In September, Matt Robinson set out a great overview of an agenda for the Office of Civil Society (OCS) in its new home of the Department of Culture, Media {...}
“If we were UnLtd, this would be our business plan”
If UnLtd is serious about supporting a whole marketplace of social entrepreneurship it will need to seriously wrestle with the challenge that there cannot only be one major player {...}
All aboard the supertanker for the ride to the mainstream
Ah UnLtd. Do we love you or hate you? Are you the social investment Starship Enterprise or Death Star? Can we do anything to build on your successes and {...}
The what nows, wherefores and what ifs
You can forgive civil servants in the Office for Civil Society (OCS) having a stronger than usual bout of back-to-school blues right now. After 10 years of residence within {...}
Becoming genuinely UnLtd
UnLtd faces the difficult challenge of huge expectations that come with having a gigantic endowment and the ability to have a ‘forever’ business model. This comes with its own {...}
Social Impact Bonds, designed by some of our leading thinkers
This week the Minister for the Third Sector announced his intention to make Social Impact Bonds the most talked about funding mechanism for government social projects. We are delighted {...}
Is Big Society Capital really a wholesaler?
Since its launch in 2012, Big Society Capital has regularly been described as the ‘World’s First Social Investment Bank’. While it is not literally a bank, the ‘financial institution’ is {...}
It’s the Social, stupid
It is exciting times for Big Society Capital and if I were the new Chief Exec, I would have difficulty in knowing where to focus as I try to {...}
‘Social Investment’ or ‘Impact Investing’?
Social investment is often spoken about as if it is the same thing as impact investing. Organisations as influential as the OECD describe the terms as ‘interchangeable’[1], and the {...}
A whole heap of nothing?
So, all change at the top for Big Society Capital. The big question is whether this change offers Big Society Capital the chance to revisit the central question at the {...}
Choices and constraints for a change of tactics
Last Thursday, the news broke that Cliff Prior, currently Chief Executive at UnLtd is set for a transfer to the manager’s chair over at Big Society Capital (BSC). Many {...}