Centre for Thriving Places
Centre for Thriving Places is a UK not-for-profit consultancy that provides wellbeing measurement tools, research, and strategic support to local authorities, combined authorities, NHS bodies, and community organisations seeking to shift policy from GDP toward people-and-planet wellbeing outcomes.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2011
- HeadquartersBristol, United Kingdom
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What Centre for Thriving Places does
Centre for Thriving Places (CTP) is a UK-registered charity and not-for-profit place-based consultancy founded in 2011 and headquartered in Bristol. It sells strategic support, applied research, training, and measurement tools to local authorities, combined authorities, NHS bodies, and community organisations that want to shift economic policy away from GDP-centric metrics toward wellbeing outcomes for people and planet. The organisation's core product suite comprises the Thriving Places Index (a benchmarking analysis of wellbeing drivers across English and Welsh local authorities), the Thriving Places Framework (an evidence-based indicator map), the Thriving Places Database (curated wellbeing indicator data), the Thriving Places Survey Builder (customisable community survey instrument), and the Happiness Pulse (a short individual wellbeing survey). These products are delivered alongside two service lines: Place-Based Consultancy (policy and programme design, partnership development, leadership training) and Research and Insight (applied research and evidence-building).
CTP generates revenue from three streams: fee-based consultancy engagements with public-sector and community clients, recurring revenue from Data and Support Packages around the Index and Database, and grant funding from charitable foundations and lottery funds tied to specific programmes. Its go-to-market is sales-led and direct, anchored by multi-year partnership programmes such as the five-year RORE partnership with NEF, CLES and Co-operativesUK across the West Midlands, South Yorkshire, and North East, and a sub-participation in a £8m University of Bath research programme on the commercial determinants of health. Marketing and demand generation are content-led, supported by thought-leadership publications, conference participation (Festival of Debate, Labour Party Conference fringes), and earned media in outlets including The Guardian and BBC. The organisation operates with a small core team supplemented by associates, and is actively hiring and recruiting board members to scale delivery.
Centre for Thriving Places firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Centre for Thriving Places
- Legal name
- Centre for Thriving Places
- Website
- https://centreforthrivingplaces.org
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2011
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Short description
- Centre for Thriving Places is a UK not-for-profit consultancy that provides wellbeing measurement tools, research, and strategic support to local authorities, combined authorities, NHS bodies, and community organisations seeking to shift policy from GDP toward people-and-planet wellbeing outcomes.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Centre for Thriving Places industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Wellbeing Economics Consulting
- SIC
- Services-Social Services (8300)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Community Centers & Neighborhood Support Services (BPAGAEAL)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- Local & Neighborhood Communities (BPAMABAG)
Keywords
Where Centre for Thriving Places is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Bristol
- HQ country
- United Kingdom
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices1 record
Markets served
Centre for Thriving Places business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D
Revenue model
- Consultancy Services: Place-based consultancy services including policy and programme design, applied research, partnership development, and leadership training. Sold directly to local authorities, combined authorities, NHS, and community organizations.
- Data and Support Packages: Access to Thriving Places Database, Index subscriptions, and support packages for organizations seeking to implement wellbeing frameworks.
- Grant Funding: Major grant funding from charitable foundations and lottery funds for specific programs such as the RORE five-year partnership.
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels4 records
Marketing channels6 records
Centre for Thriving Places product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Centre for Thriving Places is a not-for-profit place-based consultancy that provides strategic support, applied research, training, and measurement tools to help local places shift from GDP-focused metrics toward wellbeing economies. Its core offer combines direct consultancy and research services with a proprietary toolkit comprising the Thriving Places Index, Thriving Places Framework, Thriving Places Database, Thriving Places Survey Builder, and the Happiness Pulse survey tool.
Product overview
Centre for Thriving Places offers a suite of place-based consultancy services and measurement tools designed to help places shift towards a wellbeing economy. The core product portfolio consists of the Thriving Places Index (CTP's flagship analysis platform), the Happiness Pulse (a wellbeing survey tool), and the Thriving Places Toolkit (comprising the Framework, Database, and Survey Builder). These are complemented by consulting services including Place-based Consultancy and Research and Insight. Together, these products enable local governments, communities, and organizations to measure, understand, and improve wellbeing outcomes for people and planet.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- Thriving Places Index: CTP's flagship analysis of how places across the country perform against key drivers of wellbeing of people and planet
- Happiness Pulse
- Thriving Places Framework
- Thriving Places Database
Products and services
- Thriving Places Index CTP's flagship analysis platform providing wellbeing indicator data and benchmarking for local authorities across England and Wales, measuring how places perform against key drivers of wellbeing for people and planet.
- Thriving Places Framework Evidence-based map of the key interconnected conditions a place needs to thrive with guidance on indicators to measure.
- Thriving Places Database Database of wellbeing indicator data for local authorities across England and Wales from reputable official and expert sources.
- Thriving Places Survey Builder Flexible survey tool to understand the lived experience in places and of specific groups.
- Happiness Pulse A short survey combining various academic measures of wellbeing into a simple five minute survey with optional additional questions, measuring individual wellbeing.
- Place-based Consultancy Strategic support services including policy and programme design, applied research, partnership development, and leadership training to help places build fairer, more sustainable and resilient policies and practices.
- Research and Insight Research services that help measure, understand and grow the things that really matter to all lives, such as good health, secure livelihoods, decent housing, opportunities for learning, social connections and support, and green spaces.
Quantifiable outcome
- £0.25M of UK Levelling Up funding leveraged by Hotspots Network using CTP's framework
- +1 more outcomes
Companies that use Centre for Thriving Places
Customer profileNamed customers4 records
Segments4 records
Ideal customer profiles4 records
Centre for Thriving Places technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature5 records
Centre for Thriving Places partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Ten partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.
- Reclaiming Our Regional Economies (RORE) PartnershipcoreFive-year partnership with New Economics Foundation (NEF), Centre for Local Economic Strategies (CLES), and Co-operativesUK to help rewire local and regional economies to deliver more equitable and sustainable outcomes. Funded by National Lottery Community Fund, Friends Provident Foundation, and Barrow Cadbury Trust. Working in West Midlands, South Yorkshire, and North East Combined Authority areas.
- University of BathcoreLead institution in £8m four-year research programme on commercial determinants of health. Partnership includes Universities of Cambridge, Edinburgh, Sheffield, and London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine
- Action on Smoking and Health, Obesity Health Alliance, Alcohol Health AllianceminorNGOs collaborating in the £8m research programme on commercial determinants of health
- Association of Directors of Public HealthminorPublic health professional body partner in the commercial determinants of health research programme
- South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority (SYMCA)coreWorking with SYMCA to explore collaboratively approaches to retrofit in the region. CTP facilitating co-development workshops on retrofit pillars including employment, skills, health, and community engagement
- SY EcofitminorPartnership for 2025 Festival of Debate workshop on collaborative policy making. SY Ecofit delivers decarbonisation projects across community energy and retrofit in South Yorkshire
- Hotspots Network (Gloucestershire)minorTwo-year evaluation partnership with network of six community organisations in Gloucestershire, using Thriving Places Framework and Happiness Pulse tool
- Carnegie UK TrustminorSupported publication of 'Shared Ingredients for a Wellbeing Economy' discussion paper
- What Works Centre for WellbeingminorReferenced as a partner organization in examples of work
- Power to ChangeminorReferenced as a partner organization in examples of work
Scale indicators4 records
Recent moves5 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Centre for Thriving Places competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- New Local: UK think tank and membership network focused on community-led local government and place-based public service reform. Highly comparable to CTP in customer base (local authorities) and policy positioning.
- Carnegie UK Trust: UK charitable trust working on wellbeing economy frameworks and place-based policy. Co-author with CTP of 'Shared Ingredients for a Wellbeing Economy', making it a closely comparable UK wellbeing-policy peer.
- Wellbeing Economy Alliance (WEAll): Global collaboration of organisations advancing wellbeing economy approaches. WEAll operates as a network with overlapping subject matter, members, and policy advocacy channels to CTP.
- New Economics Foundation (NEF): UK think tank focused on economic wellbeing and place-based economic reform. NEF is both a RORE partner and the closest direct comparable to CTP in mission, methodology, and UK policy audience.
- Centre for Local Economic Strategies (CLES): UK-based organisation focused on local economic strategy and inclusive growth, working with local and combined authorities. CLES is also a RORE partner and is highly comparable in client base and policy positioning.
- Power to Change: UK charitable trust supporting community businesses and local economies. Listed as a CTP partner and operates in an overlapping place-based economic-development space.
- Co-operatives UK: UK membership body for co-operative enterprises, focused on democratic ownership and community wealth building. RORE partner and shares CTP's inclusive-economy and place-based agenda.
- What Works Centre for Wellbeing: UK evidence centre producing wellbeing evidence and guidance for policymakers and practitioners. Overlaps with CTP in wellbeing measurement, research dissemination, and public-sector audience.
Broad incumbents
- Joseph Rowntree Foundation: Large UK charitable foundation producing research and advocacy on poverty and place-based disadvantage. JRF is a broader incumbent working on overlapping themes (UK poverty, housing, place) with significantly greater scale and resources.
Emerging players
- Social Value UK: UK membership organisation promoting social value measurement and impact frameworks. Adjacent to CTP's measurement and reporting offerings, though its framework (SROI) is more procurement-oriented than CTP's wellbeing-economy focus.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses4 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
Centre for Thriving Places social profiles
Digital presenceCentre for Thriving Places compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance2 records
Centre for Thriving Places financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Centre for Thriving Places leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles9 records
Centre for Thriving Places funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Centre for Thriving Places M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Centre for Thriving Places
What does Centre for Thriving Places do?
Centre for Thriving Places is a not-for-profit place-based consultancy that provides strategic support, applied research, training, and measurement tools to help local places shift from GDP-focused metrics toward wellbeing economies. Its core offer combines direct consultancy and research services with a proprietary toolkit comprising the Thriving Places Index, Thriving Places Framework, Thriving Places Database, Thriving Places Survey Builder, and the Happiness Pulse survey tool.
Is Centre for Thriving Places a public or private company?
Centre for Thriving Places is a private company. It is classified as nonprofit foundation owned and is currently operating.
When was Centre for Thriving Places founded?
Centre for Thriving Places was founded in 2011. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is Centre for Thriving Places based?
Centre for Thriving Places is headquartered in Bristol, United Kingdom, in the Europe region.
How does Centre for Thriving Places make money?
Three revenue lines are on record. Consultancy Services are the primary driver. The others are data and Support Packages and grant Funding.
Who are Centre for Thriving Places's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are New Local, Carnegie UK Trust, Wellbeing Economy Alliance (WEAll), New Economics Foundation (NEF), Centre for Local Economic Strategies (CLES), Power to Change, Co-operatives UK and What Works Centre for Wellbeing. Joseph Rowntree Foundation is listed as a broad incumbent. Social Value UK is listed as an emerging player.
Does Centre for Thriving Places have an API?
No public API is recorded for Centre for Thriving Places.
What industry is Centre for Thriving Places in?
Centre for Thriving Places's product category is Wellbeing Economics Consulting. Its primary akta.pro industry code is BPAGAEAL, Community Centers & Neighborhood Support Services, with a secondary code of BPAMABAG, Local & Neighborhood Communities. Its SIC code is 8300.