The New Economics Foundation (NEF) is a progressive British think tank that aims to create a new economy that works for people and within environmental limits.[1][2] Its produces research and policy, supports on-the-ground projects, and undertakes campaigning and consultancy work.[3]
.png){kind=logo} | |
| Abbreviation | NEF |
|---|---|
| Formation | 1986 |
| Founder | The Other Economic Summit |
| Type | Think tank |
| Registration no. | 1055254 |
| Legal status | Charity |
| Purpose | Social justice, Economic justice, Environmental justice, Public policy, Devolution |
| Headquarters | 10 Salamanca Place |
| Location | |
Chief Executive | Dhananjayan Sriskandarajah |
| Staff | 43 (2025) |
| Website | neweconomics |
The foundation employs 43 members of staff at its London office and is active at a range of different levels. Its programmes include work on wellbeing, its own approaches to measurement and evaluation, sustainable local regeneration, its own forms of finance and business models, sustainable public services, and the economics of climate change.
History
editNEF was founded in 1986 by the leaders of The Other Economic Summit (TOES) with the aim of working for a new model of wealth creation based on equality, diversity and economic stability.[4][5]
The organisation has launched a range of new organisations to promote its ideas, including the Ethical Trading Initiative, AccountAbility, Time Banking UK, London Rebuilding Society and the Community Development Finance Association.[citation needed]
The organisation's projects have included work on community-based housing, worker organising in the digital economy, restoring local banking and analysing the impacts of energy crises[6]. It is also active in community economic regeneration.
The foundation's BizFizz programme, an entrepreneurship development programme, has created more than 900 new businesses in deprived areas, and the organisation has now taken this – and Local Alchemy – to six other countries through its international programme.[citation needed]
Following its Ghost Town Britain reports,[7][8] NEF helped establish the Local Works campaign in 2003 to support proposals for greater local control over economic and public services policy. That campaign later supported what became the Sustainable Communities Act 2007[9][10] and its organiser was Ron Bailey.[11][12]
The foundation's public events attract well-known speakers. Its clone town campaign in favour of local economic diversity was covered two years running by every major national newspaper and TV news station and was taken up in the Save Our Small Shops Campaign in the Evening Standard.[citation needed]
Work
editNEF supported the National Programme for Third Sector Commissioning with research and reporting on how best the Third Sector could evidence its wider impact on public services and their delivery. This underpinned the Office of the Third Sector's work programme on third sector commissioning from 2009.[13]
Jubilee 2000 campaign
editThe Jubilee 2000 campaign, strategised for and run by NEF,[14] collected 24 million signatures for its worldwide petition on development and poverty.[15]
Oil Depletion Analysis Centre
edit | |
| Formation | 1 June 2001 |
|---|---|
| Dissolved | Ceased publishing March 30, 2012; Archives available |
| Type | INGO |
| Purpose | To raise international public awareness and promote better understanding of the world's oil-depletion problem |
| Headquarters | London |
Region served | Worldwide |
Director | Jim Meyer |
Parent organisation | New Economics Foundation |
The Oil Depletion Analysis Centre (ODAC) was founded by Sarah Astor and Colin Campbell. In his book – Oil Crisis – Campbell explains that the Astor family wanted to establish and provide funds for an institute to raise awareness on this issue of oil depletion and peak oil.[16] The first director was Roger Bentley.
In 2004, ODAC sponsored Chris Skrebowski's report, Oil Field Megaprojects, which analysed data from 68 oil production projects,[17] and in November 2005, ODAC published a report after conducting a survey, led by Chris Skrebowski, which concluded that oil supply will not meet demand by 2007–08.[18] In June 2007, a report authored by Campbell predicted that peak oil would occur within four years.[19]
Happy Planet Index
editIn July 2006, the foundation launched the Happy Planet Index, intending to challenge existing indices of a state's success such as Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and Human Development Index (HDI). NEF was awarded the International Society for Quality-of-Life Studies' Award for the Betterment of the Human Condition in 2007, in recognition of its work on the index.[20][21]
21-hour working week
editIn February 2010, the foundation called for gradual transition to a working week of 21 hours as a way to tackle "overwork, unemployment, over-consumption, high carbon emissions, low wellbeing, entrenched inequalities, and the lack of time to live sustainably, to care for each other, and simply to enjoy life".[22] In 2012, Anna Coote, then head of social policy at the foundation, said this could be done as a three-day week.[23] NEF stated a 21-hour work week would provide a better work–life balance, better balance work hours across the population and help towards a more sustainable, less carbon-dependent economy.[23] A three-day work week has also been support by sociologist Peter Fleming in his 2015 book, The Mythology of Work.[24]
Funding
editThe New Economics Foundation has been rated as "broadly transparent" in its funding by Transparify[25] and has been given an 'A grade' for funding transparency by Who Funds You?.[26]
Chief Executives
edit| Name | Time in Office |
|---|---|
| Ed Mayo[27] | 1992 – 2003 |
| Marc Stears[28] | January 2016 – November 2017 |
| Miatta Fahnbulleh[29][30] | November 2017 – January 2024 |
| Dhananjayan Sriskandarajah[31] | January 2024 – present |
Publications
edit- Public services and (in)equality in an age of austerity. Joe Penny (July 2013).
- Where does money come from?. Andrew Jackson, Richard Werner, Tony Greenham and Josh Ryan-Collins (12 December 2012)
- Growth isn't Possible: Why rich countries need a new economic direction. Andrew Simms, Dr Victoria Johnson, Peter Chowla (25 January 2010).
- 21 hours: Why a shorter working week can help us all to flourish in the 21st century. Anna Coote, Andrew Simms and Jane Franklin (13 February 2010).
- The Great Transition. Josh Ryan-Collins (18 October 2009).
- The Consumption Explosion Archived 17 February 2015 at the Wayback Machine. Andrew Simms, Victoria Johnson, Joe Smith and Susanna Mitchell (24 September 2009).
- The Happy Planet Index: An index of human well-being and environmental impact. Nic Marks, Saamah Abdallah, Andrew Simms and Sam Thompson (12 July 2006).
- Clone Town Britain: The survey results on the bland state of the nation. Andrew Simms, Petra Kjell and Ruth Potts (6 June 2005).
See also
edit- A Green New Deal
- Coproduction of public services by service users and communities
- Great Transition
- List of UK think tanks
- New Economy Coalition – sister organisation in America
- New Economy movement
- Open Source Ecology
- Schumacher Circle organisations
- Transition town
References
edit- ↑ "A new economy for a new era". New Economics Foundation. 17 February 2025. Retrieved 18 March 2026.
- ↑ "Our ambitions". New Economics Foundation. Retrieved 18 March 2026.
- ↑ "Our work". New Economics Foundation. Retrieved 18 March 2026.
- ↑ "Annual report and financial statements". Charity Commission for England and Wales. 30 June 2025. Retrieved 18 March 2026.
- ↑ "The Other Economic Summit and the New Economics Foundation". Archived from the original on 11 April 2013. Retrieved 11 March 2010.
- ↑ "Protecting consumers and the UK economy from an energy price shock". Retrieved 9 April 2026.
- ↑ MacGillivray, Alex; Simms, Andrew; Drury, Joe; Oram, Julian (December 2002). Ghost Town Britain: The Threat from Economic Globalisation to Livelihoods, Liberty and Local Economic Freedom (Report). New Economics Foundation. Retrieved 5 June 2026.
- ↑ Simms, Andrew; Oram, Julian; Conisbee, Molly (15 December 2003). Ghost Town Britain II: Death on the High Street (Report). New Economics Foundation. Retrieved 5 June 2026.
- ↑ "Sustainable Communities Bill". Parliamentary Debates (Hansard). House of Commons. 19 January 2007. Retrieved 5 June 2026.
- ↑ "Sustainable Communities Act 2007 (Amendment) Bill". Parliamentary Debates (Hansard). House of Lords. 8 April 2010. Retrieved 5 June 2026.
Local Works and Mr Ron Bailey, whose enthusiasm has been instrumental
- ↑ The Sustainable Communities Bill (PDF) (Report). Research Paper 07/06. House of Commons Library. 15 January 2007. Retrieved 5 June 2026.
The campaign was started by the New Economics Foundation in 2003 ... The New Economics Foundation plays a leading role in the campaign ... Local Works Campaign Organiser, Ron Bailey
- ↑ "Sustainable Communities Bill". Parliamentary Debates (Hansard). House of Lords. 12 July 2007. Retrieved 5 June 2026.
its main architect was Ron Bailey of the campaigning organisation Local Works
- ↑ Cabinet Office, Office of the Third Sector, National Programme for Third Sector Commissioning - a better return: setting the foundations for intelligent commissioning to achieve value for money, published January 2009, accessed 29 June 2021
- ↑ Greenhill, Romilly (February 2002). The unbreakable link - debt relief and the Millennium Development Goals. New Economics Foundation and Jubilee Debt Campaign.
- ↑ Jubilee research. New Economics Foundation.
- ↑ Campbell, Colin (2005). Oil Crisis. Multi-science publishing. p. 309. ISBN 0906522390.
- ↑ Heinberg, Richard (2005). The Party's Over: Oil, War and the Fate of Industrial Societies. Clairview Books. p. 118. ISBN 1905570007.
- ↑ Heinberg, Richard (2006). The Oil Depletion Protocol: A Plan to Avert Oil Wars, Terrorism and Economic Collapse. Clairview Books. p. 17. ISBN 190557004X.
- ↑ Williamson, Robert (2008). Zero Greenhouse Emissions: The Day the Lights Went Out Our Future World. Strategic Book Publishing. p. 99. ISBN 978-1606933060.
- ↑ New Economics Foundation, National Accounts of Well-being: bringing real wealth onto the balance sheet, published January 2009, accessed 14 May 2021
- ↑ International Society for Quality-of-Life Studies, Award for the Betterment of the Human Condition, accessed 14 May 2021
- ↑ "21 hours". New Economics Foundation. 13 February 2010. Retrieved 30 January 2022.
- 1 2 "Save the world with a 3-day work week". Globe and Mail. 10 February 2012. Archived from the original on 3 November 2020. Retrieved 31 July 2025.
- ↑ Veal, Anthony (24 December 2018). "It's time to put the 15-hour work week back on the agenda". The Conversation. Retrieved 31 July 2025.
- ↑ "Round-Up of Transparify 2018 Ratings". Transparify. 17 December 2018. Retrieved 7 July 2019.
- ↑ "Who Funds You? New Economics Foundation".
- ↑ Smithers, Rebecca (14 July 2009). "Ed Mayo resigns from Consumer Focus". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 18 March 2026.
- ↑ Gill, Tess (10 July 2017). "NEF announcement: CEO Marc Stears is moving on". New Economics Foundation. Retrieved 18 March 2026.
- ↑ Brett, Will (11 October 2017). "New Economics Foundation appoints Miatta Fahnbulleh as new CEO". New Economics Foundation. Retrieved 18 March 2026.
- ↑ Foster, Dawn (31 October 2017). "Miatta Fahnbulleh: 'People's tolerance for an unfair economic model has hit a buffer'". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 18 March 2026.
- ↑ "New Economics Foundation appoints Dr Danny Sriskandarajah as new chief exec". New Economics Foundation. 15 June 2023. Retrieved 18 March 2026.
