New Economics Foundation

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 work includes producing research and policies, supporting on-the-ground projects, campaigning, and consultancy work.^[3]

The foundation has 43 staff in London and is active at a range of different levels. Its programmes include work on well-being, its own kinds of measurement and evaluation, sustainable local regeneration, its own forms of finance and business models, sustainable public services, and the economics of climate change.

NEF 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, the Community Development Finance Association, and others.

The organisation's current projects include work on community-based housing, worker organising in the digital economy, restoring local banking and challenging xenophobia and racism in the Brexit debate. 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. The organisation has now taken this and Local Alchemy to six other countries through its international programme.

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 it was taken up in the Save Our Small Shops Campaign in the Evening Standard.

NEF 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", which underpinned the Office of the Third Sector's work programme on third sector commissioning from 2009.^[6]

The Jubilee 2000 campaign, strategised for and run by NEF,^[7] collected 24 million signatures for its worldwide petition on development and poverty.^[8]

The Oil Depletion Analysis Centre (ODAC) was founded by Sarah Astor and Dr. 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.^[9] The first director was Dr. Roger Bentley.

In 2004, ODAC sponsored Chris Skrebowski's report, called "Oil Field Megaprojects", which analysed data from 68 oil production projects.^[10]

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 or 2008.^[11]

In June 2007, a report authored by Colin Campbell predicted that peak oil would occur within four years.^[12]

In July 2006, the Foundation launched the Happy Planet Index, intended 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 Happy Planet Index.^[13][14]

In February 2010, the New Economics 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 well-being, entrenched inequalities, and the lack of time to live sustainably, to care for each other, and simply to enjoy life".^[15] In 2012, Anna Coote, the head of social policy at The New Economics Foundation said this could be done as a three-day week.^[16] The New Economics Foundation 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 and less carbon-dependent economy.^[16] A three-day work-week has also been support by British sociologist Peter Fleming in his 2015 book, The Mythology of Work.^[17]

The New Economics Foundation has been rated as 'broadly transparent' in its funding by Transparify^[18] and has been given an A grade for funding transparency by Who Funds You?^[19]

• 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).

• 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

• Official website
• "New Economics Foundation". The Philanthropy Atlas. The Institute for Philanthropy
• "New Index (Inner City 100) will Reward Inner City Innovations". University of Sheffield
• The Happy Planet Index
• One hundred months
• Citizens Advice Appointment