Young Foundation

The Young Foundation
Formation	February 1, 1954 (1954-02-01) as the Institute of Community Studies
Type	Social Innovation think tank
Headquarters	18 Victoria Park Square Bethnal Green London E2 9PF United Kingdom
Chief Executive	Simon Tucker
Staff	70
Website	YoungFoundation.org

The Young Foundation is a non-profit, non-governmental think tank based in London that specializes in social innovation.

It is named after Michael Young, the British sociologist and social activist who created over 60 organisations including the Open University, Which? and Language Line.

History

The Young Foundation

The Young Foundation was established in 2005 following the merger of the Institute of Community Studies and the Mutual Aid Centre, both creations of Michael Young, later Lord Young of Dartington. The Young Foundation was established to re-energise the powerful combination of research and action demonstrated by Michael Young.

During the second half of the 20th century Michael Young was one of the world’s most creative and influential social thinkers and doers. After 1945 he helped shape the UK’s new welfare state. In the early 1950s he set up the Institute of community Studies and used it as a base for research and action.

Together with collaborators including Peter Willmott, Peter Townsend and many others, he wrote a series of bestsellers which changed attitudes to a host of social issues, including urban planning (leading the movement away from power blocks), education (leading thinking about how to radically widen access) and poverty.

Young pioneered ideas of public and consumer empowerment both in private markets and in public services, some of which are only now becoming mainstream (for example NHS Direct, the spread of after-school clubs and neighbourhood councils can all be traced to his work). One of his books coined the term ‘meritocracy’. Another radically rethought the role of the family.

Young's greatest legacy was institution building. He initiated, and in some cases directly created, dozens of new institutions including: Open University, Which?, International Alert, University of the Third Age, Economic and Social Research Council, National Extension College, National Consumer Council, Open College of the Arts and School for Social Entrepreneurs.

Other organisations Young created pioneered new approaches to funerals and baby-naming, neighbourhood democracy and the arts. He was described by Harvard’s Daniel Bell as ‘the world’s most successful entrepreneur of social enterprises’.

Work Programme

The Young Foundation describes itself as a centre for social innovation. Its work covers a range of contemporary issues including health, ageing, education, communities and housing, justice, youth leadership, and wellbeing. It works across the UK and internationally - carrying out research, influencing policy, creating new organisations and supporting others to do the same, often with imaginative uses of new technology. Chief Executive, Simon Tucker, was formerly Director of Ventures and then Managing Director at The Young Foundation.

Research and Policy Work

The Young Foundation conducts research and action research on contemporary life and changing needs. It has produced reports on teenage pregnancy, isolated older people, night working, worklessness and civility. In 2009 the Young Foundation published Sinking and Swimming, one of the most comprehensive studies of changing needs in the UK. It is also recognised as one of the world's leading authorities on social innovation methods.

Notable current and former employees

• Michael Young
• Peter Hall
• Geoff Mulgan
• Rushanara Ali
• Charlotte Leslie
• Peter Townsend
• Yvonne Roberts
• Anton Shelupanov
• Peter Willmott
• Ann Cartwright
• Karen Dunnell

See also

• Michael Young, Baron Young of Dartington
• List of UK think tanks

External links

• Young Foundation