Better Futures Fund

The Fund aims to:

• Improve outcomes related to child poverty by supporting approaches aligned with the Government’s Child Poverty Strategy (CPS).

• Support preventative approaches to local service delivery by enabling organisations to work together around local needs and long-term outcomes.

• Build the evidence base for Social Outcomes Partnerships and their potential to support public service reform.

• Stand up new Social Outcomes Partnerships at pace by building on the track record of past project partners.

• Build learning for future rounds of Better Futures Fund investment.

Round one will provide up to £37 million of government match funding towards the Better Futures Fund objectives.

The first round is aimed at organisations with prior experience of participating in Social Outcomes Partnerships (SOPs) and existing SOP projects that are ready to deliver.

To be eligible, applicants must:
• be part of the impact economy, including purpose-led organisations and commissioners;
• have a track record of delivering Social Outcomes Partnerships; and
• demonstrate a clear link between their proposed project and child poverty outcomes.

Find full details in the Application Guidance.

Social Outcomes Partnerships bring together commissioners, delivery organisations and intermediaries around a shared goal: improving outcomes for people and communities. They focus funding on achieving measurable results while encouraging innovation, collaboration and long-term thinking.

Projects are expected to address the causes and impacts of child poverty through measurable outcomes.

Examples include:

• Family support and preventing entry into care
• Early years development and school readiness
• Educational engagement and attainment
• Youth employment and skills development
• Support for children and young people with SEND
• Youth justice and prevention programmes
• Children’s wellbeing, safety and resilience initiatives

Projects will be expected to demonstrate robust evidence of impact and clear outcomes frameworks.

Projects are expected to address the causes and impacts of child poverty by improving outcomes for a defined cohort of people in particular places. They will also be expected to contribute to broader reforms in how children, young people and families affected by poverty are supported, by demonstrating new ways of working, generating new evidence, and building new capacity. The fund aims to support a diverse portfolio of projects across different geographies, beneficiary groups and intervention models.

Applicants to round one will be supported by a group of expert grant assessors, who bring together expertise across social investment, child poverty, place-based change, and outcomes measurement.

• Nigel Ball – Former Executive Director of Government Outcomes Lab.

• Gen Maitland Hudson – Social investment specialist and Deputy CEO of Social Investment Business.

• Sarah Young – Educational outcomes and evaluation specialist, having led the first phase of the Youth Endowment Fund with Impetus.

• John Hitchin – Expert in place-based change and former CEO of Renaisi.

• Tim Gray – Consultant with extensive experience supporting local authorities to establish Social Outcomes Partnerships.

The final portfolio of funded projects will be decided by an independent grant committee, with final awards announced in Q1 of 2027.