1. WHAT MAKES FUNDERS TICK?
Reflections from a foundation collaboration
Jessica Davies, Manager – Better Transport for Older People’s Quality of Life
Jessica.davies@socialfinance.org.uk
13 NOVEMBER 2019

2. ©Social Finance 2019
2
Who are you and why are you here?
What have you learned about what makes
(some) funders tick?
?
?

3. ©Social Finance 2019
WHAT ISTHE SOCIAL FINANCE IMPACT INCUBATOR? 3
Partners so far include:Who we are
• A collaboration - between charitable
foundations and Social Finance
• We work with partners to tackle
entrenched issues
• Our mission is to create national, lasting,
transformative long-term, social change

4. ©Social Finance 2019
WHAT ISTHE SOCIAL FINANCE IMPACT INCUBATOR? 4
What we do & how we do it
• Target systems-level change by developing and implementing
responses (rather than by campaigning)
• Take a partnership approach – in learning & building
• Think strategically about where opportunities lie and prioritise based on
factors including:
• Potential impact
• Timeliness & energy in the sector to make change happen
• Likelihood of reaching implementation
• Long-term sustainability
• Seek to secure and leverage funding

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HOW OUR PROJECTSWORK 5
Phase I: Vision and
Issue Prioritisation
Phase II:
Concept
Development
Phase III:
Model
Development
Phase IV:
Mobilisation

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THIS PROJECT – OUR BRIEF 6
Working in partnership with four UK foundations (the
Dulverton Trust, the John Ellerman Foundation, the Rayne
Foundation and the Tudor Trust) to:
explore and develop sustainable, scalable ways to
significantly improve the quality of life of older people
in the UK

7. ©Social Finance 2019
DURING PHASE I OFTHE PROJECT,WE WORKEDTHROUGH
FOUR STAGES OF PRIORITISATION AND SELECTION…
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Full Quality of Life framework
Emerging themes of interest
Shortlisted themes of interest
Sub-themes
for consideration
for Phase II
- Looked at all areas of quality
of life for older people
- Worked to identify two areas
where we could be a catalyst
for sustainable & scalable
change

8. ©Social Finance 2019
…TO SELECTTWO THEMESTOTAKE FORWARD 8
Improving older people’s
quality of life through better
quality transport
Better quality transport
selected due to its role as an
enabler for multiple areas of
quality of life:
• Practical needs and journeys
(‘getting from A to B’)
• Independence and sense of self-
determination
• Social connections
• Intrinsic enjoyment
Preventing involuntary exit
from work for vulnerable &
disadvantaged groups

9. ©Social Finance 2017
SELECTION OF FOCUS AREASWAS BASED ONTHE FOLLOWING
CRITERIA
9
1) Potential to impact quality of life
2) Potential for and route to scale and systems change
3) Is our collaboration well placed to do this work?
4) Partnership / Collaboration for Change
5)Timeliness and Energy

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WHEREWE ARE NOW 10
Phase I: Vision and Issue
Prioritisation
(3 months)
Phase II:
Concept
Development
(8 months)
Phase III: Model
Development
Phase IV:
Mobilisation
Current phase

11. ©Social Finance 2017
WE AGREEDWITH OUR FOUNDATION PARTNERSTO FOCUS
ON ‘BETTER COORDINATION’
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Rural
Challenges
Health
Journeys
The journey
process
Improving
accessibility
Leveraging
tech
Better co-
ordination
• ‘Better coordination’ agreed as starting point for concept development
• Saw lack of coordination as a key underlying cause of other themes and area of
biggest potential
• Rural challenges and health journeys were two that particularly resonated

12. ©Social Finance 2019
1. Making the case & setting the scene: “We didn’t expect to end up
focusing on transport”
LESSONS LEARNED FOR OUR FUNDERS? 12
2. Thinking at a systems-level:“demonstrate they understand their
place in the wider ecosystem”
3. Clarifying the contribution: “how a grant from us would make a
difference to business as usual”