What Economic Change Unit does

Economic Change Unit (ECU) is a UK-based non-profit company limited by guarantee (legal entity: Strategy and Communications Group Ltd, company number 11566573), founded in 2018 and headquartered in London. The organisation campaigns to change the way the UK economy works so that 'everyone has the freedom and security to live a good life,' focusing on economic systems change rather than incremental reform. Its work spans education, campaigning, and convening around domestic and international economic policy issues including poverty, inequality, climate, and democratic accountability.

ECU operates four core programmes: Invest in Britain (an advocacy campaign calling for increased public investment in public services, clean energy, and a just transition), New Economy Brief (a weekly newsletter curating economic policy analysis from UK and international sources), Cost of Living Action (a coalition campaign of more than 40 civil society organisations, trade unions, and grassroots groups), and Movement Building (a programme to strengthen the new economy movement and bridge with other social movements). The team of approximately eight staff is led by an Interim Executive Director and includes directors covering policy and programmes, movement building, and operations, plus heads of strategic communications and campaigns.

ECU is funded entirely by charitable and philanthropic trusts and foundations, including the European Climate Foundation, Friends Provident Foundation, Joseph Rowntree Foundation, Laudes Foundation, Omidyar Network, Partners for a New Economy, Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors, The Sunrise Project, Thirty Percy Foundation, and The National Lottery Community Fund. The organisation uses Mailchimp and Eventbrite as its only disclosed technology integrations, has no proprietary technology products, and operates without disclosed revenue figures; stated 2023 expenditure breakdown was 65% salaries, 27% activities, and 8% operations, with a 1.7x ratio between highest and lowest salary.

Name

Economic Change Unit

Legal name

Strategy and Communications Group Ltd

Website

https://econchange.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2018

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Economic Change Unit is a London-based non-profit founded in 2018 that campaigns, publishes analysis, and convenes a coalition of 40+ civil society organisations to advance UK economic systems change on issues including the cost of living, public investment, and climate.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

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, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Philanthropic/Trust Funding: ECU is a not-for-profit company that receives all funding from charitable and philanthropic trusts and foundations. Funders include European Climate Foundation, Friends Provident Foundation, Joseph Rowntree Foundation, Laudes Foundation, Omidyar Network, Partners for a New Economy, Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors, The Sunrise Project, and Thirty Percy Foundation. Additional funding from The National Lottery Community Fund for Cost of Living Action work.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Economic Change Unit (ECU) is a UK non-profit that delivers economic policy analysis, advocacy campaigns, and movement building for a fair, sustainable, and resilient economy. Its core activities include running the Invest in Britain campaign for greater public investment, publishing the weekly New Economy Brief newsletter, coordinating the Cost of Living Action coalition of 40+ organisations, and facilitating collaboration among civil society organisations working on economic systems change.

Product overview

Economic Change Unit is a lean, agile, people-centred non-profit organisation that offers a portfolio of advocacy campaigns and publications focused on economic systems change. The core offerings include Invest in Britain (a public investment advocacy campaign), New Economy Brief (a weekly economic policy newsletter), Cost of Living Action (a coalition campaign on cost of living), and Movement Building (a programme to strengthen the new economy movement). These programmes work together to advance ECU's mission of ensuring economic policy is grounded in robust analysis and rises to the scale and urgency of modern challenges.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Invest in Britain: A campaign calling on politicians to start focusing on the long-term interests of the country by delivering a substantial uplift in public investment in public services, clean energy infrastructure, and just transition to good jobs in greener industries.
• New Economy Brief
• Cost of Living Action
• Movement building

Products and services

• Invest in Britain Invest in Britain is an advocacy campaign calling on UK politicians to focus on the long-term interests of the country by delivering a substantial uplift in public investment in public services, clean energy infrastructure, and a just transition to good jobs in greener industries. The campaign also calls on the media to hold politicians to account for public investment decisions and to represent the economics of investment fairly to the public.
• New Economy Brief New Economy Brief is a weekly round-up of key economic policy debates and developments, curating well-researched reports, articles, and material from a wide range of organisations, thinkers, and practitioners from the UK and around the world to help readers understand economic policy arguments and news.
• Cost of Living Action Cost of Living Action is a coalition of more than 40 civil society organisations, trade unions, and grassroots groups united around a series of practical demands to reduce costs, increase incomes, and introduce fairer and better taxes on wealth, calling on the government to end the cost of living crisis and ensure it never happens again.
• Movement Building Movement Building is a programme that builds the power of the UK new economy movement by facilitating collaboration between civil society organisations focused on ideas and policies for economic systems change, building commitment and action on anti-oppression, and connecting with other social movements.

Named customers1 record

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration2 records

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves10 records

Expansion highlights10 records

Broad incumbents

• RSA (Royal Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce): Long-established UK institution addressing social and economic challenges through research and convening. Comparable in convening-based model and broad economic-policy remit, though far larger and more institutionally established.

Direct peers

• Resolution Foundation: UK think tank focused on living standards, low pay, and economic policy. Directly comparable in audience (UK policymakers, media) and economic-justice advocacy mandate, though better-resourced.
• IPPR (Institute for Public Policy Research): UK's leading progressive think tank, with deep work on economic justice, climate, and public investment. ECU co-founder Laurie Laybourn is even an Associate Fellow at IPPR, evidencing close field alignment.
• New Economics Foundation (NEF): UK-based think tank focused on economic systems change, inequality, and just economy policy. Closest direct peer to ECU in mission, audience, and UK policy-advocacy focus, though larger and more established.
• Centre for Local Economic Strategies (CLES): UK think tank focused on local economic strategy and community wealth building. ECU Policy and Programme Lead George Edwards previously worked at CLES; comparable in policy-research orientation and progressive-economy focus.
• Compass: UK progressive umbrella organisation campaigning for a fairer economy. Comparable as a UK-only advocacy/movement-building entity addressing economic justice, though with a broader political remit.
• Common Wealth: UK think tank campaigning for ownership, wealth, and power reform. Highly comparable as a small, focused, UK-only advocacy organisation working on transformative economic policy.
• NEON (New Economy Organisers Network): UK network of progressive economists and organisers advocating economic systems change. ECU's interim Executive Director previously led NEON, evidencing institutional overlap and direct mission comparability.
• Social Market Foundation (SMF): UK cross-party think tank covering economic policy, living standards, and public investment. Comparable in media-engagement strategy and economic-policy research orientation, though ideologically broader.

Emerging players

• Patriotic Millionaires UK: UK arm of the Patriotic Millionaires network advocating for fairer wealth taxation. Shares ECU's wealth-tax advocacy frame and shares board director Rebecca Gowland, evidencing tight field overlap.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/EconChange
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/economic-change-unit

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles12 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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

Frequently asked questions about Economic Change Unit