What Resolution Foundation does

The Resolution Foundation is an independent UK think tank (registered charity number 1114839, company number 5588883), founded around 2005 and headquartered at 2 Queen Anne's Gate, London. Its mission is to improve living standards for low and middle-income households in Britain, with particular focus on people on low pay, those in precarious work, and households vulnerable to financial shocks. The organisation conducts rigorous economic research, policy analysis, and survey work (including proprietary surveys of 2,000+ workers), publishing major recurring reports such as the Labour Market Outlook, Low Pay Britain, Macroeconomic Policy Outlook, and Housing Outlook, alongside thematic work on pensions, welfare devolution, and the labour-market effects of Brexit and technology.

Its core products are research-led rather than technology-led. The flagship is the Living Wage calculation — a voluntary hourly pay rate based on family living costs, currently £13.45 per hour nationally and £14.80 per hour in London. The Foundation also runs the Economy 2030 long-horizon research programme, Resolution Ventures (backing start-ups improving prospects for low-to-middle income Britain), the Workertech Partnership (including the UK's first dedicated Workertech Impact Investment Fund), the High Resolution weekly podcast, an events programme, an email newsletter ('Top of the Charts'), and interactive data tools covering housing indicators and alternative UK employment estimates. Dissemination occurs entirely through free channels: website downloads, podcasts, social media (Twitter/X, LinkedIn, Bluesky), press coverage (The Guardian, Bloomberg, Independent), and live events.

The business model is that of a non-profit charity rather than a commercial enterprise. The Foundation does not sell products or services; all research, publications, and data tools are provided free of charge. Income derives from grants, donations, and partnerships with philanthropic foundations (Unbound Philanthropy, Nuffield Foundation), government research bodies (UK Research and Innovation), and partner organisations (Child Poverty Action Group). It employs between 11 and 50 staff, is governed by trustees, and is not publicly listed. The Foundation's leadership includes a Chief Executive, Chief Economist, Research Director, and senior economists drawn from institutions such as the Bank of England and the London School of Economics.

Name

Resolution Foundation

Legal name

The Resolution Foundation

Website

https://resolutionfoundation.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2005

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

The Resolution Foundation is an independent UK think tank that conducts economic research and policy analysis to improve living standards for low and middle-income households in Britain, publishing major reports, calculating the Living Wage, and funding work-related ventures and partnerships.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

London

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Others

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

The Resolution Foundation is an independent UK think tank that conducts rigorous economic and social research and policy analysis focused on improving living standards for households on low and middle incomes. Its outputs include the real Living Wage calculation (£13.45 national / £14.80 London per hour), recurring major reports such as the Labour Market Outlook and Macroeconomic Policy Outlook, interactive data tools on housing and UK employment, and thematic research on pay, work, housing, pensions, inequality, and economic growth.

Product overview

The Resolution Foundation is an independent UK think tank dedicated to lifting living standards, operating as a research and policy analysis organization rather than a technology product company. Its core offering is the Living Wage calculation (currently £13.45 per hour nationally; £14.80 in London), a voluntary pay rate based on family living costs. The Foundation conducts and publishes extensive research on living standards, work, incomes, inequality, housing, pensions, and economic growth through major programmes including the Labour Market Outlook, Macroeconomic Policy Outlook, and Economy 2030 initiative. It disseminates findings via downloadable publications, its High Resolution podcast, events programming, and interactive data tools. The organization also runs Resolution Ventures, which backs start-ups improving prospects for lower-income Britons, and the Workertech Partnership, which invests in technology solutions for low-paid workers.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Living Wage

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered major and core.

• Child Poverty Action GroupmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborated on the Safety Nets project examining devolved welfare policies across UK countries, working with CPAG to analyze differences in benefit entitlements.
• Resolution VenturescoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAn initiative of the Resolution Foundation that backs innovative start-ups seeking to change the world of work and improve prospects for low-to-middle income Britain.

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• RAND Europe: European arm of RAND producing policy research for governments and foundations. Comparable as a large, grant-funded research organisation covering social and economic policy, though with a broader international scope.
• Tony Blair Institute for Global Change: Global policy institute advising governments on economic and social reform. Comparable as a high-profile, well-funded policy organisation that also engages on UK economic strategy and living-standards themes.

Direct peers

• IPPR (Institute for Public Policy Research): Major UK progressive think tank producing cross-cutting economic and social policy research. Comparable as a UK think tank competing for the same policy audiences, funders and media cycles.
• New Economics Foundation: UK think tank focused on economic inequality, climate and well-being. Comparable as a UK charity producing living-standards, work and economic-justice research with similar dissemination channels.
• Social Market Foundation: UK centrist think tank publishing on living standards, work, housing and public policy. Comparable in scale, remit and funding model as a London-based UK policy research charity.
• Institute for Fiscal Studies: The UK's leading microeconomic and tax-and-spending think tank. Directly comparable as a UK-focused, grant-funded economic research organisation whose publications shape fiscal and living-standards debates in Westminster and the media.
• Centre for Policy Studies: Centre-right UK think tank working on economic and social policy. Comparable as a UK think tank targeting Westminster and the same broad living-standards and labour-market agenda, from a different political perspective.
• Joseph Rowntree Foundation: UK poverty-focused research and policy charity, with programmes on low pay, housing and social security. Highly comparable mission overlap with Resolution Foundation's focus on low-to-middle income Britain and in-work poverty.

Emerging players

• Nuffield Foundation: Independent UK charitable trust funding social science research, including as a major funder of the Resolution Foundation itself. Overlapping as a UK social-policy research organisation and an adjacent funder of comparable work.
• Centre for Cities: UK urban-economics research and policy organisation. Comparable as a UK think tank producing data-driven analysis on labour markets, housing and city productivity relevant to living standards.

Market position

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/@ResolutionFoundation
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/resolution-foundation
• Xx.com/resfoundation
• Facebookfacebook.com/resolutionfoundation1

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments4 records

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Resolution Foundation