The Duke of Edinburgh's International Award

What The Duke of Edinburgh's International Award does

The Duke of Edinburgh's International Award Foundation is a registered charity in England and Wales (no. 1072453, company limited by guarantee no. 3666389), founded in 1956 by HRH The Duke of Edinburgh. The Foundation operates a globally recognised Non-Formal Education and Learning framework for young people aged 14–24, delivered across 120+ countries and territories through four programme sections (Skills, Physical Recreation, Voluntary Service, Adventurous Journey) and three progressive levels (Bronze, Silver, Gold), plus a Gold Residential Project. In 2023, 1,151,012 young people were active participants and 256,167 awards were completed, generating over 6 million hours of volunteering, physical activity, and skill practice and a quantified 2022 social value of £762 million ($970 million). Technology comprises the Online Record Book (ORB) digital platform for participant activity logging and the Award Community platform for adult training and engagement, both maintained by the Foundation.

Name

The Duke of Edinburgh's International Award

Legal name

The Duke of Edinburgh's International Award Foundation

Website

https://intaward.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1956

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

The Duke of Edinburgh's International Award Foundation is a registered UK charity operating a non-formal education framework for 14–24 year-olds, delivered in 120+ countries through licensed operators and serving over one million young people annually.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Youth Development Non-Formal Education

NAICS

Sports and Recreation Instruction (611620)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Service Learning Program Design, Accreditation & Evaluation (EDAIAGAL)

akta.pro secondary industries

International/Transnational Accreditation & Recognition Bodies (EDADACAG), International/Global Curriculum Schools (IB, Cambridge, etc.) (EDAJABAG)

Keywords

• Non-formal education
• Youth development programme
• Youth accreditation framework
• Youth empowerment
• Character development

Headquarters

HQ city

London

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Licensing fees from operators: The Foundation licenses Award Operators worldwide, including National Award Operators, Operating Partners, and Independent Award Centres. Operators pay licensing fees to use the Award framework and brand.
2. Donations and philanthropy: The Foundation receives donations through its donations page, World Fellowship programme, and special projects funding. Over £5.3m has been distributed in grants through the Special Projects programme over 25 years.
3. Special Projects grants: International Special Projects grant-giving programme started in 1999 by HRH The Duke of Edinburgh, providing funding to Award Operators for projects that improve access and extend reach to diverse participants.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels6 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

The Duke of Edinburgh's International Award is a Non-Formal Education and Learning framework available to all 14 to 24-year-olds across more than 120 countries. Participants progress through three levels (Bronze, Silver, Gold) by completing four sections — Skills, Physical Recreation, Voluntary Service, and Adventurous Journey — plus a Gold Residential Project. The programme is licensed to National Award Operators, Independent Award Centres, and Operating Partners and is supported by digital platforms (Online Record Book and Award Community) for tracking and training.

Product overview

The Duke of Edinburgh's International Award is a Non-Formal Education and Learning framework with a single core programme—the Award—offered at three levels (Bronze, Silver, Gold) through four sections (Skills, Physical Recreation, Voluntary Service, Adventurous Journey) plus a Gold Residential Project. The Award is supported by two digital platforms: the Online Record Book (ORB) for participants to track their activities, and the Award Community for adult volunteers and Award Leaders. The organization operates through licensed National Award Operators (62 NAOs), 465 Independent Award Centres, and 3 Operating Partners across 120+ countries. Additionally, the organization drives several youth empowerment initiatives including Global Youth Mobilization (GYM), the EU Youth Empowerment Fund, Stand By Me (UNICEF partnership), and the Unlock the Future Coalition. Special Projects provides grant funding to extend Award access to marginalized communities.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Global Youth Mobilization (GYM): A movement of young people taking action to improve their lives and communities in a post-COVID-19 world, powered by the Big Six Youth Organizations and supported by WHO and UN Foundation.
• Online Record Book (ORB)
• Special Projects
• Award Community

Products and services

• The Duke of Edinburgh's International Award A Non-Formal Education and Learning framework offered at three levels (Bronze, Silver, Gold) and four sections (Skills, Physical Recreation, Voluntary Service, Adventurous Journey) plus a Gold Residential Project, available to all 14 to 24-year-olds in more than 120 countries.
• Online Record Book (ORB)

Quantifiable outcome

• 86% of participants improved team skills
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers8 records

Segments6 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

Ten partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• World Health Organization (WHO) - Strategic CollaborationcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 May 2022Big Six agreed new strategic collaboration with WHO focusing on mental and physical health, health promotion, sexual and reproductive health and rights, and climate and health. Five of the Big Six signed partnership agreements with IFRC using existing partnership arrangements.
• Unlock the Future CoalitioncoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 September 2021UN Foundation brought together major youth-led and youth-focused organisations including the Award to launch the Unlock Coalition. The coalition announced the Unlock Declaration at the 76th UN General Assembly, setting out intention to build a high-ambition coalition for young people.
• World Health Organization (WHO)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 14 December 2020WHO joined the Big Six Youth Organizations to launch the Global Youth Mobilization (GYM) in December 2020. Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General, called it 'a unique opportunity to learn from hundreds of millions of young people'. The partnership was supported through the COVID-19 Solidarity Response Fund.
• United Nations FoundationcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 14 December 2020UN Foundation co-launched the Global Youth Mobilization with WHO and the Big Six, providing strategic support and connecting the initiative to broader UN initiatives and funding mechanisms.
• UNICEF - Stand By Me PartnershipcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerStand By Me is a partnership between The Duke of Edinburgh's International Award in Czech Republic, Romania and Slovakia and UNICEF. The two-year project provides vital support to young people displaced or impacted by the war in Ukraine.
• World Bank's Solutions for Youth Employment (S4YE)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe Award joined more than 6000 members of World Bank's Solutions For Youth Employment Impact Portfolio, a global programme bringing together donors, governments, foundations, private sector, NGOs and youth to support catalytic actions to increase productive work for young people.
• Big Six Youth OrganizationscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe Award is one of the Big Six Youth Organizations (formed in 1996), alongside YMCA, YWCA, World Organization of the Scout Movement, World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts, and IFRC. Together they actively involve 250 million young people worldwide.
• Scouts (Operating Partner)coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorWorld Organization of the Scout Movement (WOSM) is an Operating Partner delivering the Award through its global network of Scout groups. Scouts collaborates on GYM National Projects and youth-led initiatives.
• Girl Guides (Operating Partner)coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorWorld Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts (WAGGGS) is an Operating Partner delivering the Award through its network. Collaborates on GYM projects including mental health initiatives and gender equality programmes.
• Sport in Action (Zambia)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership with Sport in Action delivers youth empowerment programmes in Zambia. The Duke of Edinburgh's International Award has operated in Zambia since 1991 with 86 Award Centres and over 1,300 participants in 2024.

Scale indicators15 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• World Organization of the Scout Movement (WOSM): WOSM is both a Big Six partner AND a direct competitor — Scouts run their own globally recognised youth development framework (Scout Method) while also being a licensed Award Operating Partner. Overlap in 14–24 year-old target audience, outdoor/adventurous journey components, and school-anchored delivery makes it the closest comparable peer.
• World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts (WAGGGS): WAGGGS is the other Big Six member and Award Operating Partner, running its own non-formal youth empowerment programme with global reach. Targets the same 14–24 demographic through a parallel licensed-network model, and is highly comparable on framework structure, international delivery, and volunteer-led scale.
• YMCA: A founding Big Six member with global youth development operations across 120+ countries. YMCA runs its own youth leadership and personal development programmes (e.g., Y's Men, Youth in Motion) that directly overlap with the Award's skills, volunteering, and physical activity focus, and shares the federated national-association delivery model.
• YWCA: A Big Six member and global youth empowerment organisation with parallel non-formal education programming focused on young women and girls. Directly comparable in international reach, federation model, and skills-based personal development framework targeting 14–24 year-olds.
• International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC): The IFRC's youth programme (including Youth as Agents of Behavioural Change) is a Big Six peer with massive global volunteer-driven reach and a strong community service orientation. Comparable in mission focus, volunteer infrastructure, and international youth development framework delivery.
• National Citizen Service (NCS): The UK's flagship 16–17 year-old youth development programme offering structured personal development, social action, and outdoor adventure components. Direct competitor in the UK for 14–24 year-old personal development curriculum and an obvious overlap in the Award's core product offering; Hannah Stoddart (newly appointed Deputy Secretary General) joined the Award from NCS.

Broad incumbents

• The Prince's Trust: Major UK youth charity (also founded with royal backing) supporting 11–30 year-olds through employability, education, and enterprise programmes. Comparable in target demographic, UK-based youth empowerment mission, and brand-building approach, but its programmes are more employability-focused than the Award's broader non-formal framework.

Emerging players

• Outward Bound Trust: UK-headquartered outdoor and adventurous journey charity providing residential character and resilience programmes for young people aged 11+. Comparable on the Award's Adventurous Journey and Physical Recreation sections, but narrower in scope (outdoor only) and predominantly UK/regional rather than global.
• President's Award for Achievement (various countries): Closest structural peer — a portfolio of similarly designed award programmes (often originally inspired by the Duke of Edinburgh's Award) operating in countries such as Pakistan, India, and Sri Lanka with near-identical Bronze/Silver/Gold frameworks and service/physical/skill components. Directly comparable product offering, though smaller scale and more country-specific.
• AIESEC: Global youth-led organisation offering leadership development, cross-cultural exchanges, and volunteering experiences for 18–30 year-olds. Comparable on international youth development, leadership skill framing, and global network distribution, but focused on professional/youth employment pathways rather than the Award's non-formal accreditation framework.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/intaward
• Facebookfacebook.com/intaward

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about The Duke of Edinburgh's International Award