THE SOCIAL LEADERSHIP PROJECT

By investing in people who lead social change, the country will become more fair and joyful, prosperous and sustainable.There’s no time to waste. Inequity is entrenched, and many people feel systems are rigged against them. The market is not delivering enough affordable homes or secure, well-paid jobs, especially for young people. In many places, public services are stretched to the limit and powerful forces of polarisation and division are threatening community cohesion. The country also faces major transitions - in climate, technology and the future of the economy - which need to be carefully navigated.At times like this the right kind of leadership is at a premium: leadership that is bold and imaginative, that can turn frustration into aspiration, pain into hope, timidity into action. Leaders who are as diverse as the communities they work in, those with many years of experience and those just starting out. Not simply heroic individuals working alone, but collective leadership that draws on the contributions of many kinds of leaders acting across different places and sectors: social entrepreneurs, leaders of charities, community organisers and campaigners, and many more.The country needs a wave of social leadership - more people, in more places, with the support they need to create change. People with the power to go beyond fixing problems to changing systems for the better.

About the Project
In March 2025, the insight gathering phase of the Social Leadership Project was started by a group of funders with a shared interest in social leadership, including Collective Futures, Hg Foundation and the Henry Smith Foundation.System Shift led this work to gather insight into the current state of the field and scope the potential for funders to collaborate in order to invest in and strengthen the social leadership ecosystem as a whole.In this phase, we heard from leaders what it’s like to lead social change today, what leadership development provision they make use of and what barriers they face in accessing relevant opportunities. With the input of providers, we built a picture of the current landscape - the kinds of programmes on offer, examples of best practice, and the business models that sustain them.Read our paper summarising these insights here.

Current Status
Since January 2026, the Social Leadership Project has been backed by four core funding partners who recognise the need for long-term, significant investment in social leadership in the UK. Collective Futures and Henry Smith Foundation have been joined by This Day Foundation and The National Lottery Community Fund.System Shift is working with these partners to build on the insights from the first phase, exploring how to strengthen and grow the ecosystem of support for leaders and unlock the potential of leadership as a force for social change across the country.

Get Involved
The partners are committed to working openly, testing their approach, and learning through action. We are creating opportunities for others to share their expertise and shape the way forward, including feeding into the emerging vision and strategy, and a range of Exploratory Projects.If you are a funder who is interested in working collaboratively to support social leaders, get in touch with us.If you are a social leader looking for opportunities to grow your skills, try out this AI-powered learning and development navigator tool. It’s a free ChatGPT channel that helps social leaders discover relevant training, mentorship and development opportunities.If you are a provider of leadership development, check out the Collective Leadership Group, a collective of more than 50 organisations that work across the UK that build capacity for leaders and enterprises dedicated to advancing social and environmental change.

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