The King's Fund

What The King's Fund does

The King's Fund is an independent UK charity (registered charity number 1126980) headquartered in London and founded in 1897, focused on improving health and social care in England. The organization operates as a health and care policy think tank, conducting research, publishing reports and long-form analysis on topics including NHS reform, workforce challenges, adult social care, AI in healthcare, and sustainability, while also convening conferences such as the "10 Year Health Plan - one year on" event.

Its core products and services fall into four streams: (1) a content portfolio of reports, explainers, blogs, podcasts, animations, long reads, data and charts, press releases, and video distributed through a self-serve website and social channels; (2) the ShiftWorks learning movement, a subscription product offering CPD-accredited courses, live workshops, and leadership development resources at £35 per person per year; (3) paid in-person events and conferences for healthcare professionals and leaders; and (4) venue hire services from its central London facilities. The Fund's recent TrustX initiative extends its scope into AI safety verification for agentic AI across the NHS and social care.

The business model blends multiple revenue streams: subscription/recurring income from ShiftWorks and events, transactional revenue from event bookings and venue hire, and grant-based charitable funding from partners including the Health Foundation, The National Lottery Community Fund, and the Centre for Sustainable Healthcare. Its customer base spans NHS England, local authorities, healthcare leaders and policy makers, voluntary and statutory organizations, and individual healthcare professionals. Leadership is headed by Chief Executive Sarah Woolnough, with Senior Fellow Chris Naylor and others contributing to research and policy output.

Name

The King's Fund

Legal name

The King's Fund

Website

https://kingsfund.org.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

1897

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

The King's Fund is an independent UK charity (registered 1897, charity no. 1126980) that produces policy analysis, research, and leadership development programmes for NHS England, local authorities, healthcare leaders, and healthcare professionals across England.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Health Policy Research and Leadership Development

NAICS

Religious, Grantmaking, Civic, Professional, and Similar Organizations (813)

akta.pro primary industry

Private Foundations (BPAGAKAA)

akta.pro secondary industry

Public Health Financing, Budgeting & Grants Management (HLAJAMAC)

Keywords

• Health policy research
• Leadership development
• Social care analysis
• NHS reform
• Charity think tank

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, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Others

Revenue model

1. Leadership Development Programs: Revenue generated from CPD-accredited courses and leadership development programs such as ShiftWorks, offered at £35 per person per year.
2. Event Revenue: Income from hosting in-person events, conferences, and training sessions on health and social care topics. Subscribers to newsletters receive 20% off first event bookings.
3. Venue Hire: The King's Fund offers venue hire services for external events and meetings.
4. Charitable Funding and Grants: As an independent charity, The King's Fund receives funding through grants and partnerships with organizations such as The National Lottery Community Fund, Health Foundation, and other philanthropic sources to support research and policy work.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

The King's Fund is an independent charity that produces independent policy research, analysis, and publications on health and social care in England. It sells CPD-accredited leadership development through the ShiftWorks learning programme, hosts paid in-person events and conferences for healthcare professionals, and offers central London venue hire. Its research and convening activities are supported by grants, donations, and partnerships with organisations such as the Health Foundation and The National Lottery Community Fund.

Product overview

The King's Fund is an independent charity providing health and social care policy insight, leadership development, and professional events. Its core offerings include the ShiftWorks leadership development programme with CPD accredited courses, long-form policy analysis such as the NHS Modernisation Bill 2026 Explained, a comprehensive insight and analysis portfolio spanning reports, blogs, podcasts, animations, videos and data tools, and event programming including conferences and workshops for health and care professionals.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• ShiftWorks ShiftWorks is a CPD-accredited leadership development learning movement from The King's Fund offering courses, live workshops, and leadership development resources for individuals and organisations working in health and social care.
• Events and Conferences Educational and networking events and conferences for health and care professionals, including flagship policy events such as the 10 Year Health Plan one-year assessment.
• Insight and Analysis A research and analysis portfolio comprising reports, explainers, blogs, podcasts, animations, long reads, data and charts, press releases, projects, videos, and briefings on health and social care policy in England.
• Venue Hire Central London venue facilities available for hire to external organisations seeking quality meeting and event spaces.

Quantifiable outcome

• Research found 890,000 people received long-term adult social care, the highest since records began
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and major.

• Health Innovation Kent Surrey SussexcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 11 December 2025Health Innovation Kent Surrey Sussex partnered with The King's Fund, University of Cambridge's Trustworthy AI Lab, and Responsible AI Institute to launch TrustX, an initiative to verify, deploy, and test agentic AI for use across the NHS and social care. The initiative addresses risks of bias, errors, and misinformation from AI agents.
• University of Cambridge - Trustworthy AI LabcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 11 December 2025The University of Cambridge's Trustworthy AI Lab partnered in the TrustX initiative alongside The King's Fund, Health Innovation Kent Surrey Sussex, and Responsible AI Institute to evaluate AI agents' real-world behaviour, interaction with other technologies, and how they may change over time.
• Responsible AI InstitutecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 11 December 2025The Responsible AI Institute partnered in TrustX to help introduce a 'trusted AI technology' badge providing confidence that software systems are independently verified and monitored for safety, accuracy, and alignment with NHS standards.
• The National Lottery Community FundcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe King's Fund and The National Lottery Community Fund co-developed the Healthy Communities Together programme, which demonstrates how co-creating a shared language among voluntary and statutory partners can strengthen collaboration and enable innovation across sectors.
• Centre for Sustainable HealthcaremajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerNew research from The King's Fund and the Centre for Sustainable Healthcare, supported by the Health Foundation, is underway to address accountability gaps in NHS resource management and sustainability efforts.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• IPPR (Institute for Public Policy Research): UK's leading progressive think tank with applied health and care research alongside wider social policy work — comparable as an independent, evidence-led think tank influencing public policy.
• RAND Europe: Policy research organization with health systems research across Europe — comparable in evidence-based health policy analysis, though serving a broader geographic remit.
• The Health Foundation: A major UK health improvement charity that funds healthcare research and improvement projects; serves as both funder and adjacent peer to The King's Fund, with overlapping focus on health system performance and workforce.

Direct peers

• NHS Providers: Membership body for NHS trusts in England providing leadership development, policy influence, and events — closely comparable value proposition around NHS leadership and policy advocacy.
• Nuffield Trust: An independent UK health policy think tank conducting research and analysis on NHS, social care, and healthcare reform — directly comparable to The King's Fund in mission, scope, and analytical approach.
• NHS Confederation: Membership organization for NHS leaders and organizations, convening executives and influencing policy — comparable convening model and overlapping customer base (NHS leaders and policymakers).

Others

• Chatham House: Royal Institute of International Affairs operating as an independent charity with similar convening and thought leadership model — comparable in reputation-driven convening power, though focused on international affairs.
• Resolution Foundation: UK think tank focusing on living standards and economic policy, using a similar independent charity/foundation model with research, convening, and policy influence as core activities.

Regional players

• Bertelsmann Stiftung: Large German private foundation with a comparable independent think tank model focused on health system reform and social policy — analogous operating model in a different (continental European) market.

Emerging players

• Centre for Health Economics, University of York: Academic research centre producing health economics evidence and analysis for UK health policy — overlapping research agenda and analytical depth focused on health system performance.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key highlights2 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/TheKingsFund
• YouTubeyoutube.com/user/kingsfund
• Facebookfacebook.com/thekingsfund
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/52094
• Instagraminstagram.com/thekingsfund

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

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

Frequently asked questions about The King's Fund