Project: Diversity Forum – Phase 3

Grant: £60,000

Since it was established in 2017, the Diversity Forum has worked to improve inclusion and diversity within social investors and social investment intermediaries. It produced a comprehensive review of diversity in the social investment sector in 2018 and has since produced a manifesto for social investors and built a peer-network of Diversity Champions. The Diversity Forum is looking to continue and expand on this work; strengthening diverse voices in the market, increasing their representation and making social investors more reflective of the communities they support.

The long term impacts of this project will be that the social investment sector will be a more diverse, inclusive and equitable place to work. The inclusion of more diverse voices and lived experience within the sector will positively influence and impact the relationship between investors and investees. Social investment organisations will recruit from a wider pool of talent, giving them a greater range of perspectives and making them more reflective of and accountable to the communities they are set up to serve. This in turn will help improve social Investment products and programmes as they will be more accessible, informed and well-designed to suit the needs of potential investees and the people who run them.