Centre for Young Lives
The Centre for Young Lives is a UK independent think tank and charity, founded in 2024 by former Children's Commissioner Baroness Anne Longfield CBE, that produces policy research and advocacy campaigns to improve outcomes for disadvantaged children, young people, and families across the United Kingdom.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2024
- HeadquartersLondon, United Kingdom
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What Centre for Young Lives does
The Centre for Young Lives is an independent UK think tank and charity founded in February 2024 by Baroness Anne Longfield CBE, the former Children's Commissioner for England. Headquartered in London with a team of 15, the organisation produces policy research and advocacy campaigns aimed at improving outcomes for children, young people, and families across the United Kingdom, with a particular focus on those facing the greatest challenges. Its work spans mental health, education inclusion, youth unemployment and NEET prevention, online harms, and place-based reform of children's services.
The organisation's outputs are research reports, policy frameworks, and coalition-led campaigns rather than technology products. Notable recent work includes the Growing Up Well place-based model (piloted with Humber and North Yorkshire ICB), the Ambitious About Inclusion roadshow with Mission 44, the Raising the Nation Play Commission (1,200+ signatories), the Future Minds coalition with Centre for Mental Health and YoungMinds, and the 'Connecting data' report on a proposed national connected data model for children's services. It does not sell commercial products; publications are freely distributed.
The revenue model is donation- and grant-based, with funding from charitable trusts (e.g., Prudence Trust, Pilgrim Trust, Hadley Trust), union partners (e.g., National Education Union), and collaborative commissioning. The go-to-market approach is thought-leadership-driven: engaging central and local government, Parliament, the voluntary sector, academia, and national and local media through direct briefings, regional events, newsletters, and social channels. Customer segments are policymakers, partner organisations, and the families and young people whose outcomes the research seeks to improve.
Centre for Young Lives firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Centre for Young Lives
- Legal name
- Centre for Young Lives
- Website
- https://centreforyounglives.org.uk
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2024
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- The Centre for Young Lives is a UK independent think tank and charity, founded in 2024 by former Children's Commissioner Baroness Anne Longfield CBE, that produces policy research and advocacy campaigns to improve outcomes for disadvantaged children, young people, and families across the United Kingdom.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Centre for Young Lives industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Policy Research and Advocacy Services
- NAICS
- Child and Youth Services (62411), Educational Support Services (611710), Social Advocacy Organizations (8133), Other Individual and Family Services (624190)
- SIC
- Services-Social Services (8300), Services-Educational Services (8200)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Youth Housing, Foster Care & Wraparound Support (Education-Linked) Nonprofits (BPAGADAO)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- Youth-to-Adult Transition & Life Skills (Independent Living, Soft Skills) (EDAAAFAN)
Keywords
Where Centre for Young Lives is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- London
- HQ country
- United Kingdom
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices1 record
Markets served
Centre for Young Lives business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Others
Revenue model
- Donations: The organization collects donations from supporters who contribute to fund their research and advocacy work.
- Newsletter subscriptions: The organization collects email addresses through newsletter sign-ups for communication purposes, with consent-based email marketing for updates on campaigns and events.
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels3 records
Marketing channels6 records
Centre for Young Lives product offering
Product offeringCore offering
The Centre for Young Lives is an independent think tank and delivery unit that produces research and policy recommendations to improve outcomes for children, young people, and families in the UK. Its core offerings are evidence-based policy reports, advocacy campaigns, and structured initiatives (such as the Growing Up Well model and the Raising the Nation Play Commission) developed in partnership with charities, government bodies, and sector experts to influence legislative and policy change.
Product overview
Centre for Young Lives is an independent think tank and delivery unit, not a technology product company. It does not offer software products, platforms, or modules. Its offerings consist entirely of research publications, policy frameworks, advocacy campaigns, and collaborative initiatives focused on improving outcomes for children, young people, and families in the UK.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Ambitious About Inclusion Roadshow A series of regional roadshow events across eight locations in England, convened in partnership with Mission 44, bringing together nearly 500 young people, educators, local authorities, health partners, and community organisations to explore implementation of the Schools White Paper's inclusion ambitions.
- Future Minds Campaign A coalition campaign launched with the Centre for Mental Health, YoungMinds, and the Children and Young People's Mental Health Coalition calling for urgent reform of children's mental health services and publishing a roadmap to transform children and young people's mental health by 2035.
- Growing Up Well Programme A place-based model for improving children and young people's mental health developed with the Humber and North Yorkshire Integrated Care Board, including an 18-month trailblazer test-and-learn evaluation. The model is being rolled out in two additional locations following a successful pilot.
- Raising the Nation Play Commission A Commission hosted by the Centre for Young Lives calling for a National Play Strategy, signed by over 1,200 leaders including GPs, health workers, headteachers, experts in built environment, creative industries, sports, early years, charity leaders, academics, and local government leaders.
- Centre for Young Lives Newsletter Consent-based email subscription service delivering the latest news, reports, and campaign updates from the Centre for Young Lives to subscribers. Includes fundraising communications and event announcements with opt-out controls.
Quantifiable outcome
- Nearly 500 young people and educators participated in Ambitious About Inclusion events across 8 regions
- +2 more outcomes
Companies that use Centre for Young Lives
Customer profileNamed customers1 record
Segments4 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
Centre for Young Lives technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Centre for Young Lives partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Twelve partnerships are on record, tiered core and supporting.
- SHINEcoreCo-publishing partnership with SHINE, an education charity that works with teachers and schools to develop and fund innovative programmes to improve educational outcomes for children from low-income backgrounds in the North of England. Jointly published 'A New Settlement for Education' report calling for place-based education reform.
- Catch22corePartnership with Catch22 (a charity delivering services to young people) to publish briefing on Young Futures Hubs and youth employment. The briefing sets out how Young Futures Hubs can help tackle the growing crisis of young people not in employment, education, or training.
- Child of the North / N8 Research PartnershipcoreCollaborative partnership with Child of the North (joint collaboration between N8 Research Partnership and Health Equity North) to publish the 'Connecting data: Intelligent and informed delivery to support every child to succeed' report. The report calls for a national connected data model to transform children's services.
- Mission 44corePartnership with Mission 44 (Sir Michael Marmot's foundation focused on children) to deliver the Ambitious About Inclusion project. The partnership conducted roadshow events across eight regions in England, bringing together nearly 500 young people, educators, local authorities, health partners and community organisations to explore implementation of the Schools White Paper's inclusion ambitions.
- Royal College of Paediatrics and Child HealthsupportingPartner organization contributing to the connected data report, providing clinical and health systems expertise. Representatives including Professor Steve Turner (President) and Dr Mike McKean (Vice President for Policy) provided quotes and support for the report's recommendations.
- NIHR Applied Research Collaboration Yorkshire and HumbersupportingResearch collaboration partner contributing to the connected data report. Contributed researchers and expertise to the collaborative programme of work between Child of the North and the Centre for Young Lives.
- Agenda AlliancecorePartnership with Agenda Alliance (an alliance of over 130 member organisations working to respond to women and girls with multiple unmet needs) to explore the rise in poor mental health among girls and young women. Jointly authored the report with Centre for Young Lives Policy Researcher Anna Heuschkel and Tara Harris from Agenda Alliance.
- Centre for Mental HealthcorePartner in the Future Minds campaign, bringing together leading mental health and children's organizations to call for urgent reform of children's mental health services. The campaign published a roadmap to transform children and young people's mental health by 2035.
- YoungMindscorePartner in the Future Minds campaign alongside Centre for Mental Health, Centre for Young Lives, and Children and Young People's Mental Health Coalition. Campaign focuses on transforming children and young people's mental health through policy reform and investment.
- Children and Young People's Mental Health CoalitioncorePartner in the Future Minds campaign alongside Centre for Mental Health, Centre for Young Lives, and YoungMinds. Coalition brings together organizations working on children and young people's mental health to advocate for systemic change.
- Humber and North Yorkshire Integrated Care Board (ICB)coreKey implementation partner for the Growing Up Well model. The ICB conducted an 18-month trailblazer programme to test and evaluate the place-based approach to improving children and young people's mental health. The model is set to be rolled out in two other locations following successful pilot.
- The Education AlliancesupportingJonny Uttley, former CEO of The Education Alliance, served as Visiting Fellow for the Centre for Young Lives and authored the Ambitious About Inclusion report. The Education Alliance is a multi-academy trust supporting the partnership's education inclusion work.
Scale indicators10 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights6 records
Centre for Young Lives competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- The Children's Society: Major UK charity supporting disadvantaged children and young people through direct services, research and policy advocacy. Directly comparable as a children's-focused organisation combining research with system-reform advocacy.
- YoungMinds: UK charity focused on children and young people's mental health, combining campaigning and policy advocacy. Already a formal partner via the Future Minds campaign and a close comparable on the mental health reform agenda.
- Catch22: UK charity delivering services to young people, including education and employment programmes, with a strong policy voice. Direct peer on youth employment/NEET agenda and co-publishing partner on the Young Futures Hubs briefing.
- Centre for Mental Health: UK mental health think tank producing research and policy recommendations. A direct think-tank peer and active partner in the Future Minds campaign, working on overlapping mental health systems reform agenda.
- New Philanthropy Capital (NPC): UK think tank focused on the charity and social sector, producing research to inform funders and policymakers. Comparable operating model and scale, and overlaps where NPC analyses children's services funding and effectiveness.
- Policy Connect: UK cross-party think tank producing research and convening parliamentary networks to influence policy. Directly comparable as a small, advocacy-led think tank targeting government and Parliament on social policy issues.
Broad incumbents
- The Prince's Trust: Major UK youth charity focused on education, employment and skills for disadvantaged young people. Comparable on the NEET and youth opportunity agenda but operates at much greater scale with extensive corporate and government partnerships.
- Barnardo's: One of the UK's largest children's charities, running extensive direct services for vulnerable children while also engaging in policy advocacy. Comparable in mission scope (vulnerable children) but significantly larger and service-delivery-led.
- NSPCC: UK's largest children's charity focused on child protection, with significant policy and campaigning capability. Overlaps with the centre on child welfare, online safety, and government-facing advocacy but operates at much greater scale and with service-delivery infrastructure.
- IPPR (Institute for Public Policy Research): One of the UK's largest progressive think tanks producing cross-domain policy research. Comparable as a UK policy research organisation with a similar advocacy-driven operating model, though broader in scope than children-specific work.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
Centre for Young Lives social profiles
Digital presenceCentre for Young Lives financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Centre for Young Lives leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles8 records
Centre for Young Lives funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
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Centre for Young Lives 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 Young Lives
What does Centre for Young Lives do?
The Centre for Young Lives is an independent think tank and delivery unit that produces research and policy recommendations to improve outcomes for children, young people, and families in the UK. Its core offerings are evidence-based policy reports, advocacy campaigns, and structured initiatives (such as the Growing Up Well model and the Raising the Nation Play Commission) developed in partnership with charities, government bodies, and sector experts to influence legislative and policy change.
Is Centre for Young Lives a public or private company?
Centre for Young Lives is a private company. It is classified as nonprofit foundation owned and is currently operating.
When was Centre for Young Lives founded?
Centre for Young Lives was founded in 2024. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Centre for Young Lives based?
Centre for Young Lives is headquartered in London, United Kingdom, in the Europe region.
How does Centre for Young Lives make money?
Two revenue lines are on record. Donations are the primary driver. The others are newsletter subscriptions.
Who are Centre for Young Lives's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are The Children's Society, YoungMinds, Catch22, Centre for Mental Health, New Philanthropy Capital (NPC) and Policy Connect. Broad incumbents are The Prince's Trust, Barnardo's, NSPCC and IPPR (Institute for Public Policy Research).
Does Centre for Young Lives have an API?
No public API is recorded for Centre for Young Lives.
What industry is Centre for Young Lives in?
Centre for Young Lives's product category is Policy Research and Advocacy Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is BPAGADAO, Youth Housing, Foster Care & Wraparound Support (Education-Linked) Nonprofits, with a secondary code of EDAAAFAN, Youth-to-Adult Transition & Life Skills (Independent Living, Soft Skills). Its NAICS code is 62411 and its SIC code is 8300.