Lloyds Bank Foundation for England and Wales

The challenge

The Lloyds Bank Foundation for England and Wales is one of the UK’s largest grant-making trusts, investing in charities to support disadvantaged people and promoting practical approaches to lasting change.

The Foundation commissioned us to conduct research to inform its new strategy. It wanted to explore approaches by grant-makers in two areas—organisational development in grantees and influencing social change—with a view to help the Foundation determine its own future approach in these areas.

Our approach

We concentrated the research on international approaches  drawing on our networks to find interesting models across the world. This was combined with extensive desk research and a series of interviews to review the evidence base and capture learning from across the sector and beyond.

We used the findings from this research phase to develop a typology of funding approaches in these areas, accompanied by advice for working in these areas and identification of the various benefits and trade-offs involved. We then presented these findings at an away day with the Foundation’s staff, helping the staff to think through what would work best for the Foundation. We then produced a report of our findings and recommendations.

The result

The Foundation tells us the work we did with them has resulted in them amending its approach to both organisational development and influencing in its new strategy.