NEF Annual Report 2013 WEB

8/13/2019 NEF Annual Report 2013 WEB

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nef Review of the Year2012 - 2013


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R E V I E W OF T HE Y E A R 2 0 1 2 - 1 3

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Executive Directors messageTimeline of the yearA red light for runawaydecision-makingThe unemployed are lazy, worthlessscroungers, right?

Theres a hole in our banksA sea change in environmentalprotectionLifting the lid on austerityA better compass for the economyMind the gapFinancial summary

Contents

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R E V I E W O F T H E Y E A R 2 0 1 1 2 - 1 3

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What a fantastic year for nef . Fromtackling inequality to protecting ouroceans, from reforming banks to bustingeconomic myths, across all our workwe are making signicant progressin driving the transition towards a fair

economic system that works for peopleand for the planet.

Going through all of our work last yearwould ll this review several times over,so I will mention just one particular

success. Our victory on reform of the Common

Fisheries Policy (see page 16) is a perfectillustration of how nef s unique approach cantransform thinking on a pressing issue and changethings for the better.

Our research overturned the conventional wisdom pushed by the industrial shing lobby thatprotecting the oceans means damaging theeconomy. We built partnerships with Europesleading NGOs to push for change. And over31,600 adults and children took part in our Painta Fish campaign, sending their pictures of sh toMEPs and sheries ministers in the run-up to thecrucial votes.

Message from Stewart Wallis,Executive Director


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This, along with everything else you will read aboutin this review, was only possible thanks to thesupport of the organisations and the thousandsof individuals that share our vision of a fair andsustainable future, that work alongside us tomake that vision a reality, that participate in our

campaigns and events, and, of course, that sogenerously fund our work. You enable nef to standup against wealthy vested interests to ensurepeople and the planet have a powerful voice indecision-making thank you!

Stewart

P.S. Its not too late to paint a sh. Get creative atwww.paintash.org

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JULY 2012

Working with the TUC, weshow that local publicsector pay deals wouldcost the economy 10bn

Our Measuring well-being handbook enables charitiesto calculate their well-being impact

AUGUST2012

In partnership with Care andKenyan farmers, Countingon uncertainty evaluatescommunity adaptations toclimate change

Cutting it in Birmingham highlights austeritys impacton the citys third sector

Fish dependence 2012 reveals the EUs reliance onseafood imports

SEPTEMBER 2012

As we explain on Radio4s Today, No catchinvestment shows thatprotecting the oceans isgood for the economy

Unburnable carbonexamines the dangersof overpriced fossilfuel reserves

National gardening leavemakes the case for ashorter working week

Timeline of the year


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OCTOBER 2012

MPs from all major

parties attend our debateExamining the valueof HS2

Our Haringey CarbonCommission researchoutlines how the borough

can reduce CO2 emissionsby 40% by 2020

Alongside Scope, in Doingservices differently weshowcase ideas that givedisabled people more

control of their services

NOVEMBER 2012

Well-being patternsuncovered explores the

UKs rst set of nationalwell-being statistics

The economics of oildependence shows thatoil prices place a ceiling oneconomic recovery

Everyday insecurityexposes the human costof austerity

In Beyond Beveridge , wemark the reports 60thanniversary by proposing anew social settlement


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DECEMBER 2013

We publish a new edition

of our sold-out bookWhere does money comefrom? explaining how themonetary system works

Our criminal justiceprogramme launches by

showing how communityservices support vulnerablewomen and reducereoffending

We expose the growingrisks posed by Exchangetraded funds

JANUARY 2013

One track mind? uncoversthe governments failure toevaluate alternatives to HS2

Our Prevention papers explain how early actionon societal problemswould reduce harm andsave money

FEBRUARY 2013

We link the monetary andecological systems inEnergising money

MARCH 2013

A dozen leading guresaddress one of the deningissues of our time atour major conference,What next for tacklinginequality?

Our Stakeholder banks analysis of national bankingsystems warns the UKs isstructurally awed


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APRIL 2013

Our briengs Sustainablesheries make economic

sense and Fishdependence 2013 reiteratethe urgency of restoringsh stocks

Why we need a newmacroeconomic strategy

sets out a path to escapeour high-carbon, high-debt economy

We launch ourMythbusters seriesto counter popular

economic untruths

MAY 2013

Towards a Welshindustrial strategy outlines

how the Welsh economycan thrive despite growingdisparity between Londonand the rest of the UK

Our Economics in policy-making series helps NGOs

harness economics tofurther their missions

We train hundreds of social justice and environmentalcampaigners through ourMythbusters online course

Buying things together evaluates approaches topooling personal budgets incare and support

JUNE 2013

The parliamentary launchof The best we can do?proposes ve projectsthat would better deliverHS2s aims with its (then)33bn budget

12 politicians outline visionsfor the future of banking inour book, Banking 2020

Over the following pageswe look at a few highlightsin detail. You can nd outmore about all of our workat www.neweconomics.org


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The UKs transport system is crying out formajor investment. Railways require upgradingand we need more low-carbon ways of gettingaround. But that doesnt mean we can afford tolet prestige veer spending away from the mostbenecial projects.

This year nef changed the course of public debatearound HS2. The new rail line is set to become thebiggest transport investment in UK history but, asour report One track mind found out, the ofcialgovernment appraisal of the scheme is full of gapsand unanswered questions. Putting aside whether

or not HS2 will actually help us save carbon orclose the North -South divide (we have our doubts),at no point in the process has the governmentexplored other comparable options for how thebudget of tens of billions could be invested.

nef stepped in to subject HS2 to the scrutiny thegovernment has failed to give. Our report HighSpeed 2: The best we can do? caught the eyeof media and politicians alike by mapping out

just what 33 billion (the original projected costof HS2) could buy us if invested differently. Weshowed how it could be spent to benet all ofBritain. It could upgrade our existing NorthSouthmainlines; pay for better busses, trams, and bikeroutes around the country; and bring super-fast

A red light for runawaydecision-making


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broadband to rural areas. Essentially, it proved thatbig and ashy is not always better making smarttargeted investments around the country couldbenet more people, save carbon, and far outstripHS2 on value for money.

Now major players are calling for the brakes tobe put on HS2. The Commons Treasury SelectCommittee has demanded reassurance that theschemes benets will outweigh those of otherpotential schemes and the Shadow Chancellor hasinsisted that he will not offer HS2 a blank cheque.

Our huge thanks go to the Hadley Trust for itsgenerous support of this work and to everyonewho helped get the message across.


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From parliament to the pub, myths about oureconomy are everywhere. Typically they are usedto justify privilege and attack the environment andmost vulnerable. Often cloaked in authoritative-sounding statistics and value-laden language, theycan be tricky to rebut. Unless you know how.

nef teamed up with the Tax Justice Network totake on the most common myths that prop upthe old economy. In a series of blogs and essayswritten by top economists and journalists, includingOwen Jones, Heather Stewart, and ProfessorSimon Wren-Lewis, we revealed how to dismantle

arguments that those ghting for a fairer systemcome up against every day.

Focusing on key economic battlegrounds fromthe notion that social welfare is simply a question

of hardworking strivers andlazy skivers, to the idea thatwe cant raise corporationtax or big business will leave our nine mythbusters hada huge reach. They werepublished weekly on the

The unemployed are lazy,worthless scroungers, right?

Its been an excellent tool todebunk myths around austerityand lay the groundwork formore progressive ideas. Taxcompetition came up in aSky debate just days after myMythbuster. It was invaluablein giving me the condence totake on my opponent.Ellie Mae OHagan , journalist and activist


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Guardian, and shared over 10,000 times on socialmedia. The response was so positive we ran anonline course on the topics, training hundreds ofsocial justice and environmental activists. We are very grateful to the Network for

Social Change , Artists Project Earth , and allof our supporters whose donations helpedfund Mythbusters. n

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Its easy to attack the banks these days. But layingout a different path for nance so that it supportsa productive and sustainable economy is anothermatter. This year, thanks to our supporters, wewere able to do this, and cement our position asthe leading voice on bank reform.

nef s experts were at the heart of the action,calling for radical change to make the bankingsystem serve people and the planet as well as

prot. We presented to theParliamentary Commissionfor Banking Standards and

made frequent appearancesin the national media. Thepacked-out parliamentarylaunch of Banking 2020 abook challenging politicians tothink outside the box on thefuture of banking helpeddraw even more attention toour mission. Our report Stakeholderbanks highlighted the gaping

hole in the UKs banking sector where othercountries have credit unions, cooperatives, andall kinds of local banks. Driven by social needsas well as prot, stakeholder banks are superior

Theres a hole in our banks

[nef s Finance & BusinessTeam] bring to their research

a clear and well-reasonedmethodology that is matched bythe expertise of key researcherswho have actually worked inbanks. The combination is rare,and maybe unique, but what itmeans is that when nef talksabout banking, those interestedin the future of the sector haveto sit up and take notice.Richard Murphy, Director, Tax Research UK


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at getting small businesses off the ground. Theyweather nancial downturns much better than big

speculative lenders and are more tunedin to the environmental and the socialimpact of their investing.

As our calls for greater banking diversityare being echoed by Westminster andindustry alike, weve also made headwayin the ght for local economies. Leadinga European network of organisations,weve been working to share the

know-how about local currencies like the Brixton

Pound across the continent, engaging withNGOs, municipalities and credit unions in sixdifferent countries.

This work was made possible by generousdonations fr om our individual supporters , TheTudor Trust , the Joseph Rowntree CharitableTrust and with nancial assistance from theEuropean Union .

The new economicsfoundation is amongforemost voices for

change, under itshead of nance, TonyGreenham.Polly Toynbee, writer andGuardian columnist


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We are told that protecting the environment is aluxury we cant afford. But in reality it makes perfecteconomic sense. This year nef had a historicopportunity to address misconceptions at the heartof how natural resources decisions are made.And we did it!

The common sheries policy is the central rulebook governing all shing by EU eets. Vitalto the sustainability of our seas, it is reviewedand updated only once a decade. Weve beengathering evidence to inuence the 2013 reformfor years and for good reason. Two-thirds of

assessed EU stocks are now over-exploited. Aswell as causing untold ecological damage, this iscosting us millions in lost revenue and jobs. It wastime to make a stand.

Our game-changing research into the economicsof conservation was backed by our colourful Painta Fish campaign. This prompted over 31,600adults and children from every country in the EUto send paintings to their sheries ministers andmembers of European parliament (MEPs), urgingthem to use their votes to restore sh stocksfor future generations. New nef policy briengshelped activists and policy-makers understandand communicate the economic argument forsustainable shing.

A sea change inenvironmental protection


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The initiatives of your foundation

contributed positively in raisingawareness for the reform of thecommon sheries policyMaria Damanaki, European CommissionerFor Maritime Affairs And Fisheries

There is still a long way to go to save our seas. Butthanks to our supporters and those who connectedand campaigned with us, weve helped shapethe common sheries policy for the better. MEPs

and sheries ministers nallyunderstand that sustainable

sh stocks are good news forthe shing industry, and havevoted to include the goal ofrestoring sh stocks to theirfull potential in the legislation.Future reforms should see

more and more of the quota awarded to sustainable

shing eets that create the most jobs, ratherthan the destructive trawlers that drain value fromour seas.

With huge thanks to the funders of this work, theOAK Foundation Ltd , the Waterloo Foundation ,Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation , the PewEnvironment Group and all of you who took partin this campaign.

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People can be marginalised in many ways,including in debate. But we cant plan a new, fairereconomy without listening to those at the receivingend of the problems with our current system. Thisyear nef gave hard-hit communities a voice in theausterity debate.

Our Everyday insecurity report documentedwhat its really like to be on a lower income inthe face of austerity. The result of peer research,photojournalism, and eldwork in some of themost deprived areas of Birmingham and London,this was about enabling the people behind the

statistics to tell their stories.Many of those who spoke to us described agrowing feeling of powerlessness taking hold oftheir lives. They explained the everyday insecuritythat comes with being in precarious, low-paidemployment, and the deep-seated anxiety theyfeel over rising costs of living and an unravellingnational social safety net.

But the story doesnt stop there. As well ashighlighting the issue in the national media,the project helped local people, communityorganisations, and council ofcers to explore waysto improve their well-being and make the most oflocal resources. Through workshops they identied

Lifting the lid on austerity

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what their communities did have to offer and hownew approaches, like crowd-funding and time-banking, could help them use these resources toplug gaps in other areas.

This work was supported by the Barrow Cadbury

Trust , City Bridge Trust , and LankellyChaseFoundation .


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nef has long been a pioneer of the idea that weneed to look beyond GDP as measure of progress.The new economy will be built on well-being, andachieving this means learning to measure whatreally matters. Thats why this year weve workedwith key number-crunching organisations around

the world including the Ofce of NationalStatistics (ONS), Eurostat, and the Organisation forEconomic Cooperation and Development (OECD) to help them collect and develop their data onwell-being and quality of life.

And our efforts are continuing to pay off. This

year the ONS published its rst dataset on theUKs national well-beinglevels clearing the way forus to demonstrate just howvaluable such information canbe. Our Well-being patternsuncovered report made senseof the data to reveal thepopulation groups currently

thriving in the UK, and those who are unhappierwith their lives. As well as grabbing the headlines,this proved the insufciency of mainstreameconomic indicators like GDP as a basis fordecision-making with London, the richest part ofthe country, scoring lowest on well-being.

A better compassfor the economy

Combination of rigorousacademic work with powerfulpublic dissemination.Professor Kate Pickett, Professor,Inequalities in Health at the University ofYork and co-author of The Spirit Level


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The continuing challenge is for well-being to drivedecision-making. In 2012/2013, along with ourpartners on the Good Jobs Taskforce, we workedout ways to integrate well-being into industrialstrategy to support companies which are the bestemployers, the most environmentally sound, and

the most useful to their regional economy.

We are very grateful to the AIM Foundation andthe Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trus t for theirsupport of this work.


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In 30 years the UK has moved from one of themost equal high-income countries to one of themost unequal. Many of the problems we seein society from poverty and low well-being, toour inability to live within environmental limits are intrinsically linked to and magnied by

economic inequality.

Unfortunately, politically sensitive problems like thisare easy to sideline and brush over by those whomatter. This year, our supporters helped nef beone of the few organisations brave enough to callout the elephant in the room and think big on how

to get it out of the door.The inequality event we put on at the British Libraryin March drew together academics, policymakers,

journalists, and members of the public to put thespotlight on inequality and demand action. Fromthe argument that beating climate change hingeson our ability to close the gap between rich andpoor to the power inequality underlying the Londonriots, the event opened up entirely new ways ofviewing the issue.

Chaired by Giles Fraser and the BBCs EvanDavis, the event really captured imaginations withthousands of people sharing the online content weproduced around it.

Mind the gap


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The event, and our other work on inequalitythis year, was funded by donations from oursupporters thank you! We are now working todraw up policies that will help us shrink inequalitywithin a generation, with exciting plans for 2014.


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nef is proud to be independent of political partiesand special interests. We are a registered charityand rely on a broad cross section of individuals,charities, companies and public sector funders toundertake our work.

We are delighted to thank our major funders, listedopposite. We are also very grateful to all of you,too numerous to name, who give generously eachmonth or have donated to our appeals. Togetherwe are a powerful voice for people and planet.

nef s total income for 2012-13 was 3,116,287.

This was derived from three sources: majorgrants and donations (listed overleaf), individualsupporters and donors, and earned income. Weearn income through consultancy services inimpact evaluation and organisational developmentfor charities, the public sector and businesses much of it through nef consulting. These contractsdo not affect our research and advocacy agenda.

Financial summary


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The Hadley TrustNetwork for Social ChangeOAK Foundation LtdEuropean CommissionStichting DOENThe Tudor Trust

AIM FoundationOfce of the First Minister and Deputy First MinisterFresheld FoundationPaul Hamlyn FoundationR H Southern TrustLankellyChase FoundationCripplegate Foundation

The Waterloo FoundationCalouste Gulbenkian FoundationPeoples Health TrustOxfam GBThe Connectus KommoniaCharitable TrustBarrow Cadbury TrustSocial Care Institute for ExcellenceCity Bridge TrustJoseph Rowntree FoundationNesta and the Cabinet OfceAnne RobbinsMeshArtists Project EarthJames SkinnerSherwood Forest Fund

234,770198,000196,675138,979123,294111,059

110,00098,92480,00057,00043,00041,70037,000

34,00025,00022,50019,500

17,30015,00011,72010,000

9,9118,0006,0005,3495,0005,0005,000


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Expenditure summary by programmeor function

n Governance Costsn Fundraisingn nef Consultingn External affairsn Environmental Economics

n Finance and Businessn Great Transition Initiativesn Social Policyn Valuing What Mattersn Well-being

Total expenditure 3,263,330

Full details of our income and expenditure are published in our Annual Report and Accounts

which can be found at www.neweconomics.org/funding


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nef consulting

nef consulting is nef s wholly-owned socialenterprise. They use our ideas and tools to helppublic, private and third sector organisationsmeasure and increase their value to people and

planet. 2012-13 saw the social enterprise workingwith foundations and NGOs in over ten countries,including China, South Africa and Kenya tounderstand and improve their impact on well-beingand sustainability.

In the UK, they undertook a ground-breaking

project with the Crown Estate to calculate the totalenvironmental, social and economic footprint ofnot only the estate, but also its supply chains andthe activities taking place around it. Among muchmore, they also trained staff in major UK charitieslike Gingerbread and the World Wildlife Fund onhow to imbed social impact measurement intotheir work.


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nef is the UKs leading think tankpromoting social, economic andenvironmental justice. Our purposeis to bring about a Great Transition

to transform the economy so that itworks for people and the planet.

Board of trustees

Sam Clarke (Chair)Martin GillieMargaret HydeLeo JohnsonColin NeeJules PeckHoward ReedSimon RetallackRukayah SarumiLyndall Stein

Sue Gillie (Trustee Emeritus)James Skinner (Trustee Emeritus)

Design and Illustrations by Rachel Gannon

nef (the new economics foundation)3 Jonathan StreetLondon SE11 5NH

020 7820 [email protected]@nef

www.neweconomics.orgRegistered charity number 1055254

Documents

NEF Annual Report 2013 WEB