We are launching a new report today with Big Lottery Fund and Collaborate, which calls on independent funders to engage in smarter collaboration to support social change. A New Funding Ecology – A Blueprint for Action argues that in the face of a shrinking state and rising social demand, there is a renewed responsibility on funders to adapt and respond to these changes.

Key arguments from the report include:

• Independent funders cannot fill the gap left by budget cuts – but they can play a key role in building new models of social support that prioritises prevention, early intervention and building cross-sector models of change.
• The ecology approach requires funders to turn their differences into strength by being clearer about where they have impact and comparative advantage in relation to their peers.
• Devolution is an opportunity to build new models of social change – but this will require independent funders to work closely together to better understand their impact and potential in a place, and learn the lessons of Scottish and Welsh devolution so far.

A Blueprint for Action is the second paper following our first venture into such thinking with the publication of Supporting Social Change: A New Funding Ecology earlier in the year. This report was a starting point for a discussion about the changing modes of support for citizens and argued that good initiatives are hindered by a lack of capacity-building support and that there is a need for grantmakers to take risks for projects with long-term potential.

A Blueprint for Action is a more focused overview building on six months of extensive research and over 40 interviews with sector leaders about how they might engage in and build strong relationships for collaborative working.

Alongside the launch of this report today, we are also publishing Supporting Social Change: The Role of Social Investment. This report reflects a concern among trusts and foundations that the narrative around social investment is eclipsing other forms of philanthropy and that the preoccupation with the financial aspects of investment is trumping the social dimension of support.

This report is a further contribution to the series of papers exploring the unfolding discussion about the new funding ecology for social impact and social change.

Both of these new reports offer tools for funders to use in assessing the practical actions that they could be taking to start making the shift to a new funding ecology approach.

UK Branch Director, Andrew Barnett, says: “We might welcome this second paper as a blueprint for building stronger, more sustained collaborations and we look forward to working with a growing movement of other funders to take the work forward.”

Anyone interested in the programme should contact Henry Kippin at [email protected].

Follow us on twitter @CGF_UK to join the conversation on #fundingecology.