To learn more about the Inclusive Economy Partnership, visit our website.

Between August 2017 and September 2018, Nesta led the Inclusive Economy Partnership Accelerator, supporting 18 IEP grant winners across three challenge areas to scale through meaningful partnership with business, civil society and government. Since then Nesta has been providing advice, guidance and support to grow the Inclusive Economy Partnership beyond the success of the pilot. The partnership is supported by the Cabinet Office and the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS).

The IEP is a partnership of businesses, civil society and government departments that are working together to solve some of society’s toughest challenges, helping all communities and everyone within them to feel they belong to and can participate in the UK economy.

Through collaboration, innovation and a shared determination to make the UK a better place to live and thrive, the IEP is part of a growing global movement that’s trying to solve age-old problems with new ways of thinking and collective working.

Nesta believes it’s possible to drive transformational change through scaling solutions to maximise their impact. As a result, between August 2017 and September 2018, Nesta’s Inclusive Economy team ran the Partnership Accelerator for the IEP, developing a replicable model of how we can tackle big societal issues through partnerships, and are now helping the Cabinet Office and DCMS with the design and delivery of the programme.

Through the Partnership Accelerator for the IEP, Nesta successfully supported 18 IEP grant winners across three challenge areas to scale through meaningful partnership with business, civil society and government.

Grantees were selected from three core challenge areas, including:

1. Financial inclusion and capability

Ten million working people lack access to affordable and high quality financial products and services.

Through the IEP, Nesta provided funding and non-financial support to six organisations providing the financially ‘underserved’ with the tools and capabilities to access and interact with fair financial products; products that will help individuals to manage problematic or persistent debt, to gain access to affordable credit options, and to create a savings buffer as part of healthy day-to-day budgeting.

2. Mental health

Mental health problems are one of the largest public health challenges facing the UK, with one in four people suffering from a mental health problem annually.

Nesta supported five organisations enabling businesses to positively impact the mental health of their employees, customers, suppliers and wider communities. By supporting businesses to implement changes within their organisations, the mental health of employees can be improved. Tools and training development can support employees and line managers, and improving the mental health of customers, communities, supply chains and SME networks will help address this challenge.

3. Transition to work for young people

Young people in the UK are over 2.5 times less likely to be employed than the average for the working age population.

Nesta supported seven organisations in the transition to work stream, helping the movement of young people from education, unemployment or inactivity into jobs.

Organisations aim to achieve this through:

1. Building engagement with the world of work through platforms that link employers to schools, young people and their parents or carers.
2. Supporting activities for young people that help them to gain access to skills and experiences that develop their resilience and employability.
3. Enabling businesses to adapt their processes for hiring, structuring roles and engaging new employees so that young people can be supported to successfully progress.

Collaborations were developed for lasting impact, and the IEP programme was designed for innovative and promising ideas to be supported in achieving change in core challenge areas. Over the six-month period we supported our 18 grant winners to build 100 partnerships and support a further 50,000 beneficiaries of their programmes.

The partnership is supported by the Cabinet Office and the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS).

We have produced a report and an infographic which show how we ran the accelerator and its success.

Whilst the inaugural IEP accelerator has come to a close, the IEP remains ongoing. To find out more about the broader IEP agenda, forthcoming collaborative projects and future initiatives, visit the IEP website and sign up to the IEP bulletin.