The Early Action Funder’s Alliance has commissioned a literature review of early action schemes, both past and present across the UK, to draw learning from best practice and remain informed of existing and emerging schemes which may be of relevance to its work.

The Alliance is a network of funding organisations who believe in the importance of early action to prevent problems arising. The Alliance comprises of the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation (UK Branch), Comic Relief, Big Lottery Fund, Esmee Fairbairn Foundation, UBS, Barrow Cadbury Foundation, Legal Education Foundation, Business in the Community, and the Royal Foundation. Its main aims are to demonstrate the public case for early action to other funders and to the voluntary sector and to provide opportunities and guidance for funders to embed early action in their work.

This report: Making a strategic shift towards early action, written by Guy Robertson, focuses on an analysis of schemes which have sought to affect a long-term shift in statutory funding from acute to preventative spend so that funding is shifted towards early action and away from crisis spending. It provides information about what works in affecting long-term systemic change, rather than what works in the delivery of early action projects in and of themselves, and assesses three tools for change – Social Impact Bonds; Local Integrated Services Trusts; and System Modelling.

A summary of the report can be read here.

The full report can be accessed here.