highs. But that isn’t even half the story… First, in LeapFrog Investments’ focus markets of India, South East Asia, Africa and Pan-EM, deal volume has surged a tremendous 58%. Second, total exit value for all markets has reached nearly $100bn, the second-highest year on record, much of it via public listings. We are in a new world — and forward-thinking global investors know it. Diversification to the Global South and East is an expectation. This should be a source of great hope for our world. Capital drives development, and the vast majority of people live in these countries. More from the new Global Private Capital Association research here: https://lnkd.in/gXHwFT_T
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Cliff Prior shared thisThe rise of the Modern SME - light on their feet, small and highly capable teams, limited physical assets, deep relationships, digital natives, and forward looking across new sectors. This is how Grace Almendras Castillo led a session in the #TechUK conference - see below! #SMEs #ModernSMEs #futureofwork #FinancialLegibilityCliff Prior shared thisThe SME economy has changed. But the way we evaluate SMEs largely hasn’t. That was the central theme of our discussion at techUK this week. One idea stood out: The rise of the Modern SME. These firms often look very different from the traditional SMEs that financial systems were designed to evaluate. Many operate with: • Thin historical financial files • Limited physical assets • IP-rich value creation • Small, highly capable teams • Deep customer relationships in their communities • Digitally native or digitally evolved operations • Forward-looking work across climate, community health, agritech, financial schemes, energy, impact - driven and data-driven sectors Their signals of value are different. Yet these firms increasingly sit at the center of innovation, local resilience, and the future economy. So the real question becomes: How do we make modern SMEs legible to finance, investors, and corporate procurement? Some of the questions we explored together: • What signals are missing today when evaluating modern SMEs? • What forward-looking indicators would increase confidence in engaging newer or smaller firms? • Is the challenge really risk appetite or information asymmetry? • What additional information could complement traditional financial data to better understand SME risk? In the workshop sessions we went deeper: • What measurable signals could reduce false negatives when evaluating SMEs? • What scenarios often cause promising firms to be misunderstood? • What institutional barriers prevent integrating richer SME data or operational telemetry? • What governance safeguards are non-negotiable for banks, governments, foundations and other institutional capital allocators? Grateful for the thoughtful engagement from: Jamie Broderick Cliff Prior Jose Carvalho Nashwa (Joy) Saleh Sandy Feriz Susana Ponce Froment Sarah Ovenden Demi Ariyo Rob Lankey And thank you to Daniel Clarke Margot Stumm for the support at techUK for creating the space for this conversation. We will share the insights and outcomes from the sessions publicly soon. Because the challenge ahead is not simply supporting SMEs. It is learning how to interpret them properly to drive funding and procurement decisions. Another decison intelligence layer and infrastructure need to emerge. And when we do, we unlock a significant part of the modern economy that has been hiding in plain sight. #SMEs #AccesstoCapital #ModernSMEs #FinanceLegibility
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Cliff Prior reposted thisCliff Prior reposted this📢 Grants & support for London’s charitable & social investment sector: Every month we share an update listing funding opportunities & offers of free support. Our latest bulletin features 15 funding opportunities, including: 🔵 Small and large grants of up to £75,000 from Leeds Building Society to support those in need of a safe and secure home. 🔵 Funding from the Aviva Foundation - large multi-year grants to improve financial resilience and up to £25,000 in match funding to support smaller charities with community-led climate action. 🔵 The CVC DIF Accelerator Challenge from Allia, a six-month programme designed to help impact-driven UK start-ups and social enterprises turn strong ideas into scalable solutions, with up to £50,000 in funding support. For lots more, check out our latest update here: https://lnkd.in/edrn7-ZR
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Cliff Prior liked thisCliff Prior liked thisVery energising challenge on the menu yesterday with the Impact Licensing Initiative! 👇 "How might venture building bring underused corporate IP into real impact for developing economies?" Always a special type of energy when you share some time around a whiteboard with a team likeminded in purpose and complementary in skill set! Silvie Daniels - Jennifer Marzullo - Johan Moyersoen Impact Licensing Initiative x Peak Nine │ Impact Innovation Studio
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Cliff Prior liked thisOn behalf of the Gifftid team, Advisors and early investors, I am thrilled that the journey we took has finally taken us to where Gifftid needs to land. The UK, London ecosystem have been an incredible environment for discovery, learning and building a finance, capital, commercial infrastructure that can lead to economic benefits for SMEs, local economic authorities, commercial banks, lenders, capital allocators, funds and corporate funds in the UK and beyond. We sit in the unique intersection of tech, AI, data, intelligence, capital where supply an demand will both gain value. Humans are always in the loop. Gifftid is UK Built. Thank you to the ecosystem that have made this all possible. Three shifts are reshaping SME finance and growth. 1. The rise of the modern SME Today’s SMEs are digital-first, operationally data-rich, and growth-oriented, yet many are still assessed using infrastructure built for a different era. 2. Forward-looking signals alongside historical data. Traditional credit systems focus on past performance. Modern decision-making also requires forward-looking signals such as cash behaviour, revenue trajectory, supplier discipline, and operational momentum. 3. Financial inclusion as a measurable outcome. Decision intelligence can help distinguish structural disadvantage from commercial weakness , identifying viable businesses existing systems may not yet fully evaluate. At Gifftid, we believe the future of SME finance and capital deployment lie in complementing existing systems with forward-looking operational intelligence. We are a neutral company serving all types of entities seeking and deploying capital, finance , commercial and impact transactions. Thrilled to become a contributor to Innovate Finance and learn at the same time! #ModernSMEs #SMEFinance #VentureCapital #BBB #LSEG #SocialEnterpriseUK #CDFIs #CombinedAuthorities #Impactinvesting #SocialFinance #ChallengerBanksCliff Prior liked thisWe welcome Gifftid as a new Innovate Finance Member 🎉 🔗 Join Our FinTech Community https://hubs.ly/Q04gC6Zb0 #InnovateFinance #FinTech #VoiceOfFinTech #InnovateFinanceMember #VoiceOfFinTech
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Cliff Prior liked thisCliff Prior liked this🌟🌟We're extremely excited and proud to share that our Co-Founder and Chairman Laurence Lien has been named to this year's TIME 100 #Philanthropy List, recognising leading figures who are shaping the future of #giving across the world. He is the only figure from #Singapore and #SoutheastAsia to be named to the list since its inaugural edition in 2025. ➡️ READ THE ARTICLE HERE: https://lnkd.in/gD2JC2Rq Over the past two decades, Laurence has been a key figure in shaping the landscape of philanthropy in Asia. Aside from chairing APC, he leads the Lien Foundation with its model of 'radical philanthropy' investing in innovation to catalyse systemic change, establishing the Community Foundation of Singapore in 2008 to strengthen the local giving infrastructure, and co-founding Asia Community Foundation with Francesco Conrotto Caruso and Stanley Tan to enable more strategic, cross-border giving in the region. Laurence has been a long-standing champion of greater collaboration among philanthropists, and of a more strategic, locally-rooted, and systems approach to addressing the region’s most pressing and complex challenges. “For me, it is really about making the greatest difference on the ground,” he says to TIME. Laurence joins key global leaders in giving, from Rajiv J. Shah (The Rockefeller Foundation), our wonderful partner Asif Saleh (BRAC), who we are working with in piloting a fairer migration pathway to reduce debt for workers coming to #Singapore from #Bangladesh, and to our friend Xin Liu (ENLIGHT FOUNDATION), whom we are partnering with on a collaborative fund to advance ECD access for rural Chinese children under 3. ➡️ READ THE ARTICLE HERE: https://lnkd.in/gD2JC2Rq Esther Chang, CFRE Elizabeth Ee Sue Fertal Toomey
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Cliff Prior liked thisLooking for a new career challenge? Would you like to work at the intersection of sports fan engagement and social impact? Are you based in Budapest? Planet League is looking for a Project Manager, Partnerships & Campaigns. Planet League teams up with sports clubs, sponsors, schools and charities to run impactful campaigns for fans. We have built partnerships with over 80 professional football clubs in the UK, including all 20 Premier League clubs. Sports fans all over the world have engaged with our campaigns, which are all grounded in fans taking action. We need a new team member to help us originate, design and run our fan tournaments. I'm tagging a few people to help me amplify this. Gregg Betz Gabor Herendi MBA Peter Langmar Tamas Terray Edit Nagy Ahmad Tabche Mpho Mathabathe-Mala Péter Kovács Dr. Tibor HejjCliff Prior liked thisPlanet League is hiring a Project Manager, Partnerships & Campaigns. This is a full-time, hybrid role. Ideally, we're looking for someone based in Budapest. Planet League turns sports fans into social impact champions. We work with clubs (all Premier League teams), federations and companies and charities to run fan engagement campaigns that drive real-world action. We are award-winning, growing fast, and expanding across Europe. The role On any given week, you might draft a proposal in the morning, post on our social channels at lunch, jump on a call with a club's commercial director in the afternoon, and help shape a fan tournament at the end of the day. If that sounds energising rather than exhausting, please read on. Reporting to the Head of Operations, you will: - Help originate, design and run our fan tournaments - Prepare proposals for clubs, federations and brand partners - Run our day-to-day social media - Liaise with our partner clubs - Get hands-on with fan activation - Keep our content library sharp and reusable - Have a real say in where the product goes next; this team listens Who we think you are We care more about how you think and how you work than the exact shape of your CV. That said, we expect you are: - Based in Budapest - Early in your career but already a strong writer and communicator in English (other European languages are a bonus) - Comfortable running several projects at once without dropping the ball - Confident with everyday office tools, and have been getting genuinely good with AI tools, since we use them daily - Have an affinity for both sustainability and sport. If you are also a football fan, even better. If sport is not yet your world but the impact piece pulls you in, please still apply - Bring a get-up-and-go, giant-killer kind of energy. Small team, big ambitions, and we want someone who runs with that - Attention to detail, because partners notice the difference between good and almost-good This role suits someone who is more interested in building something than climbing a corporate ladder, who wants to learn fast across a wide surface area, and who would rather have their fingerprints on real work than sit inside a narrow job description. What we offer - Competitive base salary - Performance bonuses - Equity options, because we want you to share in what we are building - Real influence on product and campaign direction - A close-knit, senior team that is generous with time and feedback - Mostly remote working, with the rhythm of a few in-person days a week to keep us in sync - Front-row exposure to global sports brands, federations and the social and environmental impact space How to apply We particularly welcome applications from people who are underrepresented in sport. Send us a short note about yourself, a CV or LinkedIn link, and one example of something you built, organised or wrote that you are proud of. Apply via LinkedIn or email info@planetleague.co.uk
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Cliff Prior liked this🗾 The impact investing market in Japan is evolving rapidly - and it was great to get a chance to meet with JANPIA on a recent trip. Building on BSC's design, Japan Network for Public Interest Activities (JANPIA) is a social investment wholesaler funded by local dormant accounts. They are focused on catalysing an impact venture and blended capital market in Japan - targeting especially support for children & young people and community regeneration. Lots of parallels with our work and opportunities for shared learning. Many thanks to Aiko Kozaki, Motoi Kawabata and Toshi Hayashi for hosting me on a holiday stopover!Cliff Prior liked thisJeremy Rogers Roger from Better Society Capital (BSC) stopped by Japan Network for Public Interest Activities (JANPIA) during his trip to Japan last month! BSC has grown the UK social impact investment market tenfold over 13 years — and much of what they've learned came from things that didn't go as planned. Their "Hall of Failure" database, which honestly documents every project that fell short, was a great reminder of just how important it is to learn from failure — not just celebrate success. We asked Jeremy: if you could go back to 2012, what would you do differently? His answer was candid and full of practical insight. Read the full interview here (only in Japanese): 👉 https://lnkd.in/gYN6bt9H A huge thank you to Motoi Kawabata of innovate with, who interpreted and moderated the session and also provided invaluable context and commentary throughout — which really helped our grant-making team deepen their understanding. --- 先月、英国の社会的インパクト投資機関Better Society Capital(BSC)のJeremy Rogers 氏が来日中にJANPIAに立ち寄ってくれました! BSCは13年間で英国の社会的投資市場を約10倍に成長させてきた組織です。その学びの多くは失敗から生まれたもの。「失敗の殿堂(Hall of Failure)」という失敗事例のデータベースを謝入りなく記録・公開している姿勢は、「失敗から学ぶことの大切さ」を改めて実感させてくれました。 「もし2012年に戻れたら何を変えるか?」——Jeremy氏の率直な答えが印象的でした。 インタビュー記事はこちら👇 https://lnkd.in/gYN6bt9H 通訳・モデレートに加え、丁寧な解説もいただいたinnovate withのMotoi Kawabata川端元維氏のおかげで、助成事業チームのメンバー等の理解も深まり、大変ありがたかったです! https://lnkd.in/gjCnpBwk「失敗から学ぶ」――英国BSCの13年が教えてくれたこと ~Better Society Capital Jeremy Rogers氏との対話|JANPIA出資事業部note | インパクト投資の世界を広げる「失敗から学ぶ」――英国BSCの13年が教えてくれたこと ~Better Society Capital Jeremy Rogers氏との対話|JANPIA出資事業部note | インパクト投資の世界を広げる
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Cliff Prior liked thisCliff Prior liked thisI attended the G7 France event organised by Finance in Common last week. Despite of 23% decline in ODA, the #G7 countries still represent 70% of development funding. Here are some highlights of the meeting: 📣New proposals: ✅Help #PDBs become a new asset class, to reduce PDB funding costs and unlock greater private capital mobilisation ✅Create a PBD guarantee hub to reinforce the catalytic role of PDBs, targeting up to $10bn in guarantees ✅Systematically develop the “Country Platform” model as nationally-led frameworks, to structure the dialogue, originate more quality projects, blend financial flows 💡Key messages and insights: ▶ ️Improvement of efficiency and coordination will not suffice. Capital market development is essential. ▶ OECD - OCDE Mathias Cormann data shows 5X mobilisation in the past decade mostly driven by multilateral banks. The trajectory is encouraging but we need more. ▶ ️“The plans are great but the plans are collecting dust. Everyone is willing but in practice very little is happening” Alexander De Croo UNDP ▶ ️Concessional finance needs to be used with care to create the environment and the pipeline not to support specific projects. ▶ ️MIGA: development finance is now about leveraging capital markets and private finance. But there is a major risk that is not being discussed: the stability of the financial system. Are we protected against a crisis like the one in 2008? ▶ ️For infrastructure debt the cost of capital in Africa is 2.5X higher than in OECD countries. #GEMs data base says that Africa recovery rates are 78% whereas for the rest of the world are 60-70%. Yet risk perception has not changed. "If you are born outside of OECD countries you are very unlucky independently of how good you are. These are simple things that we can change.“ Vera Songwe ▶ Yann Le Pallec S&P Global says that to be able to rate development banks they need data about loss and recovery by originating entity. They note that it’s difficult to have a national development bank rated better than a sovereign unless really ringfenced incl in terms of governance. Finally it was an honor to participate in the standing ovation for Rémy Rioux thanking him for his work at Agence Française de Développement as he transitions to Chairing Finance in Common, which will become a new legal entity. Thanks to the amazing team and people who are pushing for progress on these agenda items Adama MARIKO Arthur Pataud Jimena Iraheta Catherine Collin and others.
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Cliff Prior liked thisCliff Prior liked thisThe Better Futures Fund (BFF) is moving from ambition into action. Today, the UK Government opened its search for a delivery partner for Round 1 of the BFF, the first major procurement milestone since the fund was announced. Once selected, the delivery partner will oversee the commissioning of Social Outcomes Partnerships (SOPs) for Round 1, which commits up to £37 million to tackling child poverty. It’s a model with a proven track record: more than 100 have already launched across the UK, supporting over 100,000 people. The Better Futures Fund has the scale and the government commitment to take that further with up to £1 billion over ten years, supporting 200,000 children, young people and families. The market is ready. We look forward to supporting partners across government, local communities and the investment world to make this fund as successful as it can be for families across the country. James Burrows
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Cliff Prior liked thisCliff Prior liked thisWhat does it look like when impact investors integrate systems thinking as a practice? Two years ago, we started this work by exploring how a systems lens influences what impact investors do. Last year, we introduced the Primer, which identified six shifts and how they can show in practice. The Playbook followed with eight tools to address awareness, strategy, investments, governance, and IMM. Over the past year, we've presented at Latimpacto, African Venture Philanthropy Alliance (AVPA), AVPN, Impact Europe, Impact Frontiers, and various webinars and workshops. We also recently completed a Learning Cohort with 7 foundations and family offices, who worked through Primer and Playbook, and shared their experiences and questions. This year at Skoll World Forum, we convened ~60 people to share what we've learned (slides below). Four questions repeatedly come up across these rooms: > Boundaries: How broadly do you define the system you're working in? The choices are often around having a wide enough frame to be ambitious, but narrow enough to allow for focused attention. > Role: In what ways are you acting directly, or influencing indirectly? If you're leading primarily with capital, what other aspects (knowledge, relationships, convening) are necessary alongside, and in what combination? > Capital: How do your philanthropy, investment, and non-financial engagements interact in practice? What guides the mix, and how does it need to respond to what the system requires and what other actors are doing? > Posture: How do you hold the balance between planning and structuring how you act upfront, versus taking a more flexible approach that evolves based on feedback and system dynamics? We heard from Access - The Foundation for Social Investment on how they've navigated these questions, and 3 things stood out: → Seb Elsworth MBE shared how they moved from a supply-demand strategy to one that is advancing ecosystem health, and how the levers of change work together. → Lydia Levy described how they adapted KPIs to track not only capital flows and investor influence, but also system-level indicators like partner resilience and ecosystem health. → Emilie Goodall explained how governance evolved alongside strategy and IMM. The board continues to adapt how they work, aligning conventional responsibilities with a systems lens. A positive signal: we keep seeing many organizations already doing aspects of this - mapping ecosystems, blending capital, investing in relationships - without necessarily labeling it as systems work. We think there's upside to making these practices more deliberate, and previewed a practice check that helps you assess where systems thinking has actually changed your decisions. Grateful to Heather Grady & Alejandro Alvarez von Gustedt at Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors, to everyone in the room as well as the learning cohort and partners who contributed to this work, and to Skoll Centre for Social Entrepreneurship for hosting us.
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City of London Corporation
97K followers
🎥 How can impact-led investment drive real social change? In our new Impact Investing Whitepaper, we explore how impact capital can support UK Government mission for safer streets. Hear from Melanie Hayes, Managing Partner at Bethnal Green Ventures, on how their portfolio company Life Lessons is making a difference. 📥 Download the report to learn how impact-led investment is delivering results: https://lnkd.in/ei4YAz98 #ImpactInvesting #EconomicGrowth
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Fundraising Institute Australasia
15K followers
Fundraising is heavily relationship based. FIA's 'Contracts and Relationship Management in Fundraising' course is designed to build your confidence and capability in managing contracts and partnerships, so you can create strong, sustainable relationships with funders and sponsors. Through real case studies and practical tools, learn how to read and negotiate contracts, manage risk, maintain trust, and strengthen long-term partnerships. Take away clear strategies to protect your organisation, meet your obligations, and maximise impact. Hear from our facilitator, Caitlin Boucher in the short video below and discover how this program will support you in mastering the business side of fundraising. To learn more and register: https://bit.ly/4cIwA5w #fundraisinginstituteaustralia #fiaeducation
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Prospecting for Gold
934 followers
It's time for a mid-year fundraising review! These four tips will help you understand the story your data is telling you and refresh your fundraising plans for the rest of the year. 💡 Assess your prospect pipeline 💡 Measure your income against annual targets 💡 Measure your donor conversion rates 💡 Analyse donor trends Ready for data-led fundraising? Email info@prospectingforgold.co.uk #MajorGifts #ProspectResearch
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Jessica Mullen
Alliance for Youth Justice… • 980 followers
Wanted to make sure that Alliance for Youth Justice (AYJ) members were aware of the funding opportunity below offering unrestricted funding 👏 to organisations supporting young people with experience of the youth justice system to reconnect with their communities. Deadline 16 June. Organisations must: - Have a significant focus on supporting justice-experienced young people aged 10-25 to re-engage with their community - Have an annual income of £250,000 or less - Be not-for-profit organisations that operate exclusively in the United Kingdom - Have two or more unrelated directors or trustees on the Board
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Catherine Brooks
Equitable Philanthropy • 6K followers
In 2026, the organisations under the most pressure aren’t necessarily those with the weakest missions — they’re the ones exposed to risks they didn’t name early enough. In my work with boards and CEOs, three fundraising risks show up again and again: - Donor concentration When 40–70% of revenue is tied to a handful of funders, stability can vanish overnight. - Poor donor retention If you’re only measuring dollars raised, you’re missing the early warning signs. Retention is insurance. - Fundraising staff burnout When fundraisers leave, relationships leave with them. That’s a revenue risk, not just a people issue. These risks don’t appear suddenly. They build quietly — until something shifts. When organisations start treating fundraising as core infrastructure (not just activity), boards ask different questions, strategies focus on resilience, and investment decisions get smarter. I’ve unpacked this thinking in a new Substack piece: Why Fundraising Is Now a Risk Management Function If you’re a CEO, Chair or board member, the question isn’t just: “How much did we raise?” It’s: “How exposed are we?” Let me know if this post resonates with you? #Fundraising #NonprofitLeadership #BoardGovernance #Philanthropy #CharityStrategy #RiskManagement Equitable Philanthropy https://lnkd.in/gBzmtP5r
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John Karegwa
Invest In Africa Summit • 60K followers
Funding Opportunity The Ending Homelessness in Communities Fund provides grants of £50,000 to £200,000 of revenue or capital funding to local VCFS organisations in England and their delivery partners to test and scale evidence‑based, place‑based approaches that prevent homelessness, reduce rough sleeping and improve long‑term housing outcomes.. The programme opens on 23 Feb and closes at 12:00 (midday) on 31 Mar, with full eligibility, assessment criteria and submission requirements set out in the official prospectus. https://lnkd.in/evkDcFMC
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Julie Christie
2K followers
Want to #volunteer on our #Board and contribute to the continued development of #environmental #philanthropy? ** We particularly welcome applications from marginalised groups, especially people of colour and other ethnic minorities, people who identify as LGBTQIA, Disabled people, young people, those who identify as working class or have done so in the past and those most affected by the consequences of climate change and nature loss. **
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Kate Lee
NCVO • 11K followers
This is an excellent read for anyone who doubts the importance of partnership in creating both financial but also non-financial wealth. The report clearly defines the role of Charities and the wider non-profit movement in achieving sustainable growth and more importantly societial wellbeing. Superb work by NPC, i look forward to hearing more.
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Bill Bruty
3K followers
How do organisations actually secure high-value grants? At Fundraising Training Ltd, we analysed 700+ case studies of first high-value gifts and major transformations in giving. We identified five common pathways through which organisations connect with new high-value funders or grow support from existing ones. Each pathway tells us something important about how funders discover organisations, build trust, and decide where to give. Understanding these patterns helps fundraisers move beyond guesswork and develop more intentional strategies for engaging funders. #Fundraising #Grantseeking #NonprofitLeadership #Philanthropy #FundraisingStrategy
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Iona Lawrence
The Decelerator • 3K followers
Interesting (and reassuring, somehow) to see that The Decelerator's work seems to travel and resonate beyond our day-to-day stomping ground of small and medium-sized charities into other places like James Plunkett and Joseph Rowntree Foundation (JRF)'s work on the future of the public sector ... thank you for the shout out Kinship Works. "We need more supportive ways to help people close institutions ... We should permanently fund initiatives like The Decelerator. Perhaps this could be funded by Department for Culture, Media and Sport, as part of its role supporting a healthy civil society, and also partly by membership bodies as a service to their sectors. Sector bodies like NCVO and the Charity Commission for England and Wales should also codify models for institutional closure and for time-limited institutions, and should train leaders in these approaches."
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CHAITRI (CHAI) HAPUGALLE
Harvard Kennedy School • 23K followers
The Peace-Led Climate Friendly Sustainable Development Forum Sharing some notes (not the chapter) Introduction: Why Start with Diagnosis? The PCSDF approach frames today’s crisis as one of compounding, systemic fragility—where breaching planetary boundaries and accelerating ecosystem collapse interact with social, economic, governance, and cultural traps. This chapter gives a platform for integrated diagnosis, connecting global ecosystem health directly to social and policy realities. Seven of nine boundaries are now breached, creating unpredictable, cascading disasters and compounding all vulnerabilities. Intervening without respecting these boundaries is futile for all subsequent policy solutions and trap breakage. Human traps have become biophysical as much as social. Solutions must be cross-cutting: ecosystem collapse now transforms local fragility into existential risk, shrinking adaptation options unless tackled together, with planetary stability as a foundation. The diagram below displays the PCSDF’s five systemic traps—spatial, economic, environmental, governance, and cultural—as colored circles nested inside the planetary boundary frame. Areas where traps overlap are highlighted as “compound risk zones,” and key regional case studies (Sahel, Amazon, Pacific SIDS, Ukraine) are annotated within these overlaps. Red denotes breached planetary boundaries, emphasizing where escalating biophysical risks drive and amplify social fragility.
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Andrew Corbett-Nolan
GGI DEVELOPMENT AND RESEARCH… • 15K followers
Charity trustees: the new 2025 Charity Governance Code Charity Commission for England and Wales launched in October is a must-read and must-act document for every board in the sector. It's an important milestone. The refreshed Code brings sharper focus on sustainability, diversity, risk, and accountability — all essential for charities navigating today’s challenges. GGi strongly believe this Code is a genuinely helpful framework and a vital contribution to long-term charity resilience and impact. If you serve on a charity board (or advise one), now is the time to review your governance against the new principles and plan the actions needed. Read the article here: A Milestone for Third Sector Leadership: The New 2025 Charity Governance Code https://lnkd.in/eMM5BWEF #CharityGovernance #CharityGovernanceCode #ThirdSector #NonProfitLeadership #GGI #GovernanceMatters
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Kelly Fitzsimmons
Project Evident • 4K followers
As we at Project Evident approach a decade of committed effort to shift the evidence ecosystem in favor of practitioners and in service of better, more meaningful and more equitable outcomes for students and communities, we have much to celebrate. My colleagues and I will be sharing reflections in the coming months. Here I reflect on the importance of localized infrastructure for evidence building and use especially in today’s context. This body of work would not be possible without amazing people so I share these thoughts with tremendous gratitude to our early champions and critical partners. Thank you for the learning. Elisabeth Stock Sam Cobbs Erika Van Buren, Ph.D. Samuel Schaeffer Jack McCarthy Mark Edwards Yvonne Belanger Lola A. Jared Joiner Asha Canady Bi Vuong Katrina Stevens Jim Shelton Nancy Roob Saskia Levy Thompson Dr. Shauna D. A. Knox Matthew Gee Michele Jolin Anu Malipatil Amy O'Hara Benjamin Berres Rhonda Evans, Ph.D. Erin Mote Daniel Cardinali Archie L. Jones, Jr., CPA James Manzi Mark D'Agostino Idara Umoh, MBA, CHFP Garrett Yursza Warfield, PhD Scott Jenkins Sandy Petty CPA, CGMA, PHR, SHRM-CP Susan Fairchild Rebecca A. Maynard Brian Scholl Jennifer Brooks Vic Vuchic Adrian Schurr Maggie Cacioppo Sasha Rabkin Brian Komar Archie L. Jones, Jr., CPA
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Sandra Beeton
Social Benefits Consortium… • 947 followers
"There’s a growing recognition from within the research system/sector that community-centred approaches have the potential to lead to better research questions, more appropriate methods, better data and ultimately more applicable findings. But research can also be a powerful mechanism for system change, elevating the voices and experiences of those who are most marginalised in society and challenging harmful narratives while shining a light on truly impactful solutions. We think there’s a social justice and social impact imperative for supporting this kind of work which other types of funders could play a critical role in."
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Neil Heslop OBE
Fondation de France UK • 3K followers
Congratulations to NPC (New Philanthropy Capital) on their Impact UK report - sizing the impact economy at £428 billion, 15% of GDP. This confirms what we at Charities Aid Foundation (CAF) see every day: the power of philanthropy to unlock wider change. But here's what matters more to me: this isn't money sitting in foundations - it's capital actively flowing, de-risking innovation, and enabling others to invest behind it. The report highlights philanthropists like Lady Edwina Grosvenor and Lauren Gupta who are proving that giving isn't just about writing cheques. It's about backing ideas early, taking risks others won't, and building partnerships that amplify impact. At CAF, our role is simple: make giving work harder. Whether that's helping donors find the right causes, supporting charities to access funding, or working with government to create better collaboration mechanisms. The opportunity is clear. If 15% of the economy is already impact-focused, imagine what's possible when we engage the other 85%. Read the report here https://lnkd.in/e8-P-6Mn #Philanthropy #ImpactEconomy
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Asher Craig
A professional, highly… • 5K followers
Pathway Fund is pleased to support the launch of today’s landmark report from the Social Investment Implementation and Advisory Group (SIIAG) — Mobilising the impact economy as partners in national renewal - a roadmap for deeper partnership between government and the impact economy. With £106bn of UK impact capital ready to address challenges like child poverty, affordable housing and clean energy, the report calls for sustained leadership, smarter mobilisation of capital, and targeted reforms to unlock participation at scale. At Pathway Fund, we believe renewal must also mean racial equity ensuring impact capital reaches and empowers communities historically excluded from investment and opportunity. This is a pivotal step toward a more inclusive and collaborative economy that delivers for everyone. Grateful for the leadership from members and contributors of the Impact Economy Collective which includes Pathway Fund and more specifically AchieveGood’s Dominic Llewellyn & Impact Investing Institute’s Kieron Boyle for their vision and leadership in driving this work forward. Also huge thanks to government ministers Lisa Nandy MP Rt Hon Darren Jones MP and civil servants who supported SIIAG to this point including Cabinet Office Department for Culture, Media and Sport HM Treasury #DHSC Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government Read report in full here ➡️ https://lnkd.in/e4GAtMg9 #ImpactEconomy #SocialInvestment #RacialEquity #InclusiveGrowth #PathwayFund #BetterFutures
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Nick Addington
William Grant & Sons • 2K followers
In recent years, Association of Charitable Foundations' Stronger Foundations initiative and Funder Collaborative Hub have provided useful platforms for peer learning between UK trusts and foundations about how we work, not just what we fund. Jim Cooke's blog ⬇️ highlighting the latest iteration of ACF’s funding practice guides gives a good overview of key considerations – including the care needed to avoid causing unintended harm. Great to see a couple of William Grant Foundation resources are cited in the guide on different types of grant funding, including our 4-tier framing of flexible funding: https://lnkd.in/eDNP2kwW https://lnkd.in/eBRfdmgA
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