North Star initiative launched at Global Partnerships Conference last week, as UK ministers seek to improve cooperation across sectors and give more agency to countries in the global south – while development aid cuts bite.
This week: UK social enterprises recognised in King’s Awards for Enterprise, Bob Geldof backs social enterprise model to fight homelessness, Better Futures Fund looks for a delivery partner, and more.
This week: new B Lab standards go live for all businesses, ImpactAssets unveils IA50 list, and the GIIN and UNICEF partner to embed children’s outcomes in impact investors’ decisions.
Leading voices from UK social enterprise, co-operatives and social investment have raised concerns over a “landmark” definition of the ‘impact economy’ that risks alienating a number of impactful organisations.
Partnering with philanthropists, impact investors and mission-led businesses should become the norm across government, says Darren Jones, but concerns emerge that grassroots organisations might struggle to be heard by policymakers.
NPC’s new mapping of the UK’s ‘impact economy’ has triggered a debate on what should and shouldn’t be included in this ecosystem. To be expected, but was it really the primary purpose of the research?
New Philanthropy Capital claims it's made the first estimate of the scale of the UK’s impact economy, bringing together impact-led businesses, charities, political parties and others, while omitting co-operatives and employee-led businesses.
Can the ‘business for good’ movement resist populist forces? Will the UK’s Office for the Impact Economy deliver? Is impact investing having an existential crisis? Find out the key questions on our radar for 2026.
Falling profitability, financial barriers and concerns over the wider economy are among multiple indicators that paint a “worrying” picture for the sector, reveals Social Enterprise UK’s State of Social Enterprise 2025 study published today.
