At the Joseph Rowntree Foundation, they work to speed up and support the transition to a future free from poverty, in which people and planet can flourish. They are an independent social change organisation.
Vision, mission and principles: They believe that many of the systems that fuel injustice in the world can either be remade or unmade.
MISSION: They are an independent social change organisation, working to support and speed up the transition to a more equitable and just future, free from poverty, where people and planet can flourish.
VISION
Rapid technological change and a worsening ecological crisis are making the future more uncertain. Meanwhile, rising inequality, exclusion and hardship are driving unnecessary suffering and political instability. In this precarious context they are wary of reaching for fixed blueprints of what a fairer world might look like. Instead, their strategy sets a direction of travel, guided by shared values and the changes they want to see in society, as well as aspects of the status quo they hope will gradually diminish.
Their ambition is that social and economic systems can give people greater control over the most important parts of their lives, with a more equal distribution of material and social resources for everyone to enjoy dignity, opportunity and hope and enable their fullest contribution to society. Achieving this will require systems built on solidarity, liberation, and people’s interdependence on each other and the natural environment.
They think the main obstacles to change are forms of capitalism which concentrate the ownership and control of scarce assets in fewer hands and the defenders of such inequality. Confronting these effectively is essential.
THREE FOCUS AREAS
GEOGRAPHIC FOCUS
They are active across all 4 nations of the UK. The different power structures in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland require them to take a distinct approach to their work in each place. Harnessing their efforts across the UK, and anchored within their mission, they build insight and solutions for the struggles faced by people in these places, using local skills, connections and networks to drive progress towards their mission.
They also play a particularly active role in their historic home city of York, and the surrounding region. This starts with their stewardship of the Homestead site, including the Homestead Park, and through their role as the parent organisation of the Joseph Rowntree Housing Trust (JRHT), a provider of affordable housing and care services in York and the wider region.
They are committed to increasing their contribution to the development of York and the wider region in the context of the polycrisis. This was the region that played a key role in the industrialisation of the UK; they want to play our part in creating the conditions for it to take on that role again as they navigate a second equally deep transition – towards a more equitable economy which puts people and planet at its centre. To do that they are working alongside communities and anchor institutions across the region to support transformative change in line with their wider strategy.
