Institute For Voluntary Action Research

What Institute For Voluntary Action Research does

The Institute for Voluntary Action Research (IVAR) is a UK-registered research charity (Charity Number 1114403) founded in 1999 and headquartered in Vauxhall, London. It conducts action research — a collaborative, practice-based methodology in which researchers work alongside practitioners rather than studying them externally — to strengthen the relationship between charities, foundations, and public agencies in the UK. IVAR serves three primary segments: UK charities (capacity-building, peer support, and funding-reform advocacy), trusts and foundations (evaluation support, learning partnerships, and reform frameworks), and public agencies such as NHS bodies and Integrated Care Systems (cross-sector partnership facilitation and community-led research).

IVAR's core intellectual outputs are research publications, frameworks, peer-learning communities, and facilitation services rather than software or hardware products. Flagship programmes include the Open and Trusting Grant-making initiative (eight funder commitments; 100+ participating funders managing £800M+ in annual grants), Leading in Uncertainty (peer support for charity leaders), Connecting Health Communities and Building Health Partnerships (cross-sector health partnerships with NHS England and the National Lottery Community Fund), the AI Exchange (a partnership with CAST on responsible AI adoption in the voluntary sector), the Evaluation Roundtable, the Jane Hatfield Award for young researchers (run with The Ubele Initiative), and action research projects including the 2026 Lloyds Bank Foundation pilot covering up to 640 charities and rural philanthropy research with the William Grant Foundation.

The organisation is funded primarily through multi-year core grants from major UK foundations — Esmee Fairbairn, Pears Foundation, Paul Hamlyn Foundation, National Lottery Community Fund, and Garfield Weston Foundation — supplemented by commissioned research and learning-partnership income from funders, NHS bodies, and local authorities. It has 1–10 employees and operates with a relationship-driven, community-led go-to-market model, distributing outputs through its website, MailChimp newsletter, Twitter/X (@IVAR_UK), LinkedIn, a Spotify podcast, webinars, peer support sessions, and sector conference appearances.

Name

Institute For Voluntary Action Research

Legal name

Institute for Voluntary Action Research

Website

https://ivar.org.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

1999

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

IVAR is a UK research charity founded in 1999 that conducts action research with charities, foundations, and public agencies to strengthen communities. It leads the Open and Trusting Grant-making movement (100+ funders, £800M+ in annual grants) and runs programmes on funding reform, health partnerships, and AI engagement, funded by major UK foundations.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Nonprofit Research and Advisory Services

NAICS

Research and Development in the Social Sciences and Humanities (54172), Grantmaking and Giving Services (81321)

SIC

Services-Management Consulting Services (8742)

akta.pro primary industry

Donor Coordination & Aid Effectiveness (BPADAOAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Donor Coordination, Monitoring & Evaluation (MEL) Programs (BPADABAN), Institutional Capacity Building & Training (Workforce/Systems Strengthening) (BPADAEAC), Philanthropy & Foundations Advisory (Donor-Advised Funds, Endowments) (FSAAABAH)

Keywords

• Action research services
• Charity sector consulting
• Grant-making reform
• Voluntary sector research
• Philanthropy advisory

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

Revenue model

1. Charitable grants and core funding: IVAR is funded primarily through multi-year core grants from major UK foundations (Esmee Fairbairn, Pears Foundation, Paul Hamlyn Foundation, National Lottery Community Fund, Garfield Weston Foundation). Additional revenue comes from commissioned research, learning partner roles on funded programmes, and project-specific grants from trusts, foundations, and public agencies. The organisation also receives income from event facilitation and partnership work with NHS bodies and local authorities.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

IVAR is an independent research charity that conducts action research and works alongside charities, foundations, and public agencies to strengthen UK communities. It delivers commissioned research, learning partnerships, peer support programmes, and communities of practice (such as Open and Trusting Grant-making), publishing findings to inform sector practice. Revenue is generated through multi-year core grants from major UK foundations and commissioned research projects.

Product overview

IVAR is a research charity that provides advisory, consultancy, and research services rather than a software product. Their core offerings include the Open and Trusting Grant-making Programme (a movement and community for funding reform with eight commitments for funders), peer support programmes like 'Leading in Uncertainty' for charity leaders, and health partnership facilitation through 'Connecting Health Communities'. They conduct action research on funding practices, publish reports like the Funding Experience Survey, and run learning networks including the Evaluation Roundtable. Key projects include The AI Exchange (AI engagement partnership with CAST), the Jane Hatfield Award for young researchers, and various health partnerships through the Building Health Partnerships Programme. Their work is disseminated primarily through publications, reports, and their website as an information resource.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Open and Trusting Grant-making: A movement and community for funding reform advocating for more open, trusting, and flexible grant-making practices.
• Connecting Health Communities
• Leading in Uncertainty
• The AI Exchange
• The Jane Hatfield Award

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 100 funders (managing £800M+ in annual grants) have joined the Open and Trusting community
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers6 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

13 partnerships are on record, tiered major, core and minor.

• CAST (Centre for the Acceleration of Social Technology)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerIVAR partners with CAST on The AI Exchange — a unique partnership to help charities and foundations engage with AI responsibly and equitably. They previously collaborated on digital skills research (Start Somewhere project) for small voluntary organisations.
• The Ubele InitiativemajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerIVAR co-runs the annual Jane Hatfield Award with The Ubele Initiative — a grant supporting young researchers investigating community, social action, and social justice. For 2024, two separate research pieces were supported with awards of £5,000 each.
• Social Enterprise UKmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerIVAR and Social Enterprise UK jointly deliver the Building Health Partnerships / Connecting Health Communities programme, supported by NHS England and the National Lottery Community Fund. The programme improves health outcomes through cross-sector partnerships between CCGs, local authorities, and VCSE organisations.
• London FundersmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerIVAR collaborates with London Funders on the Open and Trusting Grant-making initiative and the Propel Initiative — a collaborative funder initiative focused on equitable systemic change through long-term, collaborative funding.
• Local TrustmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerIVAR is engaged in the Local Trust Legacy project, exploring how trusts and foundations can embed more participatory, flexible, and long-term funding approaches for resident-led initiatives, beyond the Big Local programme.
• Lloyds Bank FoundationmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerLloyds Bank Foundation leads the 'Investing in the Power of Civil Society' major pilot, funded by the National Lottery Community Fund. IVAR is the action research partner, leading the 'test and learn' component to inform live improvements and capture experiences of up to 640 participating charities.
• NHS Workforce Training and Education SoutheastcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNHS WT&E SE commissioned IVAR to support community researchers on the Community Participatory Action Research (CPAR) project, improving skills and knowledge on action planning, communication, and how the health system works.
• NHS Trusts (32 trusts, #iwill Network)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerIVAR supported a network of 32 NHS Trusts implementing youth volunteering programmes as part of the Pears #iwill Fund, providing peer learning coordination and facilitating young people-led peer research.
• United St Saviour's Charity / One SouthwarkcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerIVAR acts as learning partner to the One Southwark programme, supporting the team to capture young people's journeys, explore barriers to progression, and draw out systemic change learning for replication elsewhere.
• ICS Learning Network (Pears)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerIVAR facilitates the ICS Learning Network — a peer learning network for Integrated Care System leads to develop and share approaches to youth engagement in health settings, funded by Pears Foundation.
• Co-op FoundationminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerIVAR is a learning partner for the Co-op Foundation's Future Communities Fund, which seeks to build diverse, equitable, and inclusive communities prioritising youth activism.
• Corra FoundationminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerIVAR works with Corra Foundation to increase understanding of long-term systemic solutions and social impact investing in Scotland.
• William Grant FoundationminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerIVAR supports William Grant Foundation's strategic review to develop greater clarity about its role and positioning over the next decade.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Inspiring Impact: UK initiative focused on impact measurement and evaluation practice in the voluntary sector — directly comparable to IVAR's evaluation and funder-practice improvement work.
• Pro Bono Economics: UK charity that pairs economists with charities and funders to deliver research and impact evaluation — closely comparable to IVAR's action-research and learning-partnership model.
• NPC (New Philanthropy Capital): UK charity that provides research, advice, and tools to funders and charities to improve impact — directly overlapping IVAR's audience (foundations and charities) and offering (analytics, frameworks, advisory).
• London Funders: Membership body for London grantmakers that convenes funders on shared practice — IVAR is an explicit partner on the Open and Trusting and Propel initiatives, making it a directly comparable funder-coordination peer.

Broad incumbents

• The King's Fund: Large UK health-policy charity that does independent research and works with NHS and ICS leaders — comparable to IVAR's health-partnerships and ICS Learning Network work but with much broader scope and resources.
• Charities Aid Foundation (CAF): Major UK charity providing research, advisory, and giving vehicles to donors and charities — comparable to IVAR's funder-focused research and grantmaking-reform work, with a much broader commercial footprint.
• NCVO (National Council for Voluntary Organisations): UK voluntary-sector umbrella body that publishes large-scale sector research, runs training, and advocates for charities — overlapping with IVAR's charity-segment research and capacity-building work but at significantly greater scale.
• Association of Charitable Foundations (ACF): Membership body for UK grantmakers that convenes, advocates, and publishes on foundation practice — a sector peer with overlapping funder-practice reform agenda.

Emerging players

• The Ubele Initiative: UK social enterprise focused on African-diaspora community infrastructure; co-runs the Jane Hatfield Award with IVAR — a small, niche peer with partnership-level comparability.
• CAST (Centre for the Acceleration of Social Technology): Charity supporting social-sector organisations on technology and digital practice; co-leads The AI Exchange with IVAR — comparable in size and methodology, with overlapping technology-and-charity focus.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/ivar_uk
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/institute-for-voluntary-action-research

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Institute For Voluntary Action Research