What CENTRIC LAB does

Centric Lab is a UK-registered Community Interest Company (CIC) limited by guarantee that prototypes ways to use health-based scientific evidence to support justice movements, surface non-Western epistemologies, and create language for health injustices felt by racialised and marginalised communities. Founded in 2017 from the inaugural Conscious Cities conference and converted to CIC status in 2025, the organisation applies a neuroscience-based framework centred on the Hypothalamus Pituitary Adrenal (HPA) Axis, stress response and allostatic load to articulate the physiological relationship between people and their wider environment, including biological inequity caused by systemic racism and classism.

Its core products are methodological rather than software-based: named programmes (Air is Kin, Community Health Impact Assessment, Obesity Health Justice, Healthworkers for Health Justice, Trans Migrant People of Colour Health Justice, Healing Imaginations), open-access tools (Right to Know, the Community Health Impact Assessment Toolkit / CHIAT, Biological Inequity Index, Polluters Playbook), an online learning course (Introduction to Ecological Health), and a 7+ year open-access research archive. Underlying technology consists of the community-led CHIA methodology, a Biological Inequity visualisation approach and a curated knowledge library, with no disclosed AI/ML components and an explicit organisational position against AI tool use.

Revenue is generated through philanthropic grants (notably Impact on Urban Health / Guy's & St Thomas's Foundation from 2021, plus UKRI, The Young Foundation and Innovate UK) and consulting income from workshops, talks and co-creation programmes with organisations embedding health justice praxis. All income is applied to advancing the company's articles of association. Primary customer segments are UK grassroots groups and non-profits, racialised and marginalised communities, organisations seeking to integrate health justice, and healthcare professionals; the model is community-led go-to-market delivered through direct partnerships, open-access digital channels, and an emerging self-serve online learning surface.

Name

CENTRIC LAB

Legal name

Centric Lab CIC

Website

https://thecentriclab.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2017

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

UK-registered Community Interest Company (CIC) prototyping health-based scientific evidence, using a neuroscience framework (HPA-Axis and allostatic load), to support justice movements for grassroots groups, racialised and marginalised communities, and organisations embedding health justice praxis.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

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

Revenue model

1. Philanthropic Funding: Centric Lab primarily works through partnership funding from philanthropic organisations. They partner with funders to develop the Healing Commons through supporting individual programmes, supporting scientific-led enquiry in Work Themes, or by allowing growth of outreach capacity through core funding.
2. Consulting Services: Revenues raised from consulting work, including workshops, talks, and co-creation programmes with organisations looking to embed health justice praxis. All incomes are used for advancing objects of articles of association.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Centric Lab is a non-profit community interest company that prototypes ways to use health-based scientific evidence to support justice movements. It delivers this through long-term partnerships, a portfolio of active health justice programmes, open-access community tools, and consulting/training services for organisations, with all outputs shared through a free digital library.

Product overview

Centric Lab is a non-profit community interest company (CIC) that prototypes ways to use health-based scientific evidence to support justice movements. Their portfolio consists of active programmes focused on health justice (Air is Kin, Community Health Impact Assessment, Obesity Health Justice, Healthworkers for Health Justice, Trans Migrant People of Colour Health Justice, Healing Imaginations), open-access community tools (Right to Know, CHIAT, Polluters Playbook), learning programmes (Introduction to Ecological Health), and research publications. The organisation operates through partnerships with grassroots groups, non-profits, and organisations, providing expertise and insights on health, communities, and place.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Air is Kin (AIK) A 'living lab' programme supporting communities exposed to air pollution to withstand associated poor health outcomes; includes a co-designed Signs and Symptoms Survey, an AIK Academy for self-directed learning, and community drop-in sessions.
• Community Health Impact Assessment (CHIA) Community-led methodology enabling people to assess and advocate for health impacts of policies, strategies, plans, programmes or projects on their communities, particularly on vulnerable or disadvantaged groups.
• Obesity Health Justice Programme focused on abolishing 'right to pollute' policies and addressing health injustices related to obesity within marginalised communities.
• Healthworkers for Health Justice Political education movement awakening the agency of healthcare professionals as 'sites of liberation' rather than cogs in destructive systems.
• Trans Migrant People of Colour Health Justice Programme addressing specific health injustices faced by trans migrant people of colour.
• Introduction to Ecological Health Four-module online course supporting community leaders and organisers to understand how health outcomes result from interactions with natural, built, social, economic, and political environments.
• Right to Know Open-access community tool for knowledge mobility and health justice advocacy.
• CHIAT (Community Health Impact Assessment Toolkit) Toolkit helping communities capture, understand and analyse their conditions for health justice advocacy.
• Polluters Playbook Resource for the Air is Kin project documenting polluter accountability strategies.
• Healing Imaginations Programme exploring pathways for community-led healing and collective futures.
• Urban Health Council Convening mechanism bringing together practitioners, researchers, and advocates focused on health in cities.

Quantifiable outcome

• Tim Oshodi (Downham CLT) successful at planning inspectorate - Lewisham Council ordered to modify Local Plan on health equity grounds
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature6 records

Partnerships

14 partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Dr. Kavian KulasabanathancoreOthers · 1 January 2024Advisor and collaborator who posed key accountability question at 2024 retreat. Dr. Kulasabanathan sits as a member with voting rights on approving directors' actions and is a practicing physician and health justice organiser.
• Impact on Urban Health (Guy's & St. Thomas's Foundation)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2021Partnership began in late 2021 to support the centring of community knowledge production within the Urban Health Council work. Impact on Urban Health provides funding and strategic support for convening practitioners, researchers, and advocates focused on health in cities.
• University College London (UCL)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2017Initial collaboration formed at Conscious Cities conference 2016 with Prof. Hugo Spiers. In 2017, supported by UCL vice dean of enterprise for MRC grant application. Long-term collaborator Jake Robinson, PhD co-authored biodiversity paper with Lab Director Araceli Camargo.
• Guppi Bola (Decolonising Economics)coreOthersLongtime advisor who sits on advisory board alongside Dr. Kulasabanathan. Represents Decolonising Economics perspective in organisational strategy.
• Dr. Rhiannon Mihranian OsbornecoreOthersPracticing physician and health justice organiser who serves as member with voting rights on approving directors' actions. Collaborated on 4-part Planetary Dysregulation, Capitalism, and Healthcare series.
• Coffee Afrik CICminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration on project examining memory, archiving, and ecological justice for diasporic communities. Hannah visited women's hubs for knowledge exchange on belonging and communality.
• Shared AssetsminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerTraining partnership for data tools and FOI requests related to housing and land justice. Centric Lab participated in 'Who Owns What?' workshop series.
• Downham Community Land TrustcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCHIA case study partner. Tim Oshodi received training on Community Health Impact Assessment toolkit and successfully challenged Lewisham Council's Local Plan at planning inspectorate.
• Portland Inn Project CICminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCHIA case study partner. Community organisation working on food education and health justice initiatives.
• Angela Fonso and CASH CommunitycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration on British Science Association 2024 project exploring co-production journey of Community Health Impact Assessment. Resulted in joint essay 'It's not the what, it's the how'.
• The Young FoundationminorOthersFunding and support partner for CHIA project with Angela Fonso and CASH community.
• British Science AssociationminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSelected alongside 15 other groups in 2024 to write essay reflecting on co-production journey. Joint essay published on British Science Association website.
• Innovate UK Future Cities CatapultminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCommissioned Centric Lab to summarise learnings from neuroscience secondment into a playbook for city makers and professionals titled 'Neuroscience for Cities'.
• Civic SquareminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborator who demonstrated importance of learning journeys. Contributed to Introduction to Ecological Health course development.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• New Economics Foundation: UK-based think tank and registered charity conducting research and advocacy on economic, social, and environmental justice — closely aligned with Centric Lab's CIC-style research-plus-advocacy model addressing structural health inequities.
• Trust for London: London-focused charitable foundation tackling structural inequality — comparable mission scope (anti-racism, anti-poverty, community empowerment) with London geographic overlap.
• Institute of Health Equity (UCL): UCL-based research organization (Marmot team) producing evidence on social determinants of health and health inequalities — directly comparable mission to Centric Lab's health-justice framework, with similar academic-policy interface.
• Impact on Urban Health: Part of Guy's & St. Thomas's Foundation, funding work on urban health and health inequities — Centric Lab's strategic partner and most directly comparable funder-aligned research/advocacy organization.
• Just Treatment: UK health-justice campaign supporting communities facing health inequities — smaller and more campaign-focused than Centric Lab but operating in the same community-led health-justice advocacy space.
• Race Equality Foundation: UK charity producing research and resources on racial inequality and health — comparable focus on racialized health disparities through community-engaged research and policy advocacy.
• People's Health Trust: UK charity funding community-led health equity work in disadvantaged areas — comparable funder-ecosystem position and community-empowerment orientation to Centric Lab.
• Medact: UK charity of health professionals working on social justice issues including racism, pollution, and health inequity — comparable model of physician-led advocacy for structural determinants of health.

Broad incumbents

• The Health Foundation: Independent UK health research and policy charity funding work on health inequalities — broader portfolio but overlaps significantly with Centric Lab's evidence-base-building for community health advocacy.
• The King's Fund: Major UK health policy think tank producing independent research on health and care systems — broader portfolio than Centric Lab but operates in the same health-equity research space.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/centriclab

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles7 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

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

Frequently asked questions about CENTRIC LAB