Photo Voice

What Photo Voice does

PhotoVoice is a UK-registered Community Interest Company (CIC) founded in 1999 that designs and delivers participatory photography projects, training programmes, and consultancy services for social change. It works with NGOs, charities, academic institutions, government bodies, and corporate teams across approximately 50 countries, targeting underrepresented or issue-affected communities such as care-experienced young people, people living with HIV, veterans, and survivors of humanitarian crises. The organization has developed its own proprietary methodology organized into six engagement categories — Research, Communications, Campaigns and Advocacy, Co-Produced Resource Development, Consultation/Monitoring/Evaluation, and Confidence and Skills Building — supported by a publicly licensed Statement of Ethical Practice and the PhotoVoice Methodology Series.

The core technology asset is PhotoVoice CONNECT, a bespoke online platform developed in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic to deliver participatory photography programmes remotely. The platform supports live facilitator-led sessions, self-guided learning, assignments, and safety-controlled content flows with expert moderation, and underpins the organization's online training delivery. Trademarked intellectual property (the word 'photovoice' and logo) and twenty-five years of project history provide defensive positioning against generic competitors.

PhotoVoice generates revenue through three primary streams: (1) training courses sold either as open-enrollment seats (online £783, in-person £810) or commissioned institutional packages (£2,520 introductory, £6,480 comprehensive, £7,560 bespoke, £1,750 team building); (2) commissioned project delivery and consultancy on a tiered day-rate basis; and (3) donations and charitable funding from trusts, foundations, and gift-aided individual giving, with approximately 85-90% of income directed to projects and communications.

Name

Photo Voice

Legal name

PhotoVoice CIC

Website

https://photovoice.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1999

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

PhotoVoice is a UK-based Community Interest Company founded in 1999 that designs and delivers participatory photography projects, training, and consultancy for NGOs, academic institutions, government bodies, and underrepresented communities, operating across 50 countries via its bespoke PhotoVoice CONNECT platform.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Participatory Photography Services

NAICS

Photographic Services (54192), Commercial Photography (541922), Graphic Design Services (54143), Public Relations Agencies (54182)

SIC

Services-Mailing, Reproduction, Commercial Art & Photography (7330), Services-Advertising Agencies (7311), Services-Motion Picture & Video Tape Production (7812)

akta.pro primary industry

Media Arts & Film/Photography Nonprofits (BPAGAHAJ)

akta.pro secondary industries

Photography & Photo Production (BPAFAIAF), Content Production (Video, Design, Copy, Studio) (BPAFAAAF), Content Marketing & Branded Content Agencies (MPAAAAAF)

Keywords

• Participatory photography services
• Community engagement training
• Photography training courses
• Social impact consultancy
• Digital storytelling programs

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

Revenue model

1. Training Courses: PhotoVoice generates revenue through delivering training courses to individuals and organizations. Open enrollment courses are priced per person (Online: £783, In-person: £810). Commissioned institutional training ranges from £2,520 to £7,560 depending on course type and duration.
2. Commissions and Consultancy: PhotoVoice is commissioned by organizations to design and deliver custom participatory photography projects worldwide. Revenue is generated through project delivery fees, with tiered day-rates based on organization income levels.
3. Donations and Charitable Funding: PhotoVoice Charity receives donations which can be gift-aided. The organization is funded by trusts, foundations, and charitable giving. Approximately 85-90% of charity income is spent on projects and communications.
4. Resource Sales: Sale of printed materials including the PhotoVoice Statement of Ethical Practice and potentially other methodology publications.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels10 records

Core offering

PhotoVoice designs and delivers tailor-made participatory photography, digital storytelling, and self-advocacy projects for underrepresented or issue-affected groups in the UK and internationally. The organization provides training courses (comprehensive, institutional, bespoke, and team building variants) and consultancy services to NGOs, charities, academic institutions, government bodies, and corporate teams. Delivery is supported by PhotoVoice CONNECT, a bespoke online platform developed in 2020, and underpinned by a proprietary methodology organized into six engagement categories.

Product overview

PhotoVoice is a UK-based non-profit organization specializing in participatory photography for social change. The organization operates primarily through its bespoke online platform PhotoVoice Connect, which was developed in 2020 to deliver participatory photography projects and training online. The core offering includes methodology training courses (Comprehensive, Institutional, Bespoke, and Team Building variants) that teach participatory photography techniques for community engagement. PhotoVoice also provides commissioned project delivery and consultancy services worldwide. The organization has developed its own proprietary methodology organized into six engagement categories (Research, Communications, Campaigns, Co-production, Consultation/Monitoring, and Skills Building), supported by its published methodology series including the Statement of Ethical Practice and practical guidance papers.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• PhotoVoice Connect: A bespoke online platform developed by PhotoVoice in 2020 for delivering participatory photography programmes and training courses online.

Products and services

• PhotoVoice Connect Online Platform Bespoke online community engagement platform developed by PhotoVoice in 2020 for delivering participatory photography programmes and training courses online. Combines live video sessions, self-guided learning, photographic assignments, and interactive tools with expert facilitators controlling the flow of content, information, and activities.
• Comprehensive PhotoVoice Methodology Training Comprehensive introductory training course in participatory photography covering visual literacy, workshop design, facilitation skills, ethics, consent, and participatory editing. Delivered online via PhotoVoice CONNECT over five days with three live sessions and independent learning, or in-person over three consecutive days in London.
• Institutional PhotoVoice Training Institutional training courses delivered to organisations using PhotoVoice's standard curriculum, covering key concepts of participatory photography. Includes 1-day introductory course (£2,520) and 3-day comprehensive course (£6,480). Up to 12 in-person attendees or 10 online attendees. Travel and subsistence additional for in-person delivery.
• Bespoke PhotoVoice Training Tailored training course using PhotoVoice's acclaimed methodology as a starting point, with curriculum customised to specific project or organisational needs. Includes development of a bespoke project plan co-designed with the commissioning organisation. Priced at £7,560 fixed plus travel and subsistence, with up to 12 in-person or 10 online attendees.
• PhotoVoice Team Building Training Workshop designed to promote team-building and more effective communication between team members using photography. Covers perspective sharing, photographic treasure hunts, subjectivity in photography, and photographic storytelling. Delivered in-person for up to ten attendees over two consecutive days (3 hours per session), priced at £1,750 plus direct expenses.
• Commissions and Consultancy Commissioned participatory photography project delivery and consultancy services for organisations worldwide. Includes full programme delivery, training with ongoing support, and ad-hoc consultancy. Services cover project design, workshop planning and delivery, camera procurement, evaluation, exhibition, and consultancy on ethical consent, curation, and workshop design. Tiered day-rates based on organisation income levels.

Quantifiable outcome

• 85-90% of charity income spent on projects and communications
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers16 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

Feature4 records

Partnerships

19 partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• Care Leavers AssociationminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner organisation for projects serving care-experienced young people. PhotoVoice has delivered multiple projects with care leavers including the Care Leavers In Focus (CLiF) programme.
• Christian AidcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLong-term partner for international development projects. PhotoVoice's first consultancy project was with Christian Aid in DRC in 2000. Multiple projects delivered including BRACED in Ethiopia.
• LSHTM (London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAcademic partner for research projects involving participatory photography in health contexts. Long-standing collaborative relationship.
• HSE (Health Service Executive)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerIrish Health Service Executive partnered with PhotoVoice for EOLAS project using reflective photography for mental health services evaluation.
• Trinity College DublincoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAcademic partner for EOLAS project on co-produced mental health services evaluation using participatory photography.
• ODI (Overseas Development Institute)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPolicy research institute partnered with PhotoVoice for projects. Testimonial indicates high-quality photographs that attracted national media attention.
• Blesma, The Limbless VeteranscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCharity for limbless veterans partnered with PhotoVoice for 'Where There is Light' project, delivering photography skills training to veterans.
• Frontline AIDScoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerInternational NGO partnership for HIV-related projects including PITCH programme in Nigeria. Multiple collaborative photography projects delivered.
• Technical University of the ShannonminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerAcademic institution partner for community engagement and photography projects in Ireland.
• Mental Health Foundation ScotlandminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerScottish mental health charity partnered for community engagement projects using participatory photography.
• NYAS (National Youth Advisory Service)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerAdvocacy charity for children and young people partnered for projects addressing youth issues including sexual exploitation.
• Engage HereminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCommunity engagement organisation visible in PhotoVoice partner network.
• IIED (International Institute for Environment and Development)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerInternational environment and development research institute partnered for 'Gender Voice Power' project in Zanzibar and other international initiatives.
• University of ManchesterminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerAcademic research partner for community engagement and photography projects.
• British Red CrosscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerHumanitarian organisation partnered with PhotoVoice for community engagement and project delivery. Testimonial indicates excellent quality work and flexibility.
• Save the ChildrencoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMajor international NGO partnered for projects including work in Sri Lanka post-tsunami. Key strategic partner for child-focused initiatives.
• World VisioncoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerInternational NGO partnered for multiple projects including 'And We Shall Find Tales in the Shadows' with Syrian refugees in Jordan.
• International HIV/AIDS AlliancecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerGlobal partnership for HIV-related projects including 'Mysterious Youth Eyes' in Myanmar working with key groups affected by HIV.
• City, University of LondonminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerAcademic partner for project with parents on low-income exploring food provision during cost-of-living crisis. Developed curriculum collaboratively.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Catchlight: A non-profit visual media organisation focused on using photography and visual storytelling to drive social impact. Directly comparable to PhotoVoice as a photography-for-social-change organisation working with communities and partners globally.
• Witness: International non-profit that uses video and visual storytelling to advance human rights. Comparable to PhotoVoice in its mission of equipping marginalised communities to tell their own stories through visual media and its training-of-trainers approach.
• Magnum Foundation: A non-profit that supports photography for social justice and documentary practice. Directly comparable to PhotoVoice as a photography-focused non-profit operating in the social-change space, though it emphasises documentary and editorial photography over participatory community projects.
• FotoKonbit: A participatory photography non-profit working with communities in Haiti and beyond. Directly comparable to PhotoVoice in using participatory photography as a community empowerment methodology, though smaller scale and geographically narrower.

Broad incumbents

• World Press Photo Foundation: Established international non-profit promoting photojournalism and visual storytelling. Comparable to PhotoVoice in its photography-education remit and global social-impact positioning, though it focuses on professional photojournalism rather than participatory community projects.
• International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED): International research and policy non-profit that has partnered with PhotoVoice on participatory photography projects (e.g., 'Gender Voice Power'). Comparable as a broader social-impact organisation that uses participatory visual methods, though photography is one of many tools.

Emerging players

• Panos Pictures: Photo agency and visual-storytelling organisation focused on under-reported global issues. Comparable to PhotoVoice in its social-impact photography remit, though it operates as a commercial agency representing photojournalists rather than a participatory methodology provider.
• Lucie Foundation: Photography non-profit supporting photographers and visual projects across social-impact themes. Comparable as a photography non-profit offering grants and programmes, though less focused on participatory community-led methodology.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/PhotoVoice
• Facebookfacebook.com/PhotoVoiceUK
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/photovoice
• Instagraminstagram.com/photovoiceuk

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles8 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 Photo Voice