NPC Ignites helpers

Our values

As a charity think tank and consultancy, our mission is to change lives by helping charities, foundations, philanthropists, impact investors, social enterprises, corporates, and the public sector to maximise social impact in the lives of the people they serve.

We bring the following values to our work:

We value honesty and integrity, even when it’s hard

We aim to be a critical friend to the sector, spurring it on when it’s doing well and using our independence to challenge when we know it can do better. ​We want our clients and the whole sector to succeed in their missions, so we’re not afraid to question those we work with in a constructive and empathetic way. ​​

We encourage our staff to question and challenge because we believe it’s through honest discussion and debate, and being willing to challenge the status quo, that we can learn and improve, stimulate bold thinking and effectively support the needs of the sector.​

We care about evidence

We believe decisions should be based on meaningful evidence. The quality, generation and integrity of evidence matters, and proportionality is crucial.

We don’t take shortcuts to chase headlines but work hard to uncover and analyse the details that matter. We develop credible and practical solutions which are grounded in an understanding of the strengths and limitations of the evidence.

We innovate and learn

If we are to stay ahead of social challenges, we must think for the future and embrace uncertainty, innovation and learning. We create, develop, and test new ideas and learn from what works and what doesn’t. This requires us to be humble, agile, and open to failure. ​

We don’t believe in change for change’s sake, but if we are to be serious about creating positive social change then we all need to get out of our comfort zones to learn and evolve.

We’re committed to inclusion, equity, and diversity, in all its forms

We value all voices and perspectives. Our sector exists to serve all people in society, yet too often our structures and work can reinforce existing inequities and power imbalances. We want to see greater diversity, more inclusive practices and healthier power dynamics in the charity sector, and we strive to include and amplify different voices in our work.

We recognise our own power and share this in pursuit of our mission. ​We seek to improve NPC as a diverse, inclusive and equitable place to work, and ensure our publications and events are accessible to all.

​We work with others

Charities and funders need to break out of their silos – ourselves included! Improving coordination, collaboration and shared understanding is vital to improving our collective impact. We put collaboration at the heart of our work by recognising the expertise of others, and through being a bridge between charities and funders.

Collaboration must be for a purpose, not just for its own sake. We recognise that we aren’t always the experts, and we can’t do things alone, so we strive to listen to and share with others.

In everything we do we strive to be clear, committed, passionate, bold, open, and imaginative. Our enthusiasm is deeply rooted in our passion for improving the lives of the people charities serve.

Footer