What Carnegie UK does

Carnegie UK (legally Carnegie United Kingdom Trust) is an independent charitable foundation incorporated by Royal Charter in 1917 and headquartered in Dunfermline, Scotland, with a small team of approximately 16-24 FTE. It operates across all four UK nations and Ireland, funded by Andrew Carnegie's original endowment rather than commercial revenue. Its mission is to improve collective wellbeing in the UK by influencing public policy and practice through research, advocacy, and convening. The organisation is led by Chief Executive Sarah Davidson, with governance provided by a Board of Trustees chaired by Sir John Elvidge.

The foundation's flagship product is the Life in the UK Index, an annual wellbeing measurement tool developed in partnership with Ipsos that surveys more than 6,900 people across England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland and scores collective wellbeing out of 100 across SEED domains — Social, Economic, Environmental, and Democratic. Complementary programmes include the Engaging Democracy programme (research into participatory and deliberative democracy), the Poverty Truth Partnership (a three-year embedded collaboration with the Poverty Truth Network from April 2023 to March 2026 centring lived experience of poverty), Financing the Future (economic approaches to wellbeing), and Communications and Advocacy. Its work is publicly cited as informing the Well-being of Future Generations (Wales) Act 2015 and proposals for a Wellbeing and Sustainable Development (Scotland) Bill.

The business model is non-commercial: there is no pricing, no product sales, and no revenue from customers. All publications, indices, and policy outputs are distributed free of charge via the carnegieuk.org website and direct engagement with policymakers, civil society partners, and the media. Primary beneficiaries are government policymakers across the four UK nations and devolved administrations, with civil society organisations and citizens (particularly those experiencing disadvantage or democratic disengagement) as secondary audiences. There is no technology platform, app, or API; the foundation operates as a research and advocacy body whose primary 'product' is evidence-based policy influence.

Name

Carnegie UK

Legal name

Carnegie United Kingdom Trust

Website

https://carnegieuk.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1917

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Carnegie UK is an independent charitable foundation, established by Andrew Carnegie in 1917, that improves collective wellbeing in the UK and Ireland by producing annual wellbeing research and advocating for evidence-based public policy across government, civil society, and communities.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Public Policy Research

NAICS

Grantmaking Foundations (813211), Grantmaking and Giving Services (8132), Other Grantmaking and Giving Services (813219), Social Advocacy Organizations (8133), Research and Development in the Social Sciences and Humanities (54172)

akta.pro primary industry

Private Foundations (BPAGAKAA)

Keywords

• Wellbeing research
• Policy advocacy
• Charitable foundation
• Public policy research
• Collective wellbeing

Headquarters

HQ city

Dunfermline

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Charitable Foundation Endowment: Carnegie UK (Carnegie United Kingdom Trust) is funded through endowment from Andrew Carnegie's original investment. The organization does not generate commercial revenue but operates as a charitable foundation working to improve collective wellbeing through policy influence and research.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Carnegie UK is an independent charitable foundation that produces policy research, annual wellbeing indices, and advocacy outputs aimed at improving collective wellbeing across the UK and Ireland. Its flagship output is the Life in the UK Index — an annual, nationally representative measure of collective wellbeing developed in partnership with Ipsos — alongside research programmes on engaging democracy, poverty and lived experience, and financing the future.

Product overview

Carnegie UK is an independent foundation focused on improving collective wellbeing in the UK through public policy research and advocacy. The organization does not offer a software product but rather produces research programmes and publications. The flagship product is the Life in the UK Index, an annual wellbeing measurement tool developed in partnership with Ipsos that measures collective wellbeing across four domains: social, economic, environmental, and democratic. Supporting programmes include the Engaging Democracy Programme (exploring participatory democracy and democratic wellbeing), the Poverty Truth Partnership (in collaboration with the Poverty Truth Network to center lived experience of poverty in policy), Communications and Advocacy (influencing public policy), and Financing the Future (examining economic approaches to wellbeing). All offerings are research and policy-focused rather than technology products.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Life in the UK Index An annual wellbeing measurement index that scores collective wellbeing out of 100 across social, economic, environmental, and democratic domains. Based on a nationally representative survey of more than 6,900 people across England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland, designed to inform government policy beyond GDP.
• Engaging Democracy Programme A research programme exploring participatory and deliberative democracy's ability to deliver democratic wellbeing, examining the relationship between voice in decision-making, power, and existing democratic structures.
• Poverty Truth Partnership A partnership with the Poverty Truth Network bringing together people with experience of living in poverty with decision-makers to learn about inequality and create a shared vision for collective wellbeing.
• Financing the Future Programme A research programme examining how public finance and economic policy can support collective wellbeing.
• Communications and Advocacy Advocacy work to influence public policy and practice, communicating research findings to policymakers, civil society, and the public.

Quantifiable outcome

• Life in the UK Index provides annual scores (62/100 in 2023, 61/100 in 2024) measuring collective wellbeing across UK nations
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers4 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

Four partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• Friends Provident FoundationminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2025The Poverty Truth Network will continue carrying forward insights from the partnership as part of the Friends Provident Foundation's Shifting Cultural Perceptions of the Economy programme.
• Poverty Truth NetworkcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 April 2023Three-year partnership (April 2023 - March 2026) working in solidarity with the Poverty Truth Community across the UK to learn about inequality and collective wellbeing through deep listening exercises. Includes annual residential meetings in Swansea, Coatbridge, and Manchester.
• IpsoscoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2023Partnership with Ipsos to design, develop, and analyze the Life in the UK wellbeing index. Ipsos conducted representative surveys of over 6,900 people across the UK in 2023 and 2024, providing the methodological expertise for this landmark annual measure of collective wellbeing.
• Democratic Wellbeing ChampionsminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerGroup of up to twelve individuals from across the UK with diverse experience in wellbeing, democracy, community organising and social change, providing input and advice to the Engaging Democracy programme of work.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• King's Fund: Independent charitable foundation in England working on health and social policy research and analysis. Comparable as a UK foundation producing evidence-based policy research and convening stakeholders.
• Friends Provident Foundation: UK charitable foundation funding economic and social policy research. Already a current Carnegie UK partner, demonstrating direct strategic overlap in wellbeing and economic-policy research.
• Health Foundation: Independent UK charitable foundation working on health and wellbeing evidence and policy. Comparable as an independent foundation combining research outputs with direct engagement of UK policymakers.
• Paul Hamlyn Foundation: UK grantmaking foundation supporting social change through research, advocacy, and partnerships. Comparable as an independent UK foundation using endowment-derived capital to fund policy-adjacent programmes.
• Esmée Fairbairn Foundation: UK charitable foundation funding work across social, environmental, and cultural domains. Comparable as an independent UK grantmaking foundation funding research and policy influence activities.
• Wellcome Trust: Major UK charitable foundation funding research and advocacy on health-related wellbeing. Comparable as a large UK endowment-funded foundation influencing policy through long-horizon research programmes.
• Nuffield Foundation: An independent UK charitable trust funding research and policy work on social and education issues. Directly comparable as a UK grantmaking foundation using endowment to influence public policy through research.
• Joseph Rowntree Foundation: UK charitable foundation focused on understanding poverty and improving wellbeing through research and policy. Closely comparable as a private UK foundation combining empirical research with advocacy on wellbeing and inequality.
• Barrow Cadbury Trust: UK charitable foundation funding work on social justice and inequality. Comparable as a UK private foundation combining research grants with policy advocacy on social outcomes.

Emerging players

• New Economics Foundation: UK think tank focused on wellbeing economy and alternative economic indicators. Comparable as a smaller, specialist organisation producing research on wellbeing metrics that directly overlaps Carnegie UK's SEED framework.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/carnegie-uk

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Carnegie UK