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2023-12-31-accounts

Foreword

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Nuffield Foundation – Annual report 2023
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© Nuffield Foundation 2024

100 St John Street London EC1M 4EH Registered charity: 206601

T: + 44 (0) 20 7631 0566 E: info@nuffieldfoundation.org Twitter: @NuffieldFound LinkedIn: Search ’Nuffield Foundation’ Website: www.nuffieldfoundation.org

Annual report 2023

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Foreword

Foreword

----- Start of picture text -----
Nuffield Foundation – Annual report 2023
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© Nuffield Foundation 2024

100 St John Street London EC1M 4EH Registered charity: 206601

T: + 44 (0) 20 7631 0566 E: info@nuffieldfoundation.org Twitter: @NuffieldFound LinkedIn: Search ’Nuffield Foundation’ Website: www.nuffieldfoundation.org

Annual report and financial statements 2023

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Contents

45 Strategic goal four – opportunities for young people

Foreword

Foreword

Chair’s foreword

It is my great pleasure to introduce this annual report for the Nuffield Foundation. The Foundation marked its 80th anniversary in 2023. Eight decades after we began working to make a meaningful contribution to social change, many aspects of contemporary Britain would be beyond recognition to our founders. Our predecessors would also have marvelled at fast-paced technological innovation and its impact on almost every aspect of lives today.

Some things have changed less than we would have wished. The original Foundation Trustees would recognise many sadly persistent themes – deep disadvantage and inequality in social well-being in all age groups, a lack of opportunity within education and housing for a large sector of society, isolation and growing divisions, and a lack of equal access and support within the justice system. For all our technological progress, human and societal problems remain acute.

We are deeply fortunate to have the endowment given to us by the industrialist Lord Nuffield to help make meaningful change where it is most needed. His gift of financial independence and a broad remit offers the Foundation a unique opportunity to rise to the challenge of tackling social inequity.

In 2023 we launched Changing Lives for the Better , a year-long series of events and activity. Our aim, to anticipate issues that will shape life in the UK over the next 20 years, and to develop research priorities that will address these.

The projects we fund share a determination to advance educational opportunity and social well-being through an understanding of how to make a meaningful difference. From the economy, bioethics, and the ethics of AI to very specific research on work and well-being for people living with arthritis, the Foundation is in the privileged position of targeting its work in those areas it can use its independence for societal good.

Education has always been at the heart of the Foundation’s work and we take care to consider how this interacts with other aspects of society: the economy, health, housing and justice. The Institute for Fiscal Studies’ Annual report on education spending in England: 2023 , funded by us, focused on how aspirations to

‘level up’ education achievement and opportunities have met with the complex realities of provision and current need.

In 2023 we held a seminar to mark the midpoint of our Understanding Communities programme. In collaboration with the British Academy, we awarded £1.1m to six research teams for projects aimed at exploring how local communities function and can improve people’s lives.

We also opened a General Election Analysis and Briefing Fund to inform policy, manifesto commitments and the public, as the UK seeks to respond to a daunting array of individual, local, national and global challenges.

These are just a few examples of our work in 2023. As a Foundation we do not assume that there are easy solutions to societal problems, or that we have all the answers. What we do have is a special opportunity to bring insights to bear on social interventions, so they have the maximum chance of success. We do this by working with others. Our research community is exceptional and our staff and many partners across the third sector, practitioners, industry and government are similarly committed to improving lives.

I must express my gratitude to our programme directors and Trustees, including this year a new Trustee, Brian Bell, Professor of Economics at King’s Business School. Alongside new Chairs of the Nuffield Council of Bioethics, Ada Lovelace Institute and Nuffield Family Justice Observatory, we also welcomed a new Director of Strategy and Engagement.

Finally, I wish to thank our Chief Executive, Tim Gardam, who formally retires in 2024. The quality of our work, and the respect in which it is held, is a true tribute to Tim’s thoughtful leadership and dedication to making a difference to the lives of the people the Nuffield Foundation serves. Whoever takes up the leadership at a time of great social need and change will benefit from the wise stewardship of an outstanding predecessor to whom we all owe our thanks.

Professor Sir Keith Burnett Chair of Trustees

Chief Executive’s foreword

The Nuffield Family Justice Observatory is now the trusted data source for those working in the family courts system. In 2023, it identified major questions around how children are subjected to deprivation of liberty orders. We also funded work on children’s participation in the justice system and the implications of racial disparity in the schemes designed to divert them from the criminal courts.

The Nuffield Foundation’s value has always derived from the capacity of the work we fund to stand back from the noise of day-to-day debate. In 2023, 80 years after the Foundation was established, our founders would recognise current projects as being true to our original purpose of improving lives, while reflecting contemporary pressure points of uncertainty and insecurity.

Our most ambitious projects of the past five-year strategy are now coming to fruition. The IFS Deaton Review of Inequalities paints a holistic picture of what is known about inequality in the 21st century, in the UK, Europe and USA.

Other Nuffield-funded projects included Professor Emma Hitchings’ Fair shares? , investigating what really happens to assets at divorce. Dr Laia Becares’ work on Ethnic inequalities in later life , still in progress, has already led to the ONS considering changes in the way it collects data.

The Economy 2030 Inquiry , from the Resolution Foundation, brought the phrase. ‘Stagnation Nation’ into the public lexicon. It has also provided a diagnosis and prescription for the structural problems in the UK economy.

Nuffield awards research funding to original and robust ideas. We look for comprehensive proposals that use rigorous methodology credible to policymakers and practitioners. We are seeking new and more diverse talent to reflect the complexity of modern Britain. Our online webinar, designed to reach new audiences, led to a 40% increase in applications. Our new Emerging Researchers Network is now connecting post-doctoral and early career researchers working on our projects. In 2023 we also met with the Ukrainian refugee social science researchers our funding has brought to UK universities, through the Researchers at Risk Fellowship Scheme.

The Nuffield Early Language Intervention (NELI) is now an essential tool in many of England’s primary schools, helping largely disadvantaged children master language challenges intensified post-Covid. A large-scale trial of NELI Preschool also shows children made the equivalent of three months’ additional progress.

Our Changing Face of Early Childhood programme, a synthesis of over 90 Nuffield-funded grants alongside many other studies, has framed the urgent debate on the well-being of UK infants and preschool children. Carey Oppenheim, its author, is now an adviser to the Royal Foundation Centre for Early Childhood, along with Beverley Barnett-Jones, Associate Director of the Nuffield Family Justice Observatory.

In the coming year we will publish our next five-year strategy. We will address the changing nature of work within the context of the UK’s demographic change and culture. Our longstanding interests in place, communities and education will focus on the skills that new generations will need to flourish. We must continue to interrogate the enduring question of the relationship between a caring and a productive society.

The Nuffield Council on Bioethics’ independent review of disagreements in the care of critically ill children recommended a new Government taskforce, now established. The Ministry of Justice has also committed to exploring less adversarial court models.

It has been a huge privilege to lead the Foundation for the past eight years. Our new Chief Executive will continue to lead our mission to advance educational opportunity and social well-being as we have always done.

The Ada Lovelace Institute has become a powerful voice in the understanding of the impact and regulation of generative AI, taking its place at the UK government’s global AI Safety Summit. The Ada team is now working with Nuffield’s Education team on the future impact of AI for children, teaching and teachers.

Tim Gardam Chief Executive

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The year in numbers

The year in numbers

(down from Charitable expenditure £23.2m of £22.0 million in 2023 in 2022)

Restricted and other funds £2.3m

Strategic and other funds £3.1m

Research, development and analysis £11.2m

Hosted centres £5.4m

Applicants submit a short outline application and those that meet our criteria are invited to submit a full application, which is subject to independent peer review and considered by Trustees.

Most of our charitable expenditure comprises grant awards. £11.7m Total value of grants awarded 52 new projects funded 12 projects that received additional funding

478 65 outline applications full applications invited received* and considered

8 funded in 2023

Current portfolio of research, development and analysis grants

195 total grants outstanding value of £33.1m

Total value of research grants being managed at the end of 2023 Split by domain (including Strategic Fund)

Strategic Education Justice General Fund and £8.9m £4.8m Election Under(76 projects) (40 projects) Analysis standing and Briefing Communities Fund 2023 £8.2m £0.4m (13 projects) (8 projects)

Welfare (inc. Oliver Bird Fund) £10.8m (58 projects)

Who do we fund?

Research / policy institutions (30 projects)

Universities (160 projects)

Charities and other organisations (9 projects)

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The year in numbers

Communications and engagement

Across the Nuffield Foundation, the Ada Lovelace Institute, the Nuffield Family Justice Observatory and the Nuffield Council on Bioethics, we:

convened

46 events

Nuffield Research Placements

attended by more than

4,094 people

had

930 students

745,665 visits

were placed

to our websites

95% of students

were satisfied with their Nuffield Research Placements experience

were referenced in broadcast, print and online media

6,963 times

increased our Twitter following by an average of

increased our LinkedIn following by an average of

6% across our accounts to 52,734 followers

103% across our accounts to 17,305 followers

2023 Highlights

Ending stagnation: A new economic strategy for Britain , the final report from The Economy 2030 Inquiry led by the Resolution Foundation and the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), is the product of nearly three years of research, analysis and strategic policy formulation. With people and places at its heart, it engaged influential national and local policymakers, media, and new audiences through its regional events programme.

The series of annual reports – and more focused briefing papers – from the Institute for Fiscal Studies on Education Spending is now a well-established, authoritative and influential flagship in the education policy calendar. The work has played a key role in shaping policy and public debate, and outputs have placed direct pressure on decisions around spending settlements for schools, Further Education and other parts of the system, evidenced by Department for Education (DfE) and Treasury reports.

The NELI Preschool trial, the nursery equivalent to the Nufeld Early Language Intervention, showed children receiving the intervention made the equivalent of three months’ additional progress in their language development. The 20-week programme was delivered by Teaching Assistants to nursery classes in socio-economically deprived areas, with additional targeted support for children with the weakest oral language skills.

£0.4 million of grants were awarded from our new General Election Analysis and Briefing Fund to eight organisations for research aimed at informing policy, pledges and public debate in the run-up to the next UK general election.

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2023 Highlights

2023 Highlights

Full Fact report 2022 called on the government and Parliament to strengthen online media literacy, following which the Online Safety Act of October 2023 required Ofcom to introduce new objectives relating specifically to social media and search platforms. The 2023 report set out the case for MPs to agree to new parliamentary rules that make it easy to correct mistakes. MPs voted in October 2023 for changes to the parliamentary rules so that all MPs, rather than only Ministers, will be able to correct the official record.

Musculoskeletal (MSK) conditions are the greatest cause of pain and disability in the UK. Work on six projects began in 2023 aiming to inform policy and practice interventions to improve the well-being and working lives of people with MSK. The awards, totalling £1.94 million, were made in 2022 from the Oliver Bird Fund in partnership with Versus Arthritis.

The Fair shares? project provides the first detailed insight into what happens to assets when couples divorce. The research report comes during a review by the Law Commission of England and Wales into the 50-year-old laws that govern how assets are shared after a divorce. Fair shares? is specifically referenced in the review’s Terms of Reference. This is the first time that a single piece of research has so fundamentally underpinned a Law Commission review from the outset, demonstrating the centrality of the research to their work.

Children subject to deprivation of liberty orders are now recorded in national administrative data for the first time, following the Nuffield Family Justice Observatory (Nuffield FJO) work with the new National Deprivation of Liberty Court. With leading academics, the Nuffield FJO developed a set of principles outlining ways to better support children with complex needs, including those subject to deprivation of liberty orders. These were welcomed by the DfE and NHS England.

The Nuffield Council on Bioethics’ (NCOB) Independent review: Disagreements in the care of critically ill children recommended the creation of a government taskforce to take forward changes within the NHS and the courts to help reduce the profound impact these can have. In early 2024 the Government confirmed that an implementation taskforce has been established. NHS England has introduced regional conflict champions and launched resources and conflict management training for healthcare professionals. The Ministry of Justice has committed to exploring less adversarial court models.

The Ada Lovelace Institute (Ada) was invited to attend the UK’s AI Safety Summit to discuss advanced AI technologies. Ada’s Interim Director Francine Bennett addressed world leaders and luminaries from the tech sector and beyond, emphasising the importance of putting people and society at the centre of all discussions about AI safety. Ada partnered with AI Fringe to support greater diversity in perspectives and discussion of a broader range of risks and issued a Post-Summit civil society communique.

The Online Safety Act of October 2023 required Ofcom to introduce new objectives relating specifically to social media and search platforms.

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Advancing our Mission, Sharing our Progress

Advancing our Mission, Sharing our Progress

The Nuffield Foundation is an independent charitable trust with a mission to advance educational opportunity and social wellbeing in the UK.

We assess our success by:

We are also the founder and co-funder of the Nuffield Council on Bioethics, the Nuffield Family Justice Observatory and the Ada Lovelace Institute.

Our aim, for all our activities, is to improve lives for people, families and communities within a just and inclusive society.

Our work addresses the inequalities, disadvantage and vulnerabilities people face in Education, Welfare and Justice, and considers the social and ethical implications of science and digital technologies for people and society.

In order to achieve our aim, we:

Measuring the true impact we may have on social well-being is difficult, so we focus on measuring interim outcomes and impacts, such as influencing government policy, shifts in public opinion, changes to practice or guidance, and notable contributions to debates around important societal issues.

Our progress, or ‘impact’, means helping to create positive change that contributes to the Foundation’s overall aim of improving social well-being. We recognise that this takes time, may be indirect, and will always involve collaboration with others.

Priorities for the next 20 years

the urgent research questions that need to be answered, and contribute to the new strategic direction for the Foundation for the next five years.

In July 2023 we marked the Foundation’s 80th anniversary by launching the Changing Lives for the Better programme, a year-long series of events and activity to explore the big themes that will define our work in the future. The aim is to anticipate the circumstances, challenges and changes that will shape life in the UK over the next 20 years, and to develop research priorities that will address these issues.

80th anniversary events

The event series covers the breadth of our portfolio, bringing together people with different combinations of expertise and experience who otherwise might not connect, and in a range of formats, including conferences, seminars, workshops and webinars, to increase engagement with our work and generate new ideas. The series of events is culminating in a major Nuffield conference in June 2024.

The programme is enabling us to consult with our stakeholders to identify the most pressing challenges facing society, determine

The launch event for the series featured expert refections from our Trustees and others on the trends and risks society is facing, and the implications for the future. Nuffield Foundation Trustees Professor Ash Amin, Professor Ann Phoenix, John Pullinger and Professor Lorraine Dearden each wrote a short provocation on what they regard as the most defining issues of our age, while Fran Bennett, Interim Director of the Ada Lovelace Institute, and Professor David Archard, Chair of the Nuffield Council on Bioethics, shared their insights on society’s future trends.

“Since 1943 the Foundation has demonstrated the power of evidence to change people’s lives for the better. Eighty years later, in a fast-changing world, our challenge is to reshape the Foundation’s original purpose for the remainder of the 21st century.”

Tim Gardam, CEO

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Advancing our Mission, Sharing our Progress

Advancing our Mission, Sharing our Progress

“The point is that inequities are complex, inequalities are increasing, and policy solutions to address precarity over the next 30 years will increasingly have to recognise that one size does not fit all.”

Professor Ann Phoenix, Trustee

Drawing on their collective expertise, their provocations prompted us to think about the urgent questions posed by widening inequalities, weakened institutions and a prescriptive education system, demographic change including migration, while encouraging us to consider the benefits and risks of rapid breakthroughs in bioscience, AI and data-driven technology.

Their reflections, along with those of our partners and stakeholders, will help to inform the Foundation’s strategic priorities in the years ahead.

Intersectionality

In November 2023 as part of the anniversary programme, we hosted a knowledge exchange afternoon exploring intersectionality and its implications for research, policy and practice. Delegates brought a wealth of expertise and experience, with the event specifically interrogating the benefits of, and barriers to, undertaking intersectional research.

At the event we shared a film featuring Professor Ann Phoenix in conversation with Carey Oppenheim, our Early Childhood Lead, discussing what intersectionality means, how intersectional approaches can help us to understand inequalities, and what the implications are for policy and practice.

The day included presentations from ECRs and a keynote speech from Professor Ruth Patrick of the University of York. She spoke about some of her landmark Nuffield-funded research on poverty, social security and welfare reform, as well as the value of participatory approaches and routes to achieving policy impact.

A ‘planning for impact’ session provided ideas on how to engage with policymakers, parliamentarians and general audiences. There was also an opportunity to meet the Foundation’s grants team.

Early career researchers

The Nuffield Foundation Emerging Researchers Network launched in October 2023 at a special event held at the Foundation as part of the 80th anniversary programme.

The network was founded to support early career researchers (ECRs) working on Nuffield-funded projects. It represents a proactive initiative from the Foundation to nurture and develop the next generation of future research talent from a wide range of disciplines, institutions and backgrounds.

The launch event aimed to facilitate skills development, grow connections with peers and provide an opportunity to contribute ideas to the development of the Foundation’s new strategy and future research priorities.

“Establishing a network for our early career researchers has been a long-held ambition of the Foundation. I am delighted to see it in place to support the professional and career development of our future social research leaders.”

Tim Gardam, CEO

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Strategic goal one

Strategic goal one

Strategic goal one – research portfolio We fund research that advances educational opportunity and social well-being across the United Kingdom. We will shape our research portfolio by bringing together researchers and users of research to identify the larger questions in our core areas of Education, Welfare and Justice

Education

Communication; Creative thinking; Information literacy; Organising, planning and prioritising; and Problem-solving and decision-making. These skills will be vital for powering the economy and careers in 2035. Employment in occupations that use these skills most intensively is also projected to increase, the majority in professional and associate professional occupations. A limited supply of these skills in the future could hold back economic growth, increase friction in the labour market and put some groups at significant risk of unemployment, resulting in widening inequality.

Within our Education domain, our objective is to identify ways to improve educational outcomes – at all life stages – through policy change and approaches to teaching and learning that are grounded in robust evidence. We also want to understand wider influences on education and skills, such as the role of families and socio-economic context.

Key Education outputs published in 2023

What: Digital skills in apprenticeships Who: Dr Stefan Speckesser, University of Brighton Headline findings: Acquiring relatively advanced digital skills has benefits for earnings and employment in jobs with mid-level skills, often accessed via apprenticeships. Vocational education should go beyond Functional Skills to provide advanced digital skills, this research implies, for apprenticeships standards in the UK.

What: An analysis of the demand for skills in the labour market: Working paper 3 (The skills imperative 2035: Essential skills for tomorrow’s workforce) Who: Jude Hillary, National Foundation for Educational Research Headline findings: The research assessing future skills demand identified a set of six generic, transferable and harder to automate ‘Essential Employment Skills’: Collaboration;

What: Education priorities in the next general election

Who: Dr Jon Andrews, Education Policy Institute Headline findings: The first report has proved a valuable resource, outlining some of the key challenges and research evidence across policy areas – from early years to higher education, school and college funding, and the education workforce. Recommendations include:

What: Digital equality in education Who: Professor Morag Treanor, Heriot-Watt University Headline findings: Scholar is an online digital platform delivering online e-learning to 97% of publicly funded secondary schools in Scotland. There have been patterns of increasing participation and student engagement in deprived schools, and the school environment influences this, data from 2018/19 to 2020/21 in all subjects (except English) shows. However, there remain socio-economic inequalities in participation and engagement. Students from the most deprived schools are still less likely to engage with Scholar. Students in rural schools engage with online learning between a quarter and a third more than students in urban schools.

What: Choice, attainment and positive destinations: Exploring the impact

of curriculum policy change on young people Who: Dr Marina Shapira, University of Stirling Headline findings: This project identified ‘curriculum narrowing’, particularly in areas of high deprivation, impacting the likelihood of progressing to higher education in Scotland. Fewer subjects are studied in S4 in Senior Phase (ages 16–18), despite the aim of the Scottish Curriculum for Excellence (CfE) to improve the breadth and depth of learning for young people. Significant variation in the number of subjects studied in the broad general education phase was also found, both between schools and in different year groups. Project findings inform CfE’s future direction and implementation, and other similar curriculum policies, that are being developed in the UK and internationally.

What: The kids are alright: Adolescents and their fathers in the UK

Who: Adrienne Burgess, Fatherhood Institute Headline findings: We are not living in a ‘fatherless’ society, the latest in the series of research on contemporary fathers in the UK shows. In 2022 in England, more than 95% of mothers and fathers registered the birth of their baby together (similar across the UK); and of the 95% of fathers who were present in their baby’s life in the year 2000, nine in ten were still part of their lives when they were teenagers. Both ‘time with dad’ and the ‘closeness’ of the father–adolescent relationship during adolescence is also significant, associated with fewer risk behaviours and with teenagers’ positive attitudes to school and better grades. The need for data-systems (from birth notifications on) to include fathers’ details is highlighted. And further evidence showed that collecting equivalent data about fathers and mothers is central to researching the lives and development of children, including adolescents.

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Strategic goal one

Strategic goal one

What: The effects of COVID-19 on families’ time-use and child development: How did parents’ experiences in the labour market shape children’s social and emotional development during the pandemic? Who: Dr Sarah Cattan, Institute for Fiscal Studies

What: Cost of living crisis: The impact on schools

Who: Jenna Julius, National Foundation for Education Research

Headline findings: Cost of living pressures are having a profound impact on schools, creating a self-perpetuating cycle of negative impacts on their pupils and settings, this report shows. Many mainstream and special schools are currently providing urgent support to pupils and their households. Looking to the future, these challenges cannot be fixed by schools working in isolation. Cost of living pressures are affecting schools’ core teaching and pastoral provision. This is only likely to widen longstanding attainment gaps between disadvantaged pupils and their peers. Recruitment and retention challenges among teachers, teaching assistants and support staff are only compounding the situation.

Headline findings: The importance of protecting families during periods of significant economic uncertainty is demonstrated in this research. Overall, the socio-emotional skills of children whose parents had stable labour market experiences throughout the pandemic (whether employed or unemployed the whole time) held up better on average than the skills of children whose families faced more economic instability. This suggests that it was the stability of parents’ labour market experiences, rather than being in any particular economic category, which was an important determinant of children’s socio-emotional development during the pandemic.

Policy and practice impact of Education projects

What: The influence of headteachers on their schools

Who: James Zuccollo, Education Policy Institute

Setting teacher pay and Department for Education teacher workforce policy

Headline findings: Effective headteachers significantly improve pupil attainment, teacher retention and teacher absenteeism, this research shows. Enhancing the quality of school leadership may be a cost-effective way of improving school performance and more work should be done on how to achieve it. Specifically, if the government wishes to close the attainment gap, it could encourage more high-quality headteachers to work in the most disadvantaged schools and in areas outside London.

Research led by Jack Worth at the National Foundation for Education Research analysed teacher supply, shortages and working conditions in England and Wales. Through eight written reports over three years, and an interactive website reporting regional and subject breakdowns, this research provides accessible and impartial information set within the wider policy context.

Many mainstream and special schools are currently providing urgent support to pupils and their households

The research has had direct influence on the School Teacher Review Body’s decisions on setting teacher pay and on Department for Education (DfE) teacher workforce policy. The team engaged directly with the Education Select Committee inquiry on the teacher workforce, special advisors, shadow ministers, parliamentarians and teaching unions. It has also had considerable coverage in the sector and mainstream press.

Education spending reports shaping policy and public debate

The series of annual reports on spending in all phases of education, from the project team led by Luke Sibieta at the Institute for Fiscal Studies, is now a well-established, authoritative and influential flagship in the education policy calendar. The briefing papers are all also curated on: ifs.org.uk/ - microsite/education spending

The work has played a key role in shaping policy and public debate. The outputs have placed direct pressure on decisions around spending settlements for schools, Further Education and other parts of the system, evidenced by DfE and Treasury reports. Examples of significant impact have been seen in the determination of student loan interest rates, and the recent use of the team’s analysis of the implications of VAT status for private schools and education budgets. Media coverage and policy engagement activity for the programme were extensive. The work is also regularly cited in reports from government, select committees, official and independent inquiries and think-tanks, and in opinion pieces.

Improving education for children from ethnic minority and migrant backgrounds

For this project, researchers from Queen’s University Belfast conducted a review of literature, policy and data. Qualitative interviews were conducted with 62 children

and 53 parents from diverse minority ethnic backgrounds across the region. Interviews and focus groups were also conducted with 43 professional stakeholders. Research findings are presented in the report Experiences of education among minority ethnic groups in Northern Ireland , written by Dr Rebecca Loader, Dr Erika Jiménez, Dr Aisling O’Boyle and Professor Joanne Hughes. Recommendations include:

The main report, shared with people who make decisions about education, was launched in June 2023. A parents’ and children’s version, as well as summary versions in various languages, are also available at: qub.ac.uk/Research/ Our-impact/ethnic-minorities-ni/resources/

The team have engaged with policymakers and third sector organisations to shape policy and public debate. For example, their work has informed the Department for Education in Northern Ireland’s revisions to guidance on Supporting Newcomer Pupils, fed into the work of the Racial Equality Subgroup at The Executive Office, and has helped shape some of the recommendations within the Independent Review of Education in Northern Ireland. Academic activities via journals and conferences are expected to achieve significant reach.

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Strategic goal one

Strategic goal one

Preschool is a 20-week programme delivered by teaching assistants to nursery classes with additional targeted support for children with the weakest oral language skills. Children receiving the intervention made the equivalent of three months’ additional progress in their language development, as shown by findings from the successful randomised controlled trial with 3–4-year-olds in 65 nurseries between 2021 and 2022.

Early years language interventions boosting language development

The Nuffield Foundation launched its special early years interventions funding call in 2017, in collaboration with the Education Endowment Foundation (EEF). It was prompted by the recognition of a lack of high-quality evidence about intervention programmes aimed at improving cognitive development in the early years. Two of the grant-funded projects evaluated oral language interventions for children attending maintained nurseries in socio-economically deprived areas. These research projects were both successfully carried out despite considerable setbacks due to Covid. Both research teams have now gone on to secure funding from the EEF for effectiveness trials that will test the impact of the interventions at scale with a range of different early years providers.

UCL’s Faculty of Education and Society, IOE, trialled a universal language-focused intervention. Talking Time empowers staff in early years education settings to boost oral language skills for 3–5-year-olds in the lowest quintile for social deprivation. The 16-week programme is delivered to all children within a nursery class, through small group activities complemented by a professional development element aiming to improve early years practitioners’ knowledge and skills in supporting children’s language development.

NELI Preschool – the nursery equivalent to the Nufeld Early Language Intervention (NELI) – was trialled in the project Development and evaluation of a preschool language programme , led by Professor Charles Hulme. NELI

Both programmes have been covered in the sector and mainstream press, and social

refinement. The intervention is being further evaluated in a larger scale trial funded by the EEF and the Stronger Practice Hubs.

media. We commissioned journalist Nicole Weinstein to write an article and case studies for our website on NELI and NELI Preschool.

Fostering children’s resilience through executive challenge in early maths

Love to Read

Love to Read: A co-designed intervention to motivate and engage child readers , led by Dr Sarah McGeown from the University of Edinburgh, has shown promise based on positive feedback from both children and teachers. Qualitative evidence shows changes in children’s attitudes, skills and behaviours relating to reading motivation and engagement.

Researchers, led by Professor Gaia Scerif at the University of Oxford, worked with teachers as co-researchers to develop a combined maths and executive function intervention for preschool children. Findings show knowledge gains for early years practitioners, and preliminary evidence of improved early numeracy, particularly for disadvantaged children.

In the UK, reading daily outside of class is reported by only 39.1% of children aged 8–11. But there is little existing research-informed guidance for teachers on how to foster reading motivation. Previous reading interventions have tended to neglect the issue of motivation, focusing instead on reading comprehension. Co-developed with researchers, teachers, children and other professionals, Love to Read aims to increase children’s desire to read in collaboration with teachers, interweaving their knowledge and expertise.

Early numerical abilities are one of the best predictors of children’s later academic achievement. They are highly interrelated with executive functions, a set of cognitive processes related to self-regulation. These skills appear to influence each other and support growth reciprocally, highlighting the importance of bringing them together rather than targeting them separately.

The intervention is built on the Preschool Situational Self-Regulation Toolkit (PRSIST), an evidence-based Australian executive function intervention with both practitioner and child-focused elements. A shortened four-week version of the new intervention was first piloted in classrooms and then refined before the main study. Alongside promising results, findings highlighted barriers to implementation in early years settings and opportunities for future

More research is needed to understand the contexts and conditions under which Love to Read is optimally effective. Also, on whether it can lead to measurable and sustained positive changes in children’s reading motivation and engagement. And, in the longer term, whether this has an impact on children’s reading and/or language skills.

Early numerical abilities are one of the best predictors of children’s later academic achievement. They are highly interrelated with executive functions, a set of cognitive processes related to self-regulation.

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Strategic goal one

Strategic goal one

Welfare

Within our Welfare domain, our objective is to improve people’s lives by understanding how their well-being is affected by different social and economic factors. We want to understand the ways in which some people and groups are potentially vulnerable to adverse outcomes, and to identify how those risks can be mitigated or channelled more positively.

Improving work and well-being for people with musculoskeletal conditions

Musculoskeletal (MSK) conditions are

the greatest cause of pain and disability in the UK, affecting people’s ability to work, care for a family and live independently. In 2023, six research projects began aiming to inform policy and practice interventions to improve the well-being and working lives of people with MSK conditions. The projects were awarded grants in 2022 totalling £1.94 million. The new research grants are the second round of awards from the Foundation’s Oliver Bird Fund which is dedicated to improving the lives of people with MSK conditions. We continue to work in partnership with Versus Arthritis, who are contributing £250,000. The charity’s support means we can involve people with MSK conditions for the duration of the projects, ensuring the research has a basis in real life experience.

Key core Welfare outputs published in 2023

What: Connecting pensions, health and care Who: Dr Olena Nizalova, University of Kent Headline findings: Launched in September 2023, Connecting pensions, health and care is is one of our latest strategic grants and will investigate how a joined-up approach to old-age support systems might ensure that they are financially affordable and support well-being in later life. As the UK

population ages, the three systems that work together to support older people – pensions, healthcare and social care – are becoming even more important, but pressure on them is increasing. However, policy rarely considers the interdependency between them. This project brings together academics and non-academics in a transdisciplinary approach to finding finding a solution. It aims to answer important questions including: What are people’s preferences for support later in life? What are their attitudes towards key features of the support systems? How are the support systems linked through the combined effects of individual choices that people make at different stages of their lives?

What: History of the United Kingdom’s planning and control of public expenditure Who: Professor Christopher Hood, University of Oxford Headline findings: Based on over 100 in-depth interviews and official archival material, this project examined UK public expenditure control over the period 1993–2015 and showed how

spending numbers were ‘gamed’ (shaped and finessed), having real-world impacts on the decisions public institutions made and how policy was delivered. The findings were engaged with by large numbers of public officials wishing to learn lessons from history on how to administer public spending most effectively in the context of the UK’s current challenging economic and fiscal circumstances.

What: Social policies and distributional outcomes in a changing Britain Who: Dr Polly Vizard, London School of Economics

Headline findings: The report

comprehensively examined developments in 10 major areas of social policy (social security; employment; early childhood; compulsory school age education; higher education; health; social care; physical safety and security; homelessness / complex needs; and social mobility) over the 2015–2020 period. The research found overwhelming evidence that a break in social progress

in multiple critical areas of life had already occurred, triggering economic and social shocks, prior to the advent of the COVID-19 pandemic. Many key indicators of social progress slowed down, stalled or went into reverse over the period. The report set out five key cross-cutting social policy challenges for the 2020s, including finding sources for sustained increases in public spending as a foundation for the welfare state; strengthening social rights and accountability mechanisms; joining up of social policy

areas; giving priority to the needs of the most disadvantaged; and integrating dignity and respect, recognition, and social value into social policy.

What: Redesigning labour market policies for the future of work: Lessons from the ‘Intermittents du Spectacle’ scheme in France Who: Dr Guillaume Wilemme and Dr Piotr Denderski, University of Leicester Headline findings: Twenty per cent of British workers have non-standard work arrangements. The team drew learning from a safety net developed for art workers in France. The scheme offers unemployment benefits based on a different criterion than for standard employees. It distorts workers’ behaviours by generating individual eligibility cycles. Workers target the eligibility threshold of hours worked to become eligible for the benefits. The team suggest that a blanket adoption of a similar policy fully closing the protection gap in the UK may risk displacing workers from regular to unstable jobs where standard employment is prevalent, and therefore suggest a sector specific approach.

What: Understanding family and community vulnerabilities in transition to net zero Who: Emily Morrison, Young Foundation Headline findings: This research reviewed current data and evidence, worked with people in community-based workshops, and with stakeholders in local and national government, and social, welfare, energy and environmental sectors. It finds that the current patchwork of policies aiming to enable the transition to net zero is in danger of exacerbating existing inequalities and

identifies their impact on already vulnerable households and communities. But it also points to opportunities to create a just transition. National and local government, employers and the voluntary and community sectors should take note of the framework the team have developed to support them in building collective place-based strategies that unlock greater, inclusive participation in transition.

Key Oliver Bird Fund outputs published in 2023

What: Arthritis, work and well-being: A mixed methods study with policy recommendations Who: Adam Martin, University of Leeds Headline findings: The typical person living with arthritis in the UK is 20% less likely to be in work than their equivalent without the condition. And non-university educated women aged 60-plus are at least 37% less likely to be in work if they have arthritis, compared to matched individuals without the condition. Engagement with stakeholders indicates that potential interventions could involve making appropriate adjustments to the working environment, tackling workplace discrimination and supporting changes in people’s roles especially cost-effective if they are designed for, and targeted at, the people identified as being most at risk of poor work outcomes.

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Policy and practice impact of Welfare projects

Shaping economic policy

In December 2023, the Resolution Foundation and the Centre for Economic Performance at the London School of Economics released the final report of The Economy 2030 Inquiry – Ending stagnation: A new economic strategy for Britain . It was the product of nearly three years of dedicated research, analysis and strategic policy formulation. It shone a spotlight on the UK’s economic stagnation, marked by low growth and high-income inequality, and set a path to prosperity and equality through leveraging the nation’s strengths as a services exporter, increasing public and private investment, and improving job quality. The research also examined how to unlock the huge potential of Britain’s second cities. The project engaged influential national and local policymakers, received significant and ongoing coverage in the media and brought in new audiences through its regional events programme. Policy developments informed by the inquiry’s activities include changes to the pensions system, and a new emphasis in government policy on raising private investment.

The Institute for Fiscal Studies’ Green Budget remains one of the major outputs of the economic year, supported by the Nuffield Foundation for the last 11 years. The IFS green budget 2023 achieved widespread attention from the media and political commentators. It emphasised the risks of an upwards ‘ratchet’ effect on borrowing and debt, through the debt forecast for the next five years being based on tax and spending assumptions that appear unlikely to be maintained in practice. These assumptions include fuel duty rising with inflation, tight spending controls and continued freezes in personal tax thresholds through to 2027/28. Also highlighted in 2023 were the major implications of the NHS workforce plan and the need for reform of inheritance tax.

Both The Economy 2030 Inquiry and

the Green Budget recommended that the temporary ‘full expensing’ arrangement, where there is a 100% corporation tax deduction for all qualifying plant and machinery investments, should be made permanent. Such a change was announced in the Autumn Statement in November 2023.

In June 2023, The Food Foundation produced the fifth edition of their Broken plate report, updating key metrics regarding the state of the nation’s food system. The report was viewed over 8,000 times in its first four weeks, resulted in broad media coverage and was sent to civil servants in central government departments, agencies, and non-departmental government bodies. Their commitment to tracking household food insecurity continued, and the results were widely covered in the media and mentioned in an Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee report on food security.

Online safety policy

For the past four years, the Nuffield Foundation has supported the independent fact-checking organisation Full Fact in producing annual reports, used to press for changes to policy and practice, combined with other outputs and activities. In 2023, Full Fact secured two major policy changes stemming from arguments in those reports.

The 2022 report had called on the government and Parliament to strengthen online media literacy in the Online Safety Bill, and Full Fact campaigned on this issue alongside concerned MPs and Peers. Following agreed government amendments to the legislation, the Online Safety Act of October 2023 required Ofcom to introduce new objectives relating specifically to social media and search platforms. Ofcom is now required to focus specifically on helping the public establish the reliability, accuracy and authenticity of information they encounter online, and to understand

information on domestic abuse, with recommendations on how to improve them.

how to better protect themselves and others from misinformation and disinformation.

The 2023 report set out the case for MPs to agree to new parliamentary rules that make it easy to correct mistakes. In October 2023, MPs voted for changes so that all MPs, rather than only Ministers, will be able to correct the official record.

Justice

Within the Justice domain, our aim is to explore how the real-world application of law and the administration of justice meets the needs and expectations of individuals and wider society. Our particular focus is on issues of justice that have the most significant effect on the lives, opportunities and well-being of people who are vulnerable or disadvantaged in some way. We believe that the challenges currently facing the justice system make critical examination of who the system serves, and how it operates, more important than ever. We want the research we fund to help improve the effectiveness of the justice system and outcomes for the people who need to access it or are drawn into it. We are especially keen to encourage proposals for impactful research that takes an interdisciplinary approach and examines the effects

Improving collection of information on domestic abuse

The Children living with domestic violence: Effects on children’s well-being project, led by Dr Valeria Skafida at the University of Edinburgh, used the dataset from the longitudinal study Growing up in Scotland . The aim was to explore the prevalence of domestic abuse for mothers and how domestic abuse is associated with young children’s outcomes. Findings have been shared with policymakers, third sector organisations and professional groups, including all the members of the British Association of Social Workers. They have informed discussions with those who run large population surveys which collect

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of involvement with the justice system on people’s wider life chances.

Findings suggest that processes to seek help through different pathways (including tribunals and ombudsmen) are difficult to understand. Those people who would not easily access the justice system in an offline setting are often faced with greater, in some cases unsurmountable, difficulties online. Continued monitoring and evaluation of online courts and tribunals systems to identify pain points and improvement measures is recommended. Sharing of data in the wider justice sphere and collaboration with other organisations will help to develop better strategies.

Key Justice outputs published in 2023

What: Delivering administrative justice after the pandemic Who: Professor Naomi Creutzfeldt Headline findings: This research explored the effect of rapid service digitalisation, prompted by the pandemic, on the delivery of justice in respect of people’s legal needs in the areas of special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) and housing, identifying the effects on access for marginalised groups and exploring how trust can be built and sustained in parts of the justice system. The team partnered with housing and SEND organisations to collect quantitative and qualitative data.

What: Forced marriage: Enhancing protection and prevention responses Who: Professor Sundari Anitha Headline findings: Forced Marriage Protection Orders (FMPOs) are civil injunctions introduced in England and Wales in 2008 to prevent forced marriage

and protect its victims/survivors through prohibitions, restrictions, or requirements such as limits on contact and passport seizures. This first comprehensive study of FMPOs finds that despite offering great potential, the court order can sometimes increase the risk of honour-based violence and other forms of abuse by the parents and family against those seeking its protection. Factors including a lack of knowledge about the complex coercive pressures on the victims/survivors, gaps between agencies, miscalculations in multi-agency working and the gatekeeping of services due to financial constraints, often impeded the provision of effective support.

Policy and practice impact of Justice projects

New evidence on financial settlements in divorce

Despite the prevalence of divorce – around 42% of marriages in the UK end this way – very little was known about how couples divide their assets, and the value of those assets, until this new research. The Fair shares? project, led by Professor Emma Hitchings at Bristol University, provides the first detailed insight into what happens to assets when a marriage breaks down. Surprising findings include the relatively small sums involved in most divorce cases; median total assets of £135,000 and almost a fifth of couples had no assets at all to divide. Just one-third of divorcing couples finalise their finances through a court order, and only 10% go to court. Only two in five divorcees used a lawyer, often due to fears of the cost. Worryingly, more than one in ten people sought no advice or information to help them with their divorce.

The research report comes during a review by the Law Commission of England and Wales into the 50-year-old laws that govern how assets are shared

after a divorce, with potential to influence change to make the system fairer. Reforms based on Professor Hitchings’ findings could include:

Demonstrating the importance of the

research to the Law Commission’s review, Fair shares? is specifically referenced in the review’s Terms of Reference. This is the first time that a single piece of research has so fundamentally underpinned a Law Commission review from the outset and demonstrates the centrality of the research to their work.

Ground-breaking research into children’s experiences of the criminal process

The Foundation funded Dr Vicky Kemp from the University of Nottingham to examine the impact of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act (PACE) 1984 on child suspects detained and questioned by the police. She is the first researcher to be given access to talk to children about their legal rights while detained in police custody. Thirty-two case studies were carried out in three police force areas. Diverse perspectives were examined from research interviews with those involved in the questioning of child suspects, recordings of police interviews and the experience of police custody from a child’s viewpoint. The research concluded that children are processed through a punitive and adult-centred system of justice, the antithesis of a ‘Child First’ approach.

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With further Nuffield funding, and based on the recommendations set out in this report, the research team will work with the police and other agencies in piloting a comprehensive set of measures aimed at achieving a Child First approach for child suspects in England and Wales. This will also include working with government and public bodies – particularly the Home Office, Ministry of Justice and Youth Justice Board – to identify what changes are required to PACE to promote a Child First approach in police custody. The team will also work with the Welsh Government and other Welsh agencies to ensure that the approach adopted is based on the country’s own distinctive policies. Researchers are engaging with analysts in the Ministry of Justice so that fully anonymised electronic custody record data can be shared in the future (subject to data-sharing agreements with individual forces), which is needed to increase transparency and fairness regarding PACE safeguards.

Supporting legal participation for people going to court without a lawyer

Previous Nuffield-funded research on

Litigants in person in Northern Ireland ,

led by Professor Gráinne McKeever at Ulster University, identified the barriers to legal participation for people going to court without a lawyer and how this can jeopardise their right to a fair trial. Building on this, practical tools have been developed for assisting litigants in person (LiP) to address barriers to participation. Using a human-centred design (HCD) method for tackling design and reform exercises in the justice system is recommended, offering a new way to conceptualise and tackle problems not previously solved. The HCD process takes participants through six stages: Discover, Synthesise, Brainstorm, Prototype, Test & Refine, and Evolve. Officials from the Department of Justice for Northern Ireland (DoJ) and Northern Ireland Courts and Tribunals Service (NICTS) engaged with the HCD process and provided positive feedback.

Understanding and supporting legal participation for litigants in person has brought LiPs into view. They are now being considered as part of a range of policy developments that have aligned with the research recommendations, including:

• A Litigant in Person Reference Group, with equal numbers of LiPs and other court stakeholders, was established by the DoJ in 2019 to identify ways to improve user experience in the court system. The group has been part of the shadow Civil Justice Council and Family Justice Board, and the NICTS modernisation stakeholder group.

• NICTS created LiP-specific procedures in the migration to remote hearings during COVID-19. This included the introduction of separate forms for LiPs, and LiPs being contacted directly by NICTS about their remote hearings.

• The DoJ has commissioned Ulster University to maintain and update the Northern Ireland Family Court Information website. Workshops on the research and website have been delivered through the Judicial Studies Board, and through the NICTS for court service staff involved in family proceedings services.

Born into care: Best practice guidelines

Born into care data shows that the number of newborn babies in care proceedings increased by 20% in England and 40% in Wales between 2012/13 and 2019/20. This project developed and tested evidence-informed guidelines to help improve practice when the state takes action to safeguard a newborn baby by initiating care proceedings. The aim of the research team, led by Professor Karen Broadhurst at Lancaster University, and working in partnership with the Nuffield Family Justice Observatory (see page 39), was to help professionals and parents navigate an emotionally difficult and ethically challenging situation.

Available on the Nuffield Family Justice Observatory website, the guidelines are designed to be adapted by local authorities, health trusts and other partner organisations to meet their local contexts and develop local area action plans and guidelines. The guidelines aim to inform multi-agency practice when the state takes safeguarding action pre-birth, at birth and in the immediate follow-up period, after discharge from hospital.

The project has had a range of impacts to date, with a number of emerging bespoke projects incorporating learning from the study. A project called Giving hope grew out of the study. This new practice initiative was developed and delivered collaboratively with a group of birth mothers who had worked on the guidelines, aiming to support mothers around separation at birth – it has been rolled out to multiple health trusts in England, with plans to adopt in Wales, and interest internationally. In addition, there has been an expansion of dedicated pre-birth teams in England and Wales reflecting a growing awareness of the need to improve practice in this area.

Substituted parenting: What does this mean in the family court?

The term ‘substituted parenting’ has been used by local authorities when they believe the support provided to parents is excessive, asserting that it is detrimental for children who become confused about who the parent is. A project, led by Beth Tarleton at the University of Bristol, sought to develop a common understanding of, and clarity about, the meaning and use of the term ‘substituted parenting’ by legal and social work professionals. It also aimed to ensure that parents with learning disabilities, who are often subjected to the concept, could understand the term, associated risks and how to mitigate them.

The project has highlighted the issue of ‘substituted parenting’ and the lack of clarity around the term’s use in the family

court. It confirmed the routine absence of any analysis of perceived risk or options to address that risk – an issue identified by the Court of Appeal in February 2023. The study has highlighted how problematic and unfairly ‘substituted parenting’ is applied in practice. It has led to the Official Solicitor instructing her case workers to be aware of the findings from the study, in their consideration of future cases.

Nuffield Council on Bioethics

The Nuffield Council on Bioethics (NCOB) is a leading independent policy and research centre, and the foremost bioethics body in the UK. The NCOB identifies, analyses and advises on ethical issues in biomedicine and health so that decisions in these areas benefit people and society.

In 2023 the NCOB secured joint core funding for 2024–2028 from the Nuffield Foundation, the Medical Research Council and Wellcome, and finalised its ambitious new strategy to embed ethics at the centre of decision-making in biomedicine and health.

Alongside this integral piece of work, the NCOB provided decision-makers with an ethical framework to ensure that the needs of older people are at the heart of ageing-related research and innovation, and continued advice towards achieving a gold standard in ethics in genomics-related research and healthcare. It also led work to improve how disagreements between families of critically ill children and healthcare teams are managed and began a major new project exploring public views on assisted dying in England.

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analysis. Within these, a greater range of outputs is planned, tailored to decision makers’ needs, to help ensure that advice and information is given to decision makers at the right time and in a useful format that will enable them to embed ethics into their work more readily.

A new strategy direction for 2024–2028

2023 was a significant year for NCOB in which it developed its new five-year strategy Making ethics matter and appointed its new Chair, Professor Sarah Cunningham-Burley to oversee the change in strategic direction.

NCOB’s new strategy builds upon its strong history of influencing policy (evidenced in its impact report 2018–2023), but with greater emphasis on ensuring that ethics becomes integral to the Government’s bioscience and innovation agendas.

A blog from NCOB’s Chair and Director has been published which explains more about how the NCOB will change tactics to embed ethics in decision-making.

The future of ageing

It’s horizon-scanning function will evolve to better anticipate the scientific developments and health trends that pose fundamental ethical questions to society. This will be done through strengthening and expanding its networks to enhance its ability to prioritise where NCOB should focus efforts and highlight where others should focus theirs.

The NCOB published the findings from The future of ageing report in April 2023. The in-depth enquiry links to the UK government’s grand challenge to help meet the needs of an ageing society.

The NCOB’s report identifies the values, principles and factors that are most at stake in the context of research and innovation connected with ageing, noting that research is often influenced by negative attitudes

New priority areas have been identified to provide greater focus for NCOB’s trademark independent and high-quality ethical

to ageing, and by assumptions about the attributes and roles of older people in society. The report calls for the diversity, values and agency of older people to be placed at the heart of research related to ageing. It also proposes an ‘ethical framework’ to help everyone involved in conducting research relating to ageing to think through the ethical implications of their work.

The NCOB held a launch event in April 2023 bringing together key stakeholders from different the research sectors, to build support for collective action in the sector, taking forward the ethical framework for ageing-related research. The panel included Sir Chris Whitty, Chief Medical Officer for England, who went on use the NCOB’s work to inform his 2023 Annual report Health in an ageing society . The NCOB’s work was referenced a number of times in his report.

One of the aims of the ethical framework was to have some impact on the development of technology to support living well in older age. NCOB recommended that the British Standards Institution (BSI), the MHRA and Innovate UK, should collaborate to develop accredited standards for promoting ethical research practices for technologies designed to support people to live well in older age.

In line with this recommendation, the BSI have now established an Innovate UK-funded programme called the BSI/UK Standards Challenge Fund. This fund will support the creation of new standards including in the “Healthy Living & Ageing space”. Professor Peter Gore, a member of the NCOB’s working group on ageing, has been invited to join the Governance Board and will help ensure that the ethical framework and principles from NCOB’s work are represented within these new Standards.

Disagreements in the care of critically ill children in England

In September 2023, the NCOB published an independent review into the disagreements that can arise in the

care of critically ill children. The review was commissioned by the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care in December 2022.

The review focused on the relationship between parents/carers and healthcare teams in the care of a critically ill child and why, in some cases, the relationship breaks down. It also looked at how disagreements, once they have come to light, can be resolved as collaboratively and sensitively as possible, with all involved able to have their voices heard.

The key recommendation to emerge from the NCOB’s review was the need for the government to convene a new taskforce with responsibility for overseeing the implementation of changes in the NHS in England and the Courts – to improve the experience of families and healthcare professionals in navigating disagreements.

The Government has since agreed to implement the NCOB’s recommendations in full and has established an implementation taskforce to oversee progress. Amongst the progress to date, NHS England has introduced regional conflict champions, new resources and conflict management training for healthcare professionals, and the Ministry of Justice has committed to exploring how less adversarial court models could be used in these distressing cases.

Genomics in healthcare and research

The NCOB is playing a leading role in coordinating ethics in the genomics healthcare and research sectors, through a partnership with the Office for Life Sciences (OLS).

An initial report with the OLS and equivalents in the devolved administrations, to share best practice in applying ethical standards to genomics initiatives, and a collection of case studies, were published in July 2023.

The next phase, funded by the OLS, saw the NCOB begin crucial work to map all current resources and guidance on ethical

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considerations in the use of genomics in healthcare and research in the UK. The analysis found that there are gaps in guidance that need addressing and the NCOB called for UK-wide coordination to facilitate the embedding of ethics in UK policy and practice within genomics.

This work supports the Government’s vision for a gold standard UK model for genomics, as set out in its Genome UK Strategy. NCOB presented it to the National Genomics Board, who endorsed this work. Following this, NCOB has secured funding to develop and host this co-ordinating function, which will be developed and hosted by NCOB. The aim of this work is to encourage individuals and organisations across genomics research and healthcare to share their knowledge and work, towards achieving a higher degree of consistency in ethical approaches to ensure that the UK is making the most of genomic technologies.

Assisted dying

In October 2023 the NCOB announced a major piece of work to explore public views on assisted dying in England.

Separately, there was a flurry of media coverage about assisted dying in December 2023, prompted by Esther Rantzen’s call for a change in the law, sparking renewed debate on the issue. The Daily Express ran an article on 28 December 2023 about the NCOB’s plans for a Citizen’s Jury. It opened with the line “The campaign to reform assisted dying laws is set to be one of 2024’s most important debates” and referenced the NCOB as follows: “The Nuffield Council on Bioethics, an internationally-recognised charitable body advising law makers, says it will run a citizens’ jury so that voters have all the information they require on assisted dying. It plans to publish a report on recommendations from it.” This media attention led to a petition in England for a parliamentary vote on assisted dying, with a debate taking place in Spring 2024 or April 2024.

The NCOB is continuing to engage with key journalists and parliamentarians to ensure that its surveys and Citizens’ Jury, and their exploration of public views on assisted dying, will receive appropriate attention in the media and parliamentary debates on the issue.

Strategic goal two – evidence, data and digital society

We will work to improve the accessibility, use and collection of the evidence and data necessary to understand the issues affecting people’s life chances. We will consider the broader implications of a digital society.

Justice

The project involves an innovative collaboration between four local authorities, five universities and the organisation Research in Practice, with researchers working closely with practitioners, children and families. It focuses primarily on children and families needing additional support from local authority children’s services – who are often the most vulnerable and disadvantaged in society – but also considers universal services.

Children’s information: Improving lives through better listening and better data

Good statistical and administrative information are vital for effective policy and practice in children’s services. How the views and experiences of children and families are represented within that information is a critical issue, as is how the information is used. This Strategic Fund project, led by Professor Leon Feinstein at the University of Oxford, aims to ensure the voices of children, families and practitioners are better heard and used to improve services, experiences and outcomes in ways that are effective and ethical.

The project is establishing Information Use Projects (IUPs) in the four local authority sites (North Yorkshire, Hampshire, Oldham and Rochdale), actively testing ways to address the challenges of incorporating user voice in and about data, and improving the uses of data. These projects will be evaluated over two years. A network has been established of policy and practice leads from other local authorities interested in the themes of voice and data use, to test and co-develop wider learning from the project. Findings and insights from the project are being disseminated through different routes including podcasts, roundtables, webinars, academic conferences and submissions to policymakers.

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Welfare

services and skills which people agree households with children should be able to reach to have an adequate quality of life and participate in society.

Developing a Minimum Digital Living Standard for households with children

The MDLS research establishes that the approach can provide not only a meaningful and accessible definition of an adequate standard of digital living, but also that members of the public can agree on what is needed for that to be reached.

Digital inequalities in access, skills and capabilities impact all aspects of peoples’ lives, be that work, education, leisure, health or well-being. This research, led by Professor Simeon Yates at the University of Liverpool, has developed a Minimum Digital Living Standard (MDLS) for households with children. MDLS sets a benchmark, or ‘basket’, of digital goods,

The final report in 2024 includes: a UK-wide survey; statistical and geographic analysis to explore variation in reaching MDLS; and stakeholder consultations to explore the relevance and intersectionality of the standard

across key dimensions such as disability, ethnicity, rurality and poverty. Throughout the research, the team are engaging with policymakers and practitioners to share their learning and consider implications for policy and practice development.

Influence of social capital on life outcomes in the UK

The year also saw funding for a pioneering study, led by Dr Antonio Silva at the Behavioural Insights Team, that will shed light on how social connections – social capital – can shape individual opportunities and well-being throughout someone’s life. Researching social capital at scale has been historically difficult, so research has often been conducted in specific closed-group environments, limiting the generalisability of the findings.

The research will be the first of its type to use Facebook and Instagram social connections data for the UK. In partnership with Meta and supported by Opportunity Insights and Stripe Partners, anonymised data from 50 million Facebooks users and 30 million Instagram users, combined with other public datasets, will be used to identify the impact of social capital and the factors that facilitate its creation.

Later project phases, in partnership with Neighbourly Lab and The Royal Society of Arts, will provide qualitative insights into how social capital is experienced and created, and develop actionable approaches for building it. Expanding on on the work of Professor Raj Chetty at Harvard University, this project will establish the evidence base for how social capital drives outcomes in the UK, where and how it is created and, ultimately, what policymakers and communities can do to foster social capital and improve individual quality of life.

The work of the Behavioural Insights Team, the RSA, Stripe Partners and Neighbourly Lab on this project is funded by the Nuffield Foundation. Contributions from Meta and Opportunity Insights are self-funded.

The Ada Lovelace Institute

The Ada Lovelace Institute (Ada) was established by the Nuffield Foundation in 2018 as an independent research institute with a mission to make data and AI work for people and society.

We do this by building evidence through our research, convening diverse voices, and shaping policy and practice on AI and data in the UK, EU and internationally. We amplify the voices of people to ensure that public opinions, attitudes and concerns inform debates and decision-making about data and AI.

2023 was the year that AI went mainstream. For example, OpenAI’s ChatGPT became the fastest-growing digital service in history, reaching an estimated 100 million users in just two months. Public and policymaker awareness of AI and its potential impacts for people and society has never been greater, and this has implications for the scope and direction of Ada’s work.

Ada responded by engaging in research and discussions about AI risk, safety and regulation, continuing to centre affected people and communities. We produced timely evidence in response to the needs of policymakers and informed and influenced emerging policy responses, both in the UK and the EU.

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Putting people at the

The review found some clear and consistent public views on AI, such as strong support for the protection of fundamental rights (like privacy) and the belief that AI needs to be regulated. This helped to strengthen Ada’s case for regulation ahead of the AI Safety Summit and highlight the need for meaningful public engagement.

centre of AI

In 2023, Ada worked to understand and to amplify what people feel about and want from AI through empirical public attitudes and participation research. In a year of rapid AI expansion, this research reminded policymakers to listen to diverse publics, and to involve them in decision-making.

We also reconvened the Citizens’ Biometrics Council for their views on the Information Commissioner’s Ofce’s (ICO) proposed approach to biometric data. The council’s reflections on the proposals provide detailed recommendations around practicalities of consent, transparency and accessibility, as well as purpose, data collection and storage, and opt-out processes. In August 2023, the ICO confrmed that the Council’s perspectives and recommendations had been used to inform its guidance on biometric technologies.

In June 2023, Ada and the Alan Turing Institute published a nationally representative survey of public attitudes to AI in Britain. We asked people about their awareness of, experience with, and attitudes towards, 17 different uses of AI, including facial recognition, welfare eligibility and cancer risk assessment. This research was presented to the All-Party Parliamentary Group on AI at their meeting on UK AI regulation.

In October 2023, we published a rapid review of evidence about public attitudes towards AI, looking at a broad range of studies.

Influencing policy

through the Government’s Science and Analysis R&D Programme.

In 2023, Ada pushed against the narrative that AI technologies are too fast-moving and complex to regulate. Instead, we are building evidence and engaging with policymakers behind the scenes to make a case for effective AI and data governance that works for people and society.

2023’s highest profile forum for AI policy was the UK’s AI Safety Summit, held at Bletchley Park in November, and attended by representatives from governments, industry, civil society and academia.

In the run-up to the summit, we published a blog post providing suggestions for how to make the summit meaningful by expanding its focus and centring people, as well as a policy briefng exploring examples of - other sectors with safety based regulation. We used the briefing to facilitate discussions with policymakers about the importance of effective AI governance, including Peter Kyle MP, Shadow Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology.

In March 2023, the UK government published a white paper on AI regulation proposing a “contextual, sector-based regulatory framework”. Ada’s blog post on the value chain of general-purpose AI was cited three times in the paper. Our initial response – welcoming the engagement with AI harms but highlighting the failure to include legislation – was covered by BBC News, The Times and The Guardian, and we authored an opinion piece for the New Statesman.

Francine Bennett, Ada’s Interim Director, was one of a handful of civil society representatives to attend the Summit and she spoke about the importance of centring people and society during the closing plenary session. She was also interviewed by BBC News, Radio 4’s Today programme and ITV’s Good Morning Britain. Addressing the Summit’s initially narrow definition of ‘AI safety’, we partnered with the AI Fringe, a parallel series of events convening more diverse voices and discussing a broader range of risks. Ada’s participation helped build a broad coalition of voices around public deliberation and accountability and helped to amplify these voices in the national media and through a joint communique.

Ada’s evidence to the Commons Science and Technology Select Committee inquiry into the governance of AI was referenced multiple times in the Committee’s report, calling for “greater urgency in enacting the legislative powers” needed to regulate AI. We also gave oral evidence to the Lords Communications and Digital Select Committee’s inquiry into large language models. The report cited Ada’s evidence, as well as our research on foundation models and UK AI regulation.

Our report Regulating AI in the UK recommended strengthening the government’s proposals by improving legal protections, empowering regulators and addressing urgent risks. We also published two reports – on monitoring AI and assessing AI risk – to directly support policymakers

The Data Protection and Digital Information Bill was a focus for our parliamentary engagement in 2023. We gave evidence

In 2023, Ada pushed against the narrative that AI technologies are too fast-moving and complex to regulate.

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Strategic goal two

to the Commons Public Bill Committee, and briefed MPs and peers on proposals for amendments based on our research. The Institute was mentioned 13 times in Bill debates. As a result of our engagement, Labour tabled several of our drafted amendments on biometrics, which were debated in Committee stage. These were not successfully passed (as expected) but provided a platform for cross-party engagement and built momentum for further work in the House of Lords and the next Parliament.

In Brussels, our EU policy engagement continued to focus on the AI Act, the world’s first example of comprehensive regulation legislation. Our views on the implications of general-purpose AI for the legislation were cited in a European Parliament explainer (and the UK government’s proposals). Ada published a discussion paper on the role of technical standards in the AI Act, examining barriers to civil society participation in standards development. We held an expert roundtable, attended by the EU Commission, to discuss how the findings of the report could inform the AI Act. The final Act text reflects our recommendation to ensure diverse expertise in standards.

In the autumn we published updated recommendations for the AI Act trilogues, a critical stage of EU lawmaking involving Parliament, Commission and Council. Ada engaged EU policymakers across the political spectrum, most notably the Spanish Presidency of the Council. The trilogues concluded successfully with political agreement in December 2023.

Several policy outcomes in the final Act relate to specific recommendations or themes identified in Ada’s research and engagement on the Act: over half of our 18 recommendations were implemented in some form. The inclusion of ‘affected persons’ as a legally significant category is something that Ada has been advocating for since 2021. We also saw our recommendations reflected

in the AI Act’s approach to the AI value chain, with specific obligations for developers of general-purpose AI, and post-market monitoring and enforcement through the EU AI Office.

Building evidence

The research we published in 2023 explains core concepts of AI and data, offers concrete policy recommendations, and helps to make sense of a highly technical and rapidly evolving landscape, as well as addressing urgent questions relating to the intersection of AI with climate technologies, genomic science, health inequalities and public services.

Ada’s work on foundation models – general-purpose model powering services like ChatGPT – examined the risk and opportunities of this technology and explored the principles, regulations and practices necessary to deploy them in the public sector safely, ethically and equitably. Our explainer What is a foundation model? has been widely cited, notably referenced in the government’s AI Safety Summit discussion paper, and used to inform its AI white paper consultation response.

We concluded our three-year project with the Health Foundation with the publication of Access denied? , a report on socio-economic inequalities in digital health services. This set out recommendations for policymakers to overcome several key challenges, including digital exclusion, lack of public confidence in data use and poor data quality. Using a participatory research method, we trained six people with experience of poverty to become ‘peer researchers’ who conducted interviews in their communities. As a result of this, Ada was invited to give oral evidence at a roundtable in March 2023 as part of the Independent Review on Equity in Medical Devices. In November 2023, Access denied? was referenced in a House of Lords debate on the COVID-19 Committee report.

In our report Going public , we examined how

commercial AI labs are involving the public to make AI systems more accountable. Through a series of interviews with industry professionals, we explored how these labs understand public participation, the approaches they take, and the obstacles they face when implementing these approaches. The paper was accepted into the Association of Computing Machinery’s Fairness, accountability and transparency in machine learning (FAccT) conference and has been cited by the World Economic Forum.

We also published research with the NCOB looking at the cutting edge of healthcare, which investigated the ethical and societal issues raised by the convergence of AI and genomics. DNA.I. sets out early findings and emerging questions and it has been referenced in the ICO’s Tech horizons report .

New partnerships and collaborations

As well as pursuing our own research agenda, much of Ada’s influence comes through working in partnership with other organisations as an effective way to amplify our capacity, broaden our expertise and ensure the impact of our work. In 2023 we entered into several new partnerships, with academia, civil society and policy:

to launch a new Participatory and Inclusive Data Stewardship project.

Ada also joined the special advisory committee for an AI taskforce launched by the Trades Union Congress to draft a Bill regulating the use of AI in the workplace. The draft Bill was published in April 2024. Other members of the advisory committee included techUK, the British Computer Society and the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development.

Nuffield Family Justice Observatory

The Nuffield Family Justice Observatory (Nuffield FJO) has continued to break new ground in how data and evidence can be used to improve the lives of children and families in the family justice system.

We have sought out and analysed previously unstudied data as part of a journey towards understanding how a child or family’s ethnicity affects their experience of the family justice system. Working with partners, we have brought parents and practitioners together to reimagine what humane practice should look like when a baby is at risk of being removed from its mother at birth. We have pushed for the growing number of vulnerable children deprived of their liberty in unregulated placements to be given a place in administrative data, and for the system to urgently find a way

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Strategic goal two

to better support them. We have used evidence to shift the narrative in private law cases to focus on the needs of children and their families, and how we meet those needs.

Our relentless pursuit of rigorous, independent evidence continues to draw unseen issues out of the shadows and prompt reflection. We are also bringing people together to innovate and pilot solutions to complex and sometimes longstanding challenges.

Our work is focused on four themes:

We work with others – from judges and lawyers to local authorities, third sector organisations and academics – to gather insights and convene discussions about how evidence can be used to initiate change. We hold events to share evidence and innovation with thousands of professionals on the frontline of the family justice system, provoking connection and conversation.

The team took part in a ‘practice week’ – sitting in on public and private law proceedings, Family Drug and Alcohol Courts, private law pilot sites, magistrates’ courts and legal meetings, and visiting services across England and Wales.

Experts from academia, science and the early years sector – including the Nuffield FJO’s Beverley Barnett-Jones – were appointed to offer strategic advice to The Princess of Wales and provide oversight of the work of her Royal Foundation Centre for Early Childhood.

Throughout it all, it is our partners – the organisations and individuals working within

or alongside the family justice system – and, above all, the families whose lives have been affected by it, who have brought our work to life. We are grateful to those who have attended our events, shared our research, and contributed ideas and experiences.

Private law

The family court has a role when families cannot agree arrangements for children – most usually following parental separation – known as private law cases. Little is known about the children and families appearing in the system, their background and particular issues, or the services available to them on their journey towards the courtroom.

We have been working to better understand the families that go to court following separation, why they use the court, and how their needs can be better met. We are also looking at how children’s participation in proceedings could be improved. This is in response to our research which has highlighted both the benefits of good participation and the current limits to children having a voice in decisions made about their lives.

In 2023 we published two reports: Uncovering private family law and What do we know about adults in private law proceedings? At the same time we convened conversations with practitioners and leaders working in the system to explore ways of bringing about change.

What do we know about adults in private law proceedings? Spotlight series

This paper, designed for policy and practice audiences, synthesises key evidence on what we know about the adults involved in private law cases, how their characteristics may affect their needs when they go through court, and the type of information and support that could improve their experiences.

Uncovering private family law: Exploring applications that involve non-parents

Around 10% of private law applications feature people who aren’t parents. This new research explores the types of orders being applied for and the characteristics of the people involved. In response to publication of this research, the President of the Family Division convened a working group of senior judiciary and other stakeholders to address how this previously overlooked group can be better served by the family courts. The Nuffield FJO sits on this working group and continues to support policy and practice level responses to the issues raised by this research.

Babies who are subject to care proceedings

As rising numbers of babies are being removed from their parents at birth (many of whom have previously had a child taken into care), we have continued to explore what needs to change to reverse this trend. Where it is considered necessary to take a baby into care, we have been providing evidence to help inform more humane experiences and lessen the likelihood of the subsequent removal of a child from the parent’s care.

Born into care: Best practice guidelines for when the state intervenes at birth

We fnalised and published guidelines developed and refined through work in eight pilot sites in England and Wales. In each pilot area, children’s social care and health services worked together with parents with lived experience, to change and improve practice and the approach to pre-birth assessment and intervention where there are safeguarding concerns in relation to an unborn child. The final guidelines drew on these pilots to help professionals working in this complex and challenging area to better support the parents involved, who are likely to be experiencing extreme anxiety and trauma.

The activity in the pilot sites, particularly the involvement of mothers with lived experience, led to the development of HOPE (‘hold on, pain eases’) boxes. The boxes are given to mothers separated from their babies after birth. They contain items to help the mother feel connected with her baby, and a similar box goes with the baby so that memories can be shared. If the baby is permanently separated from the parents, the boxes provide important memories for both child and parent. The HOPE box project has been taken on in a wide range of health authorities with a positive response from midwives.

We also published a summary of a report that provides new evidence about entry routes to care, pathways through care, and placement outcomes for babies in the care system in Wales: Understanding care pathways and placement stability for babies in Wales .

Our bulletin to share research and emerging good practice in relation to newborn babies at risk of care proceedings has almost a thousand subscribers after only nine editions.

Young people and the care system

The sharp increase in the number of older children and young people who are being taken into care has prompted concerns about the ability of the family justice system to respond to their needs. We have been using data to shine a spotlight on this group of children and young people, and convening discussions across the family justice system on how to facilitate change.

From July 2022 to July 2023 the President of the Family Division oversaw the National Deprivation of Liberty (DoLs) Court, in part influenced by Nuffield FJO data on the rising numbers of DoLs orders being sought. Based at the Royal Courts of Justice, it dealt with all new applications seeking authorisation to deprive children of their liberty under the inherent jurisdiction and ran for a 12-month period.

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Strategic goal three

adults, and how this experience differs for different families. We have been working to contribute to the knowledge base around ethnic diversity in the family justice system.

Briefing: Children subject to deprivation of liberty orders

Nuffield FJO collected and published data on these applications and released monthly briefings highlighting high-level data trends. In addition, we published an analysis of applications, revealing who is making applications, the characteristics and needs of children who are involved, and the common reasons for a DoL order being sought. We also looked at the legal outcomes of applications. At the end of the period we summarised our key findings, and to support the change we believe is needed we developed five principles of care in collaboration with a panel of leading academics.

Ethnicity of children in care and supervision proceedings in England

This briefng paper mapped inequalities that exist between ethnic groups in the family justice system and showed how we can monitor and measure this using data.

How might our ethnicity affect our experience of the family justice system?

By following a child’s journey through the family justice system – before court, through court proceedings and after court – we show that ethnic disparities exist across the spectrum. We summarised our learnings in this paper looking at how our ethnicity affects experiences of the family justice system

Inequalities in the family justice system

To be effective and fair, the family justice system needs to understand how the system is used and experienced by children and

Strategic goal three – profile and influence We will increase the profile and influence of our research portfolio and of the Nuffield Foundation as a whole.

Central to our grant-making ethos is that we are more than just a funder. We work with our grant-holders at all stages of their projects to plan and deliver communications and engagement activity to maximise the profile and influence of the work we fund. The result of that collaborative way of working is evidenced in the impact examples provided under strategic goal one.

Teacher workforce

crisis event

Our event in June 2023 about the causes and consequences of the teacher workforce crisis explored issues including teacher supply and school accountability. We had a total of 231 event registrations – 148 online, 83 in person – with attendees including researchers, policymakers, sector leaders and education practitioners.

We also produce syntheses – in different forms – bringing together findings from individual projects to strengthen their collective impact and to provide new opportunities for engagement. Our events programme convenes audiences to facilitate productive debate, and the public affairs team connects politicians and policymakers with the work of the Foundation, its centres and our grant-holders.

The seminar featured presentations covering trends in teacher pay, subject teacher shortages, teacher workload and well-being, Ofsted inspections, the pandemic’s legacy, and the impact of academisation.

A report was submitted by our public affairs team to the Education Select Committee investigating these issues. The event generated media coverage and significant traction on social media, enabling us to proactively set the research within the context of the live news agenda.

We provide access to outputs from all our grant-holder’s research projects on our website, and work to strengthen their collective impact. We use our own communications platforms to make the research we fund accessible to a wider audience and to amplify its message. We convene and connect in our fully accessible office, while continuing to recognise the value of the online space so that as many people as possible can engage with our work.

Digital engagement and reach

2023 was the year we pivoted more towards digital channels, including social media, growing our audiences and delivering increased reach and profile for our grant-holders.

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Strategic goal three

In January, the Nuffield Foundation’s Carey Oppenheim and the Nuffield FJO’s Beverley Barnett-Jones were announced as members of the Advisory Group for the Royal Foundation Centre for Early Childhood.

for Educational Research (NFER) school’s workforce lead, Jack Worth.

In the same month, The Food Foundation released their annual Broken plate report, containing a quote from the Nuffield Foundation, achieving national and specialist media coverage. Analysis by The Food Foundation was also covered by the national press, with The Food Foundation’s Executive Director Anna Taylor interviewed on ’ Channel 4’s Steph s Packed Lunch .

Their appointments, and Carey Oppenheim’s early childhood work, received extensive media coverage with more than 200 mentions. The Royal Foundation also launched its ‘Shaping Us’ campaign to raise awareness of the importance of the first five years in a child’s life. Carey Oppenheim authored an article for early years education professionals to support the campaign.

The EEF published its fnal evaluation of NELI at-scale in September 2023. This analysis is the culmination of almost 20 years of rigorous trials underpinned by high-quality research. It finds that four- and five-year-olds who received the targeted oral language intervention made an additional four months’ progress in language skills, compared to those who did not receive it. Children receiving Free School Meals benefited the most, with a seven-month boost to their language skills. The findings achieved extensive media coverage.

In April, a report by The Institute for Fiscal Studies into education spending in the four nations of the UK received wide national and local media coverage. Josh Hillman was quoted in several Scottish and Welsh media outlets and other specialist media.

Alongside extensive social media coverage of our teacher workforce event in June, a Tes journalist attended and reported on it. The article included research insights and quotes from the National Foundation

webinar, this is a significant increase in the numbers of people who will hear about future events, funding opportunities, grant outputs and impact stories. The Nuffield Foundation website landing pages also saw sharp increases in unique page views following the outreach webinar, reflecting the proactive communications campaign in support of the Foundation funding offer.

We held our first Grants outreach webinar in May 2023. The event reached a much bigger audience than anticipated, with 1,001 unique viewers of the live event, and an additional 906 views of the recording.

The webinar promoted our grant funding opportunities to new audiences:

Media profile and opportunities

Levels of interest and engagement during the event were high. We received more than 200 questions throughout the webinar. Data shows a wide spread of organisations attended, and following the webinar there was a 40% increase in applications to our Research, Development and Analysis Fund, and a more diverse pool of applicants.

The Foundation was mentioned in the media 3,502 times in 2023 and comments from our spokespeople featured more than 1,270 times. A range of projects attracted significant media interest throughout the year, reflecting the broad scope of the work we fund.

We also received new newsletter subscribers from the event – a 26% increase on our subscriber base. As well as continuing our contact with those who attended the

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Strategic goal four

In November, Professor Emma Hitchings from the University of Bristol published the final report of Fair shares? Sorting out money and property on divorce . She was interviewed on national radio about the report and co-wrote an article for academic media with fellow report author, Professor Gillian Douglas. The study was also referenced in national newspapers, featured in blog posts by several leading law firms, and was picked up by local news titles.

December saw the culmination of the Resolution Foundation and LSE’s strategic fund grant, The Economy 2030 Inquiry . Their final report received significant media attention, including featuring on a BBC Panorama episode: Surviving the pay squeeze . Alex Beer, the Foundation’s Head of Grants Operations and Portfolio Development, spoke at the conference to launch the report and was quoted widely in the media.

Public affairs

The public affairs team works across the Nuffield Foundation, the Ada Lovelace Institute, NCOB and the Nuffield FJO. Many of the policy and practice impact stories in this report are the result of our engagement and influencing strategies.

We share and promote the work of the Nuffield Foundation and its centres with parliamentarians, policymakers in all relevant government departments, public bodies and the third sector.

In 2023, the Nuffield Foundation continued to engage with political parties on the findings of the Changing Face of Early Childhood in Britain series of evidence reviews. We contributed to a significant Education Select Committee inquiry into support for childcare and the early years, and our evidence was heavily cited in its final report published in July.

“The Nuffield Foundation, among others, argued that there is ‘a strong case for additional investment in the early years, as a foundational stage of early development’ and as ‘lifelong inequalities have their roots in early childhood, this would be investment in social and individual well-being over the long term.’” (para 16)

“The Nuffield Foundation said in written evidence that ‘given that lifelong inequalities have their roots in early childhood’ investing in quality ‘would be investment in social and individual well-being over the long term.’” (para 105)

The committee has also echoed our recommendation on the need to create a long-term strategy for childcare and the early years, “encompassing supply side reforms, workforce development, and a considered focus on improving the quality of ECEC [Early Childhood Education Care] provision for children in all areas.”

We work also work directly with grant-holders, by advising on engagement opportunities, stakeholder mapping and management, and helping them develop outputs best suited to a policy audience. Where appropriate, we draw together research from current and past work we have funded to respond to live policy developments such as select committee inquiries and consultation responses.

In 2024, we plan to take an even more strategic and active approach to bringing our grant-holders together to respond and engage directly with policy developments. We are also developing resources on engagement and influencing plans to enable the research we fund to be as impactful as possible.

Strategic goal four – opportunities for young people

Our student programmes are direct interventions to create opportunities for young people to develop the quantitative literacy and critical thinking necessary to be engaged citizens in modern Britain.

There are now two options offered:

Research Placements and Experiences

a two-week Research Placement or five-day Experience Placement. Research Placements are collaborations with a STEM-related knowledge expert on a live research question or area of development. While producing a scientific or technical report and poster, the students benefit from the opportunity to contribute meaningfully to the host organisation’s current work. The Experience Placements are explorations with industry experts to identify essential skills needed for employment in STEM sectors. While producing a workbook and reflective report, students gain insight into working in professional environments, as well as knowledge of the challenges for different sectors, in turn preparing them for employment.

For more than 25 years, Research Placements and Experiences (RPE – formerly Nuffield Research Placements, NRPs) have supported students from the UK to develop a wide range of skills through engaging, real-world placements.

The programme continues to provide opportunities for year 12 (or equivalent) students from disadvantaged backgrounds to take part in authentic and meaningful science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) and STEM-related projects, gaining a unique experience through their participation.

Evaluation of the 2022/23 placements was positive:

• Overall satisfaction with the scheme

The programme is funded by the Nuffield Foundation, but from October 2020 it has been delivered by STEM Learning, the UK’s leading provider of STEM education and careers support.

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Strategic goal four

at the Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology (POST).

POST Fellows benefit from the Foundation’s expertise throughout the three months. Staff share their networks and make connections to other experts, and Fellows have access to our wide array of public outputs and historic research. Fellows are also given the opportunity to present to an engaged audience at the Foundation’s offices.

In 2023 we increased the number of places offered in the year from four to six. Fellows co-author a POSTnote or briefing on a range of topical issues.

POST Fellowships

Stephanie Hartgen-Walker summarises child food insecurity and Free School Meal initiatives in England, highlighting relevant research evidence and stakeholder, and Jahnavi Bhaskaran summarises the emerging technology of human stem cell-based embryo models. Dugald Foster

We offer PhD students – in their final or penultimate year of studying within a scientific, natural or social science field at a UK university – the opportunity to undertake a three-month fellowship

was offered a place in 2023, and in 2024 will publish a report on Reform of the Mental Health Act: People with learning difficulties and autism .

Katerina Mentzou’s fellowship was on Problem-solving courts (PSC), a problem-solving approach targeting the complex needs of individuals within the criminal or family justice systems. In her POSTnote she outlines the key components and outcomes of different PSCs, highlighting the opportunities for and challenges to implementation in England and Wales. Finishing her POSTnote early, she conducted scoping work for future POSTnotes and helped with the human trafficking inquiry of the Home Affairs Select Committee.

POST Fellowships are increasingly touching on topics that are of interest to the Nuffield centres (the Ada Lovelace Institute, NCOB and Nuffield FJO). This includes Hannah Wolmuth-Gordon who writes about the One Health approach, its key features, and the challenges to and opportunities for implementation. One Health recognises that human, animal and environmental health are closely interlinked. Laura Heath’s fellowship and POST briefing on gender incongruence and gender dysphoria is another example. As part of her Fellowship, she met with staff of the Health and Social Care Committee and attended a committee hearing.

Devyani Gaijjar started her fellowship in 2022, examining the debate around assisted dying. After submitting her PhD thesis, she started working at the Parliamentary Office for Science and Technology in 2023 as a physical sciences and digital adviser.

“I knew I was working on something that would have an impact and be used by parliamentarians – that the POSTnote I produced could help decision-makers make informed choices on laws directly affecting people.”

POST Fellow

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Grants awarded in 2023

Grants awarded in 2023

Grants awarded in 2023

Principal Investigator Project Name Value (£) Term
and Institution (months)
New Education projects funded in 2023
Sara Baker, A feasibility and pilot trial 460,193 36
University of Cambridge of the Early Years Library
Danielle Matthews, Can digital parenting 402,673 24
University of Shefeld interventions beneft early
language development?
Matt Dickson, The Raising of the 357,978 20
University of Bath Participation Age (RPA)
to 18 in England – has
it worked?
Maria Cockerill, Vocabulary for reading: 319,754 33
Queen’s University Belfast the power of words
Luke Sibieta, Spending across diferent 303,459 36
Institute for Fiscal Studies stages of education
Jack Worth, Teacher recruitment and 248,393 18
National Foundation retention challenges amid
for Educational market structure reform
Research (NFER)
Kirsty Dunn, Investigating the origins of 242,810 22
University of Lancaster the ‘achievement gap’: the
efects of adversity
Tammy Campbell, What has ‘Free School 236,661 24
Education Policy Institute Meals’ measured?
Implications for research
and policy
Victoria Simms, Improving early 223,580 24
Ulster University mathematical skills by
supporting the home
learning environment
Veruska Oppedisano, The impact of exclusion 205,279 30
University of Westminster on peers’ educational and
labour market outcomes
Joanne Hughes, Exploring academic 204,077 24
Queen’s University Belfast selection and grammar
schools in NI, and
advancing the debate
Principal Investigator Project Name Value (£) Term
and Institution (months)
Kirsten Abbot-Smith, Developing a classroom 195,108 24
University of Kent intervention to improve
conversation skills in
primary
John Jerrim, Long-term outcomes 161,482 24
UCL Institute of Education of high-achieving
disadvantaged children
Carol Brown, Unequal access to higher 151,103 24
Oxford Brookes University learning: can the EPQ help
with levelling up?
Jenna Julius, Cost of living crisis: impact 129,720 11
National Foundation for on schools
Educational Research
(NFER)
John Jerrim, Investigating variation 98,728 18
UCL Institute of Education in performance across
the Key Stage 2 maths
curricula
Jon Andrews, Education priorities in the 80,021 20
Education Policy Institute next general election
Funding for one project less 15,091
than £50,000
Additional funding for Education projects funded in previous years
Additional funding for 79,954
six projects, each less
than £50,000
Total Education grants 4,116,064
New Justice projects funded in 2023
Vicky Kemp, PACE and child 334,151 24
University of Nottingham suspects: piloting
a ‘Child First’ approach
in police custody
Lorna Stabler, Special guardianship 326,288 24
Cardif University families: experiences and
support needs
Jo Garstang, Improving safeguarding 306,329 18
University of Birmingham outcomes after adoption
or special guardianship

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Grants awarded in 2023

Grants awarded in 2023

Principal Investigator Project Name Value (£) Term
and Institution (months)
Rick Hood, Linking household 298,770 27
Kingston University benefts, fnancial
precarity and child welfare
Clive Diaz, Parental advocacy 295,145 30
Cardif University in England: a realist
evaluation of
implementation
Lucy Welsh, Exploring the experiences 122,900 20
University of Sussex of Criminal Cases Review
Commission (CCRC)
applicants
Paolo Campana, Breaking networks 115,843 18
University of Cambridge of youth serious violence
in the UK
Funding for one project less 25,205
than £50,000
Additional funding for Justice projects funded in previous years
Additional funding for 98,287
nine projects, each less
than £50,000
Total Justice grants 1,922,918
New Welfare projects funded in 2023
Antonio Silva, Revealing social capital 488,008 24
Nesta
Ashwin Kumar, Universal Credit, good 393,230 36
Manchester Metropolitan work and progression
University
Nick Davies, Performance tracker: are 308,666 41
Institute for Government public services meeting
people’s needs?
John Armstrong, Collective defned 303,360 24
King’s College London contribution pensions with
investment choice
Gavin Parker, Just Neighbourhoods? 269,614 30
University of Reading Under-representation
in UK Community-led
planning
Principal Investigator Project Name Value (£) Value (£) Term
and Institution (months)
Caroline Oliver, Afghan resettlement in 268,792 18
University College London England: outcomes and
experiences
Geraldine Lee Treweek, Gypsy, Roma, Traveller 268,436 33
Birmingham City University youth: mitigating
exclusions using the
digital?
Harriet Churchill, Virtual parent support 229,519 26
University of Shefeld portals: towards
a new research and
practice agenda
Jan-Emmanuel De Neve, Reliability and validity 76,623 12
University of Oxford of crowdsourced
workplace well-being data
Funding for three projects, 63,432
each less than £50,000
Additional funding for Welfare projects funded in previous years
Additional funding for 31,434
fve projects, each less
than £50,000
Total Welfare grants 2,662,682
New Strategic Fund projects funded in 2023
Calum Davey, Improvement through 2,435,909 54
National Institute Data and Evaluation
of Teaching Teaching (TIDE)
Additional funding for Strategic Fund projects funded in previous years
Additional funding for 25,484
one project less than
£50,000
Total Strategic 2,461,393
Fund grants
Understanding Communities Fund
Funding for two projects, 27,070
each less than £50,000
Total Understanding 27,070
Communities Fund grants

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Grants awarded in 2023

Future plans

Principal Investigator Project Name Value (£) Term
and Institution (months)
General Election Analysis and Briefng Fund
Andy Summers, Reforming capital gains 73,000 16
London School tax: Detailed modelling
of Economics and and tax simulator
Political Science
Paul Johnson, IFS general 70,000 19
Institute for Fiscal Studies election analysis
Mike Brewer, Briefngs on UK general 69,429 11
Resolution Foundation election 2024
Gavan Conlon, Examination of 65,627 17
London Economics higher education fees
and funding
Jagjit Chadha, General election briefngs 50,000 15
National Institute on key economic and
of Economic and Social social issues
Research
Funding for three projects, 118,790
each less than £50,000
Total General Election 446,846
Fund grants
Other
Funding for six projects, 49,000
each less than £50,000
Total Other grants 49,000

Future plans

Nuffield Foundation

New strategic focus

Life in Britain today has changed beyond recognition in many ways since the Foundation was established in 1943. But there are persistent themes that continue to connect the present to the past – access to opportunities, inequalities, family and working life, and how we can improve well-being in our society.

In 2024 we will continue to apply the independence, authority and trust we’ve built since 1943 to new research ideas that will contribute to shape all our futures. To this end, we are working towards finalising our next five-year strategy which we anticipate will launch in the next year.

Towards this strategy, we have:

We have also ran Changing Lives for the Better – a year-long series of events and activity to celebrate our 80th anniversary, and to contribute to our new strategic direction. This is ongoing and topics featuring in 2024 include:

Synthesis projects, strategic grants and new funds

Our Changing Face of Early Childhood series demonstrated the tangible benefit in bringing research together across the Nuffield Foundation’s domains and centres. The important series of evidence reviews – of our funded and other research – synthesises new insights, answers larger questions beyond those of individual projects, identifies knowledge gaps, and develops priorities for policy and practice. In 2024, we begin the exploratory phase for a new synthesis project, Grown Up? , exploring transitions from adolescence to adulthood.

Our Strategic Fund continues to make possible our most ambitious projects, including four new grants awarded in 2023 for research starting in 2024.

The first is an innovative five-year project from the National Institute of Teaching (NIoT). Teaching Improvement through Data and Evaluation (TIDE) aims to improve outcomes for pupils by improving teacher development practices. Analysing a wealth of strictly anonymised data from the NIoT’s founding school trusts, the project is the first of its kind tried at this scale in the UK on approaches to teacher training, classroom practice and

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Future plans

Future plans

continued professional development (CPD) – and the impact of these on pupil outcomes.

will build an understanding of what works, in what contexts, and for whom – with scope to improve policymaking and, subsequently, the lives of millions of families in the UK.

There is a knowledge gap around the impacts of major reductions in funding and procedural reforms in the justice system in England and Wales. Transforming justice: The interplay of social change and policy reforms is a major integrated research project from the IFS, led by Professor Imran Rasul. It has the potential to revolutionise public understanding of the role and impacts of the justice system and to improve the quality of policy through high-quality evidence and independent challenge. The project will also seek to build research capacity, ensuring that economic and quantitative methods are better represented within the study of the justice system.

The Well-being in later life in Bradford (WeLL-Bradford) study, led by Professor Andrew Clegg, will focus on the experiences of older people with frailty who experience multiple, avoidable disadvantages. These groups of people are often missed by current national studies (for example, older females with a low income and from a minority ethnic group). Data will be used to identify groups of people at higher risk of certain life events – needing carers at home, falling, being admitted to a care home or nearing end of life. This project will provide valuable insights to inform further national studies to investigate how policymakers, services and communities can find ways to address these longstanding unequal opportunities.

Research led by Professor Ruth Patrick at the University of York, alongside a four-nation team, will be the first major programme to examine the extent of devolution and impact on people’s everyday lives. A single UK social security system has not existed for some time, with significant differences depending on where you live. Decisions made at Westminster and at the national, regional and local level all affect the social security a family will receive. Social security in a devolved UK: Realities, risks & opportunities for families

A current Strategic Fund project,

Understanding Communities , is working towards a major report in 2024. Launched in 2022 in partnership with the British Academy, the project brings together several pieces of research exploring how to enhance people’s lives in the context of their communities. Funding was awarded

“The next government will need to confront significant and challenging decisions regarding matters such as the economy, taxes, and public services. Our general election projects aim to ensure that political promises are grounded in robust evidence and subject to expert and public scrutiny.”

Mark Franks, Welfare Director and lead for the General Election Analysis and Briefing Fund

to early or mid-career researchers, policymakers and practitioners, and applicants were encouraged to create multi-disciplinary teams, capture residents’ lived experiences and, alongside traditional methods, use innovative methods like art-based approaches and social network mapping.

Ahead of the next general election, the Foundation funded eight projects through its General Election Analysis and Briefing Fund. The high-quality work that we are enabling in 2024 aims to drive up the reliability and accuracy of political parties’ claims through impartial assessment, and to improve understanding of the factual evidence on key economic and social policy issues among the public and the media in the run-up to the election.

The Institute for Fiscal Studies, the Resolution Foundation and the National Institute for

Economic and Social Research will produce a range of outputs that will examine different aspects of the economy and public finances in the context of the election, while a team from the London School of Economics is examining in detail the issues around Capital Gains Tax. The Education Policy Institute is looking closely at the implications of the parties’ manifestos on our education system, while London Economics will examine different models of funding higher education. We are also supporting the Nuffield Trust to summarise evidence on key issues around health and social care in England, and the Social Market Foundation to carry out an international comparison of housing policy in light of the UK’s housing crisis. Finally, the Fraser of Allander Institute at the University of Strathclyde will draw out the implications of the parties’ manifesto commitments for Scotland.

2024 will also see the launch of a new research programme focused on racial diversity in the UK. This exciting new grant funding programme will explore the influence of migration and ethnic diversity on present-day UK society and its future

trajectory, improving understanding of pathways to a racially just and inclusive society.

Developing our people and organisation

In 2023, following a period of slow but steady expansion in staffing numbers, we focused on developing our people, as part of a refreshed people-development strategy and plan. The plan encompassed the development of core soft skills, a management development programme and Equity Diversity and Inclusion training for all staff (see Equity, diversity and inclusion section). We also joined the recently launched Charity Mentoring Network to provide opportunities for our staff to be mentored and/ or become a mentor to others, and continued to support personal development through access to online training and regular reading and development days.

At the end of the year the focus moved to engagement and two staff surveys – the first on staff inclusion, and the second (carried out in January 2024) being a full staff engagement survey. The findings from both surveys will inform actions to be taken forward in 2024.

In line with our ambitions for creating opportunities for graduates and those earlier in their careers, in 2023 we partnered with local universities and recruited two new Research Assistant positions within the Ada Lovelace Institute.

Emerging Researchers Network

For 2024 we have a new programme of events and opportunities to support early career researchers (ECRs) on Nuffield-funded projects. The Nuffield Foundation’s Emerging Researchers Network, launched in October 2023, furthers our aim to support ECRs to develop successful careers. Training events include how to write about research for the media, facilitated by The Conversation UK, and an insight session on policy and parliamentary engagement. The network’s

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Future plans

Equity, diversity and inclusion

Nuffield Council on Bioethics

LinkedIn group members are connecting with each other, and sharing learning and opportunities.

The new NCOB strategy ‘Making ethics matter’ sets out three priority areas of work for the next two to three years:

Fellowships at POST

We continue to offer PhD students – in their final or penultimate year of studying within a scientific, natural or social science field at a UK university – the opportunity to undertake a three-month fellowship at the Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology (POST). Six Fellowships will be awarded in 2024 – four in POST’s Social Sciences team and two in the Biology and Health team.

These three areas represent some of today’s most urgent and important developments in biomedicine and health. They each raise critical ethical, social and policy issues on which the NCOB will offer a distinctive contribution. Work on the ethics and regulation of ‘model embryos’, and a briefing note on the use of ‘brain organoids’ in research are among the planned outputs of 2024.

POSTnotes being published in 2024 include Jahnavi Bhaskaran’s summary of the emerging technology of human stem cell-based embryo models, their regulation, and wider ethical and societal implications; and Dugald Foster’s report on Reform of the Mental Health Act: People with learning difficulties and autism , part of a series of reports by POST on the reform of the Mental Health Act.

Meanwhile, the NCOB’s horizon scanning programme is set to evolve. In partnership with the Government Office for Science (GO-Science), the Council of Europe and the Ada Lovelace Institute, the NCOB has secured an Oxford Policy Engagement Network Fellowship. This is enabling a Fellow from the Ethox Centre at the University of Oxford to join the NCOB and senior methodologists from the National Institute

for Health and Care Research Innovation Observatory to design a new horizonscanning approach that explores ethical considerations from the outset.

Also in 2024, the NCOB will be sharing findings from its public engagement project on assisted dying, and from a partnership with the Ada Lovelace Institute on AI and genomics. It will be welcoming a new researcher in the second half of the year to work on an international collaboration led by the University of Birmingham on ‘ethical expertise in times of crisis’.

Nuffield Family

Justice Observatory

In 2024 a significant focus will be on:

We will be drawing attention to the lived experience of ‘care’ under deprivation of liberty (DoLs) orders, and facilitating the development of ‘system change’ pilots to change the way young people under DoLs orders are cared for.

We will be pushing for young people’s voices to be heard in the family justice system. We will also look for ways to communicate a problem-solving approach to practitioners, and champion what it will take to achieve change throughout England and Wales.

We will continue to develop and disseminate research about families’ experiences of the family justice system by ethnicity.

The Ada Lovelace Institute

The Ada Lovelace Institute ends the year with a new Chair and new Board members, and with renewed purpose from evidence of the urgency and impact of our work. 2024 will be exciting with our new Director, Gaia Marcus, appointed and as we work to refine our future strategy for 2025 and beyond.

There’s no doubt that 2024 will bring more headline-grabbing jumps forward in the technical capabilities of AI systems. This is alongside growing concern about negative impacts, including generative AI’s contribution to political disinformation in a year in which both UK and US elections take place.

The policy landscape will continue to evolve, with attention in the EU likely to turn to the implementation and enforcement of the AI Act. 2024 will also see two further AI Safety Summits in South Korea and France.

We’ll continue to invest resource in understanding, translating and working with others to explore how data and AI can contribute to creating better, fairer societies for everyone – and our core principles and mission will continue to inform everything we do.

Equity, diversity and inclusion

We continue our programme of work to ensure equity, diversity and inclusion is embedded in all aspects of our work.

For our work to effectively recognise and reflect these issues, diversity and inclusion must be embedded in all aspects of what we do as a Foundation, including the people we employ, the projects we fund and those with whom we work and engage.

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Equity, diversity and inclusion

Equity, diversity and inclusion

In support of this, we monitor the diversity of our staff and job applicants so that we can understand where we need to take further steps to ensure we are an inclusive employer.

Table 1 presents data on four protected characteristics for Nuffield Foundation employees as of 31 December 2023. During the year there has been an increase in the proportion of staff from ethnic minority backgrounds (from 17.5% to 20.0%). We’ve also seen an increase in the number of staff declaring a disability, which has increased from 3.8% in 2022 to 10.5% as of December 2023. We continue to look at actions and initiatives that might address areas of under-representation.

We have recently started collecting diversity monitoring data on those people holding governance roles in the Foundation. 75% of the Foundation’s Trustees have provided this information. Of those disclosing, 57% are male and 43% are female, 71% are White and 29% are from other ethnic backgrounds. Incorporating members of our wider governance bodies (the Trustees, our committees, and the members of the governing boards for the Ada Lovelace Institute, NCOB and the Nuffield FJO), 58% have disclosed this information. From those disclosing, 50% of members are female and 50% are male, and 83% of members are White with 17% from other ethnic backgrounds.

During 2023, staff attended in-house equity, diversity and inclusion training workshops. We also undertook a staff inclusion survey, the feedback from which has been developed into actions that will be taken forward during 2024. We have signed up to the 10,000 Interns Foundation’s scheme which provides paid internships for Black and disabled students and graduates, and we will be hosting four placements in the summer of 2024. We will continue to identify other opportunities that support young people (or returners) into work. We continue to use accreditation schemes to provide a framework for our employment activities.

We are still signed up to the RNIB’s Visibly Better standard, we’re signed up to the - Age Friendly Employer pledge, and during 2023 we were able to progress our Disability Confdent standard from Level 1 to Level 2.

We want to ensure that our applicants and grant-holders reflect the diversity of society. Since 2021 we have introduced voluntary diversity and inclusion monitoring of applicants, grant-holders and their teams to find out more about the people who apply for – and are awarded – funding. Tables 2 and 3 present data on four protected characteristics for Principal Investigators and Co-Investigators named in applications and those who were grant-holders in 2023, comparing these against the same in 2021 and 2022. Overall, there has been little change in the rates in the three years. As can be seen in Table 2, there are noticeably more applicant respondents who completed the survey in 2023, reflecting the significant increase in the number of applications received when compared to 2022 (numbers for 2021 are low due to monitoring only beginning in the second of our two annual funding rounds in that year). Across all rounds on monitoring, the response rate to our diversity and inclusion monitoring survey has been high, exceeding 75%.

Over time, the data gathered helps inform what steps we can take to ensure our funding opportunities are accessible to all potential applicants.

In 2023 we undertook some foundational steps to broaden the diversity of the people we fund, our networks and our audiences, with a particular objective to increase applications and their success rate from Black researchers, as this has been identified as a key gap. The Foundation’s data about the ethnicity of its applicants and grant-holders is in its infancy but preliminary analysis shows that for White applicants, one in every seven outline applications is invited to full application; whereas for racially minoritised applicants, this drops

to one in every nine outline applications being invited to full application.

an Emerging Researchers Network and we will ensure this is inclusive and supportive for Black early career researchers.

We have noted the absence of Black or Black British. Principal Investigators within our current grant portfolio according to our data. This is broadly consistent with UK Research and Innovation data which shows that Black researchers are particularly underrepresented among their grant-holders, accounting for only 1% of awards in 2020/21.[1]

Table 1:
Our staf as of 31 December 2023 (%)
Age
29 or under
30–39		 22.1
31.6
40–49 25.3
50–59 16.8
60+ 4.2
Prefer not to say 0
Ethnicity
Asian or Asian 7.4
British
Black or Black 4.2
British
Mixed 5.3
Other ethnic group 3.1
White
Prefer not to say		 76.8
3.2
Disability
No 84.2
Yes 10.5
Prefer not to say 5.3
Gender
Female		 73.6
Male 23.2
Use another term
Prefer not to say		 3.2
0

We are considering what steps the Nuffield Foundation can take to increase the number of applicants and grant-holders who are Black or Black British. A project team conducted interviews with 10 organisations to learn about how they were approaching the challenge of increasing the number of Black grant-holders. The team also conducted some desk-based research.

Separately we commissioned Hello Brave to run focus-group research to gather initial insights about what is and is not currently designed well for Black researchers seeking Nuffield Foundation funding, and what could be done to make the Foundation’s grant-making processes equitable and inclusive for Black researchers.

The findings and insights from these initiatives were discussed by the Foundation’s Leadership Team, the Equality and Diversity Working Group and Nuffield Foundation’s Board of Trustees in October. The Trustees strongly endorsed proposals to explore means of increasing the racial diversity of the Foundation’s grand-holders, including a particular initial focus on Black researchers, given the lack of Black PIs among our grant-holders.

As a first step, the Foundation is reaching out to, and working with, representatives from Black-led networks to improve our communications and outreach programme. The Foundation has also recently launched

1 UKRI (2022) UKRI diversity data for funding applicants and awardees (UKRI diversity data for funding applicants and awardees 2020–21 update; accessed 30 January 2024)

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Equity, diversity and inclusion

Equity, diversity and inclusion

Table 2: Applicant protected characteristics

Principal Investigator Principal Investigator Principal Investigator Co-Investigator Co-Investigator
2023 (%; 2022 (%; 2021 (%; 2023 (%; 2022 (%; 2021 (%;
n=509*) n=446*) n=130*) n=839*) n=742*) n=177*)
Age
29 or under 2 3 3 3 2 0
30–39 25 28 31 25 24 24
40–49 36 40 38 37 35 36
50–59 27 21 19 24 28 30
60+ 9 7 8 9 9 8
Prefer not to say 1 1 0 2 2 2
Ethnicity
Asian or Asian British 6 9 5 9 6 5
Black or Black British 3 1 1 2 1 0
Mixed 4 3 2 2 3 2
Other ethnicgroup 3 2 2 4 2 2
White 83 84 88 81 86 90
Prefer not to say 1 1 2 2 1 1
Disability
No 78 83 85 80 80 83
Yes 19 12 10 14 17 15
Prefer not to say 3 5 5 6 3 2
Gender
Female 63 62 55 59 58 53
Male 35 35 42 38 40 46
I use another term 0 2 2 0 1 1
Prefer not to say 2 1 1 3 1 1
Table 3: Grant-holder protected characteristics
Principal Investigator Co-Investigator
2023 (%;
n=74)
2022 (%;
n=100)
2021 (%;
n=107*)		 2023 (%;
n=143)
2022 (%;
n=186)
2021 (%;
n=191*)
Age
29 or under
1
0
1		 4
4
5
30–39
26
21
21		 22
18
16
40–49
31
33
32		 37
40
42
50–59
27
30
29		 22
23
23
60+
14
15
17		 13
12
12
Prefer not to say
1
1
1		 2
3
3
Ethnicity
Asian or Asian British
3
3
4		 1
2
2
Black or Black British
0
0
0		 1
1
1
Mixed
5
4
4		 1
1
1
Other ethnicgroup
1
2
2		 1
1
1
White
83
86
86		 96
94
95
Prefer not to say
8
5
5		 1
2
2
Disability
No
85
86
87		 81
80
81
Yes
14
14
13		 15
16
15
Prefer not to say
1
0
0		 4
5
5
Gender
Female
60
61
62		 58
60
61
Male
38
37
36		 41
38
37
I use another term
1
1
1		 0
0
2
Prefer not to sa
1
1
1		 1
2
0

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Financial review

Financial review

Financial Review

2023 is the first year of our next five-year financial framework, which sees an increase in our charitable spending to achieve our strategic goals.

Our two key financial metrics are annual charitable expenditure and the value of our investment portfolio, which decreased and increased respectively compared to the previous year.

Our charitable expenditure in 2023 was £22.0 million; a reduction of £1.2 million from 2022’s charitable expenditure of £23.2 million. This reduction is predominately explained by an accounting adjustment in 2023 to discount our long-term grant commitments, in line with accounting standards (a £0.5 million reduction). With this adjustment removed, the comparable year-on-year reduction is £0.8 million. This is explained by the 2022 Oliver Bird Fund grant round which is not on an annual cycle (£2 million reduction in 2023), offset by increased spend in both Strategic Fund commitments and the NELI programme.

Our investments were valued at £518 million at the end of December 2023, a £20 million increase against the December 2022 valuation of £498 million. Against our longer-term financial targets we remain significantly ahead of our target position, and so market volatility does not yet cause any concern for our long-term ability to spend at our intended levels.

Expenditure

Key components of our 2023 expenditure include:

These activities indicate some of the ways in which we are using our financial resources to deliver the aspirations laid out in our strategy.

Investment management and governance

Our financial objectives are:

Our investment objective remains to have a diversified portfolio that will allow for high and stable long-term spending, earned in a way that is consistent with our values.

The portfolio return of 8.5% (2022: �5.4%) was significantly behind its market-based benchmark of 14.2% (�7.3%), which is based on a portfolio invested with 90% in global equities and 10% in short-dated gilts. Private equity was the largest contributor to this under-performance (returning �7.7% compared with a benchmark return of 15.3% for listed equity). Private equity valuations always take longer to feed through than in public markets, so this under-performance against its listed equity benchmark is not surprising and reflects the losses in public markets of 2022. Public equities also under-performed their benchmark by returning 12.0%, 3.4% less than the MSCI ACWI index (15.3%). The individual performance of listed equity managers was once again varied, as expected, putting behind them the too-close correlations experienced in the market hiatus of 2022 as it digested interest rate changes quickly.

50% of the US Dollar exposure in the portfolio is being hedged back to sterling to protect some of the historic currency gains. The hedge was introduced at £1 to $1.15. When GBP recovers towards its more normal value, we will return to our unhedged strategy.

During the year we decided to increase our strategic allocation to venture capital and private equity from 20% to 25%, by reducing the allocation to global equities

from 70% to 65%, to take advantage of the current dislocation in the market and to provide a fillip to our long-term returns.

We dedicate one Investment Committee meeting a year to understanding better how our managers are implementing our expectations as responsible investors, reflecting our underlying principle of ‘know what we own’. As part of this, we examine our portfolio against a number of metrics to ensure that we are not earning our returns by exploiting vulnerable people (a key test for us), or in an unsustainable way, and discuss with our managers how they express our policy in what they own, how they vote and how they engage.

We continue to carefully watch inflation (both globally and in the UK), which would affect us by increasing the rate at which our Capital Maintenance Index (CMI) rises while potentially decreasing market values of our investments. The impact of this would be to reduce the amount of excess reserves that we are holding over the CMI target and our level of spending.

Our Investment Committee is made up of three Trustees and two independent investment professionals, and it fulfils a key governance role by monitoring and overseeing this area on behalf of the Board of Trustees.

Responsible investing policy

Our policy is based on three principles:

Our full responsible investing policy is available on our website: www.nufeldfoundation.org/our-policies

Asset allocation and ranges

Asset class
Real assets
Global equities		 Target
65%		 2023 Actual
71%
Private assets
Currency		 25%
-		 18%
1%
Total real assets 90% 90%
Short-dated gilts and cash
Total assets		 10%
100%		 10%
100%

Manager structure and principal benchmarks

Investment performance is assessed against total returns relative to a composite benchmark based on asset allocation at the beginning of each period. Performance is also compared to an appropriate peer group index (previously WM Charities Unconstrained Index). Individual manager benchmarks are set out below.

Asset class
Real assets
Global equities
Private assets		 Manager
Arrowstreet, Harding
Loevner, GMO, Magellan,
Maj Invest, Veritas
Various illiquid funds		 Manager
Arrowstreet, Harding
Loevner, GMO, Magellan,
Maj Invest, Veritas
Various illiquid funds
Nominal assets
Short-dated gilts		 Internally managed
Asset class
Total equities
Private assets
Fixed interest		 Benchmark
MSCI ACWI
MSCI ACWI
0–5yr ML Gilt index		 Target
+ 1%
+ 3%
-

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Financial review

Financial review

Investment performance

Investment performance
Total returns_(annualised %)_
Nufeld Foundation
Bespoke benchmark		 1 Year
3 Years
8.5%
7.3%
14.2%
7.7%		 5 years
9.4%
11.0%		 10 Years
10.0%
10.3%
Infation (annual weekly earnings) 6.0%
5.5%		 4.7% 3.14%
ARC Steady Growth Index
Key
Nufeld Foundation		 7.5%
3.0%
Actual performance		 5.5% 5.0%
Bespoke benchmark 90% MSCI ACWI; 10% UK 1–5 year Gilts
ARC Steady Growth Index Commonly used index for charity funds

Reserves policy

Principal risks

The primary focus of our reserves policy is to monitor the long-term health of the Nuffield Foundation’s financial outlook. Our strategy is to preserve the endowment’s value over the very long term while releasing the funds required to meet our short-term spending commitments.

We are responsible for the management of risks, with detailed consideration delegated to the Audit, Risk and Governance Committee and supported by senior staff.

In setting out our risk management approach we recognise that, for strategic risk management at least, the somewhat formulaic ‘probability’ and ‘impact’ approach can lead to more emphasis on the scoring mechanisms than on the deeper implications of the risks identified.

As at 31 December 2023, the ‘target value’ of our endowment was £447 million, with an upper range of £518 million and lower range of £375 million. The actual value of the endowment was £518 million, in excess of what we consider to be the usual volatility range – this has offered us the opportunity to look at accelerating our level of expenditure beyond our standard rate of CMI plus 4.5%.

To avoid this trap, we have developed an approach that frames each conversation to consider the gap between our risk appetite and the actual profile of a given risk. This has a number of advantages in comparison to some more widely used approaches, including:

The short-term reserves level (General Fund expenditure reserve) is a secondary focus within our financial management. The nature of our expenditure is that we make commitments (either in grants to third parties or in the designation of funds for our in-house programmes) well in advance of the funds being drawn down, and so we expect this expenditure reserve to be negative. The December 2023 level is �£2.9 million.

• It recognises that risk assessment is more of a continuum than a precise point on a chart. It allows space to acknowledge the degree of uncertainty in evaluating risks.

As our endowment is managed on a total return basis, and as a significant proportion of our accounting commitments will not be realised for several years and are fully covered by cash and cash-like holdings within our investment portfolio, we are satisfied that our current reserves position is appropriate and is a good indicator of our strategic intent.

Our strategic risk areas, with current status and key actions, are:

Strategic risk area

Is our strategy on track and sufficiently flexible and responsive to changing circumstances?

Are we funding work of the quality and relevance required to advance our purpose?

Are we taking the right level of risk to achieve the desired outcomes?

Does our funding have the appropriate impact on policy and practice over the short, medium and long-term?

Does our reputation among key stakeholders reflect our purpose and enable us to build effective partnerships?

Are we managing the Foundation’s range of activities in a way that prevents exposure to undue reputational damage?

Are we reaching our key audiences effectively?

Does our equity, diversity and inclusion work strike the right balance between representation, engagement and the authority of research? Is our leadership governance fit for purpose, in line with best practice, and alert to the dangers of ‘group think’?

Do we have the staffing capacity and culture to deliver on our strategic commitments?

Do our systems, processes and environment facilitate and enable our work?

Is our current and long-term strategy adequately supported by our investment portfolio?

Status and key actions

The strategy has proved itself to be an important and valuable guide in framing our activity and flexing our approach to circumstances over the past five years. Our next five-year strategy is currently in development and is expected to be published in late 2024/early 2025.

We continue to make good progress in strengthening our approach to impact, evaluation and learning, including through the creation of our Grants Committee, appointment of a Director of Strategy and Engagement, and through our strategy development.

Our continued development of larger ‘strategic’ grants and more cross-cutting and synthesis workstreams allows us to check ourselves on this area.

We continue to build our profile as a convenor and to explore how best to connect with policymakers and practitioners.

We are evaluating the results of stakeholder research to determine how well our self-understanding lines up with external voices, an important aspect in the development of our next five-year strategy.

We are satisfied that this risk is being well-managed; we continue to refine our governance and leadership approach as our work develops across its multiple streams.

This will also be covered in the stakeholder research. We have an ongoing programme of communication activity that is making great progress in how we present ourselves externally. This is an emerging and newly identified risk in 2023 and we will be working to embed this through the strategy refresh and EDI workstreams already in place.

Our refined governance and leadership structure has been operational since mid-2023, including the establishment of a Grants Committee and revised remit for the Audit, Risk and Governance Committee.

The extensive changes to our systems and our working environment over recent years is well embedded. An increase in external/convening-type events has given us increased confidence that the environment is fit for purpose.

We have focused on aspects of culture including diversity and inclusion in the past year; this remains work in progress, as does ensuring we have the right levels of capacity and engagement.

Our financial model is so far proving itself to be resilient in the face of market volatility and inflationary pressures; this will require continued careful monitoring over the coming period.

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Structure, governance and management

Financial review

Structure, governance and management

The Trust Deed

The Nuffield Foundation is a charity registered with the Charity Commission (206601). It was established by Trust Deed on 9 June 1943 by Lord Nuffield. The Trust Deed details the objects of the Foundation which include: the advancement of health; the advancement of social well-being; the advancement of education; the care and comfort of the aged poor; the relief of handicaps; the benefit of the Commonwealth and ‘such other charitable purposes as shall be declared in writing by all the Trustees’.

A Common Investment Fund was established by a Charity Commission scheme and took effect on 1 January 1980. It allowed the investments of different charities (but for which the Foundation Trustees were also responsible) to be invested as one unit. Subsequently, these funds (the Oliver Bird Fund, the Elizabeth Nuffield Educational Fund and the Commonwealth Relations Trust) have been classified as ‘subsidiary charities’ of the Foundation and are only identified separately in the notes to these accounts.

The Trust Deed has been amended on a number of occasions, most recently in 2016.

Trustees

The Foundation has eight Trustees, who act jointly as a corporate body. Trustees are appointed by other Trustees for a standard tenure of two five-year terms. The Board of Trustees meets five times a year and retains overall responsibility for all activities of the Foundation. All strategic and policy decisions are taken by Trustees collectively, advised by a number of committees. We also have oversight boards for the Ada Lovelace Institute, the Nuffield Family Justice Observatory and the Nuffield Council on Bioethics – these do not have formal fiduciary duties.

Committee / oversight board membership is as follows:

Italics External to / independent of Nuffield Foundation + Joined in year

Left in year

Board sub-committees
Audit, Risk and Governance		 Remit
Responsible for the process leading to the
preparation of the annual fnancial statements
the control environment, the oversight
of risk management and all corporate
governance matters.		 2023 Membership
Claire Brown (Chair)
Ash Amin +
John Pullinger
Clare Tickell
Finance Oversight of fnancial planning and performance John Pullinger (Chair)
Investment monitoring; oversees the management of
signifcant initiatives.
Considers the Foundation’s asset allocation and
monitors investment performance; can appoint
and dismiss investment managers.		 Ash Amin +
Clare Tickell
Claire Brown
Keith Burnett (Chair)
James Banks #
Brian Bell +
Staf, Nominations and
Remuneration
Nominations and governance
Entity boards		 Oversight and development of the
Foundation’s stafng policies, including Trustee
personnel matters.
Examines the way the charity is governed and
recommends changes to Trustees. It also identifes
potential new Trustees.
Following a review of our governance and
leadership structure in 2023, this committee was
disbanded and all duties were subsumed into the
other committees listed above.		 John Pullinger
David Balance
Gary Steinberg
Keith Burnett (Chair)
Ann Phoenix
Keith Burnett (Chair) #
Ash Amin #
Ernest Ryder #
Ada Lovelace Institute Lead the strategic development of the Ada Wendy Hall (Chair) #
Lovelace Institute, responsible for securing Julie Maxton (Chair) +
long-term sustainability. Board members also play Francine Bennett #
a leading role in identifying questions or projects
relating to the use of data and AI for investigation		 Rocio Concha Galguera
Alix Dunn
and deliberation. Helen Margetts #
Shakir Mohamed +
Huw Price #
Ali Shah +
Hetan Shah #
John Thornhill
Chris Todd
Shannon Vallor +
Nufeld Council on Bioethics Responsible for reviewing and challenging the Brian Scott (Chair of the Board)
Nufeld Council on Bioethics’ work, providing Graham Hart
assurance that it is operating within its remit and Katherine Littler
committing expenditure in line with the terms of the Vivienne Parry
funding grant and the goals of the Strategic Plan.
(Note that the Council has a deliberative function, Dave Archard (Chair of Council)
with responsibility for developing the Nufeld
Council on Bioethics’ strategy)

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Structure, governance and management

Structure, governance and management

Nuffield Family Justice Provides independent oversight, ensuring that the Observatory work of the Nuffield FJO resonates with the wider family justice sector, reflects its England and Wales remit, and provides assurance to the funders on value for money and impact.

James Munby (Chair) # Jenny Beck (Chair) + Clare Carter Sally Jenkins Sophie Kershaw-Miller # Chris MacDonald + Eamon McCrory + Lesley Newton # Carey Oppenheim # Andrew Powell Rob Street Andrew Webb Theresa Williams

Claire Brown (Chair) Deirdre Carty + ad hoc members

Panel for Trustee Remuneration

Periodically reviews the principles and levels of remuneration of Trustees and other members of our governance environment and makes recommendations to the Chair of Trustees.

Italics External to / independent of Nuffield Foundation + Joined in year # Left in year

The Nuffield Council on Bioethics is a longstanding example, with a Governing Board chaired by Brian Scott and a Council chaired by Professor David Archard. For our newer bodies, the Ada Lovelace Institute has a Governing Board chaired by Dame Julie Maxton and the Nuffield Family Justice Observatory has a Governing Board chaired by Jenny Beck.

We set terms of reference for all committees and panels, and parameters for the delegation of authority to senior staff. Senior staff set further levels of delegation for operational matters. New Trustees receive an induction – including a series of meetings with other Trustees and senior staff – and a handbook for Trustees, containing information about procedures, committees, meetings, decision-making and financial procedures at the Nuffield Foundation.

In 2021 we set up a wholly owned subsidiary, Nuffield Foundation Education Ltd, as a ‘special purpose vehicle’ for the management of the grant from the Department for Education to roll out the Nuffield Early Language Intervention. The results of the subsidiary have been consolidated into the group accounts.

Organisational structure and management of the Foundation

During the year, the Foundation has employed an average of 82 full-time equivalent staff (including staff of the Nuffield Council on Bioethics, the Ada Lovelace Institute and the Nuffield Family Justice Observatory, all of whom are employed by the Foundation). The Chief Executive, supported by a Leadership Team, is responsible for the management of the Foundation and for advising Trustees on strategic and operational matters. Trustees are responsible for grant-making decisions, with delegated authorities in line with agreed procedures.

The Foundation is a Living Wage Employer accredited by the Living Wage Foundation.

Statement of grant-making policy

We seek to be an open, collaborative and engaged funder that offers more than money. We are not simply an academic funding body, though the research we fund must stand up to rigorous academic scrutiny. We publish details of available funding and the relevant application process on our website and promote these opportunities through our stakeholder engagement and communications.

We house several semi-autonomous bodies which, although legally part of the Nuffield Foundation, have their own governing structures with distinct terms of reference.

Grants are peer-reviewed by independent referees, who include representatives from the policy and practice worlds, as well as research experts. We require ethical scrutiny of proposals involving primary research and evidence of a commitment to the communication of research findings. Trustees make final decisions on these applications.

Once a grant has been awarded, we will work with grant-holders to ensure an advisory board is in place to provide a range of technical, subject, policy and practice expertise. We also require grant-holders to report on progress and to produce at least one publicly available output that sets out how they used their grant and what they achieved. We also require an end of project assessment, including feedback on the Foundation’s performance as a grant-maker.

Statement of policy on staff remuneration

We aim to recruit and retain able staff to deliver the operational activities of the organisation. Staff are paid on a pay band commensurate with the responsibility their post entails. Annual pay increases are agreed by the Staff, Nominations and Remuneration Committee, taking inflation and national average earnings and any other relevant factors into account. We do not have a system of bonuses or other variable rewards but will occasionally make additional payments to staff to recognise additional levels of responsibility or contribution.

Periodically, staff pay is independently benchmarked to external comparators. We undertook a full benchmarking exercise in the summer of 2021, to ensure that our remuneration remained in line with our external markets, and that there was appropriate internal parity. Details of senior staff pay are contained in note 4 to the accounts.

Pay gap reporting

The Nuffield Foundation is below the headcount requirement for statutory reporting on our gender pay gap, but we choose to share the gender and ethnicity pay gaps in our annual report for transparency and accountability. We are conscious that these figures are sensitive to fluctuation due to our relatively small workforce. We, however, recognise the importance

of understanding what they may tell us about our recruitment and retention practices and we will continue to monitor them.

Gender pay gap

As of 31 December 2023, the mean gender pay gap has reduced; mean average male pay is now 14.8% higher than average female pay (down from 15.7% in 2022, and 19.5% in 2021). Looking at the median pay gap, this has now reduced from median male pay being 4.3% higher than female median pay in 2022, to the female median pay being 0.5% higher than male median pay in 2023.

For reference, our overall staff base is 73.6% female, 23.2% male and 3.2% non-binary/other gender identity.

Ethnicity pay gap

Looking at the average pay of employees disclosing themselves as from a White background compared with those staff from ethnic minority backgrounds, our mean pay gap has reduced. Mean average pay for White employees is now 19.0% higher than those from ethnic minority backgrounds (down from 24.4% in 2022) and the median pay gap has reduced from 16.1% in 2022 to 7.0% in 2023.

For reference, 76.8% of our staff have disclosed that they are of a White background and 20% are from an ethnic minority background (up from 17.5% in 2022).

Statement of policy on fundraising

Section 162a of the Charities Act 2011 requires us to make a statement regarding fundraising activities. We do not undertake any fundraising activities, although we can accept offers from partners to contribute to work that we undertake. We show these sums in our accounts as ‘donation income’. We do not use professional fundraisers or ‘commercial participators’ or, indeed, any third parties to solicit donations. We are therefore not subject to any regulatory scheme or relevant codes of practice; nor have we received any complaints in relation to fundraising activities nor do we consider it necessary to design specific procedures to monitor such activities.

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Structure, governance and management

Structure, governance and management

Charity Governance Code

We have carried out a review of our activities against the Charity Governance Code, a tool designed to help charities and their Trustees develop high standards of governance. We have an action plan to implement any relevant findings against this code.

Streamlined energy and carbon reporting

Although not required for charities of our size, we have elected to report our energy utilisation as a part of our wider commitment to responsible operations.

UK energy use
(kWH)
Associated greenhouse gas
emissions
(Tonnes CO2equivalent)
Intensity ratio
(emissions per square metre)		 2023
117,229
39.72
0.04		 2022
216,191
55.5
0.02

‘UK energy use’ covers gas and electricity use from our UK office plus the annual emissions from IT equipment.

‘Associated greenhouse gas emissions’ has been calculated using the GHG Reporting Protocol and use the 2023 government emission conversion factors for greenhouse gas company reporting.

The bulk of our energy demand comes from our office use. In late 2022, we sold our Grade 1-listed Georgian property and the associated reduction in energy use is reflected for the first time in 2023. This has reduced our energy utilisation significantly. We use cloud-based and mobile technology solutions, so our in-house IT requirements (servers etc.) have been reduced to a minimum.

We have limited energy usage other than our office and IT commitments (Foundation travel is limited and is almost entirely by public transport). We have not attempted to calculate the power consumption of staff while working from home.

Public benefit

In preparing this report, Trustees have referred to the Charity Commission’s general guidance on public benefit and are satisfied that the activities undertaken by the Foundation meet the Commission’s requirements. As a research funder, the immediate beneficiaries are the organisations that we fund; universities, research institutes, voluntary organisations and others. Ultimately, the beneficiaries are much wider, since the aim of our grant-making is to improve the design and operation of social policy so that the lives of potentially every person in the UK benefit.

Individual young people are the immediate beneficiaries of our student programmes including the roll-out of the NELI; the public benefit reaches beyond the individuals directly supported, for example by ultimately seeking to address the skills gaps needed for the UK to flourish.

Going concern

We monitor our going concern position throughout the year, with regular formal reviews.

Our general outlook on going concern is that the nature of the Foundation’s endowment management and its future financial commitments mean that the Trustees remain satisfied that the Foundation has sufficient reserves to continue as a going concern for the foreseeable future.

Our most recent review confirms that, as our investment value is significantly in excess of long-run target, our asset allocation is intentionally overweight on nominal / liquid funds (so strengthening our resilience to short-term adverse shocks), and as cash and gilt holdings are double the requirement to meet forecast outflows over the next 24 months, our general outlook remains positive.

Statement of Trustees’ responsibilities

The Trustees are responsible for preparing the Annual Report and the Financial Statements in accordance with applicable law and regulations. Charity law requires that Trustees prepare financial statements for each financial year, in accordance with United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice (United Kingdom Accounting Standards and applicable law). Under charity law, the Trustees must not approve the financial statements unless they are satisfied that they give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the charity and of the incoming resources and application of resources, including the income and expenditure, of the charity for that period. In preparing these financial statements, the Trustees are required to:

The Trustees are responsible for keeping adequate accounting records that are sufficient to show and explain the charity’s transactions, to disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the charity and to enable them to ensure that the financial statements comply with the Charities Act 2011. They are also responsible for safeguarding the assets of the charity and, therefore, for taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities.

These financial statements are published on the Foundation’s website, in accordance with legislation in the United Kingdom governing the preparation and dissemination of financial statements, which may vary from legislation in other jurisdictions. The maintenance and integrity of the Foundation’s website is the responsibility of the Trustees. The Trustees’ responsibility also extends to the ongoing integrity of the financial statements contained therein.

Disclosure of information to auditors

In so far as the Trustees are aware:

Approved by the Trustees on 17 May 2024 and signed on their behalf by:

Professor Sir Keith Burnett Chair

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Structure, goverFina n cial reviewance and management

Independent auditor’s report

Independent auditor’s report

Independent Auditor’s Report to the Trustees of Nuffield Foundation

Opinion

We have audited the financial statements of Nuffield Foundation (the ‘Charity’) and its subsidiary (‘the Group’) for the year ended 31 December 2023 which comprise the Consolidated Statement of Financial Activities, the Consolidated and Charity Balance Sheets, the Consolidated Statement of Cash Flows and notes to the financial statements, including significant accounting policies. The financial reporting framework that has been applied in their preparation is applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards, including Financial Reporting Standard 102 The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice). In our opinion the financial statements:

Basis for opinion

We conducted our audit in accordance with International Standards on Auditing (UK) (ISAs (UK)) and applicable law. Our responsibilities under those standards are further described in the Auditor’s responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements section of our report. We are independent of the group in accordance with the ethical requirements that are relevant to our audit of the financial statements in the UK, including the Financial Reporting Council ’s (FRC) Ethical Standard, and we have

fulfilled our other ethical responsibilities in accordance with these requirements. We believe that the audit evidence we have obtained is sufficient and appropriate to provide a basis for our opinion.

Conclusions relating to going concern

In auditing the financial statements, we have concluded that the Trustees’ use of the going concern basis of accounting in the preparation of the financial statements is appropriate.

Based on the work we have performed, we have not identified any material uncertainties relating to events or conditions that, individually or collectively, may cast significant doubt on the charity’s or the group’s ability to continue as a going concern for a period of at least twelve months from when the financial statements are authorised for issue.

Our responsibilities and the responsibilities of the Trustees with respect to going concern are described in the relevant sections of this report.

Other information

The Trustees are responsible for the other information contained within the annual report. The other information comprises the information included in the annual report, other than the financial statements and our auditor’s report thereon. Our opinion on the financial statements does not cover the other information and, except to the extent otherwise explicitly stated in our report, we do not express any form of assurance conclusion thereon.

Our responsibility is to read the other information and, in doing so, consider whether the other information is materially inconsistent with the financial statements or our knowledge obtained in the audit or otherwise appears to be materially misstated. If we identify such material inconsistencies or apparent material misstatements, we are required to determine whether this gives rise to a material misstatement in the financial statements themselves. If, based on the work we have performed, we conclude that there is a material misstatement of this other information, we are required to report that fact.

We have nothing to report in this regard.

Matters on which we are required to report by exception

In light of the knowledge and understanding of the group and charity and their environment obtained in the course of the audit, we have not identified material misstatements within the Trustees’ report.

We have nothing to report in respect of the following matters in relation to which the Charities (Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2008 requires us to report to you if, in our opinion:

Responsibilities of the Trustees

As explained more fully in the Trustees’ responsibilities statement, the Trustees are responsible for the preparation of the financial statements and for being satisfied that they give a true and fair view, and for such internal control as the Trustees determine is necessary to enable the preparation of financial statements that are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error.

In preparing the financial statements, the Trustees are responsible for assessing the charity’s and group’s ability to continue as a going concern, disclosing, as applicable, matters related to going concern and using the going concern basis of accounting unless the Trustees either intend to liquidate the charity or to cease operations, or have no realistic alternative but to do so.

Auditor’s responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements

Our objectives are to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements as a whole are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error, and to issue an auditor’s report that includes our opinion. Reasonable assurance is a high level of assurance, but is not a guarantee that an audit conducted in accordance with ISAs (UK) will always detect a material misstatement when it exists. Misstatements can arise from fraud or

error and are considered material if, individually or in the aggregate, they could reasonably be expected to influence the economic decisions of users taken on the basis of these financial statements.

Details of the extent to which the audit was considered capable of detecting irregularities, including fraud and non-compliance with laws and regulations are set out below.

A further description of our responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements is located on the Financial Reporting Council’s website at: www.frc.org.uk/ auditorsresponsibilities. This description forms part of our auditor’s report.

Extent to which the audit was considered capable of detecting irregularities, including fraud

Irregularities, including fraud, are instances of non-compliance with laws and regulations. We identified and assessed the risks of material misstatement of the financial statements from irregularities, whether due to fraud or error, and discussed these between our audit team members. We then designed and performed audit procedures responsive to those risks, including obtaining audit evidence sufficient and appropriate to provide a basis for our opinion.

We obtained an understanding of the legal and regulatory frameworks within which the charity operates, focusing on those laws and regulations that have a direct effect on the determination of material amounts and disclosures in the financial statements. The laws and regulations we considered in this context were the Charities Act 2011 together with the Charities SORP (FRS 102). We assessed the required compliance with these laws and regulations as part of our audit procedures on the related financial statement items.

In addition, we considered provisions of other laws and regulations that do not have a direct effect on the financial statements but compliance with which might be fundamental to the charity’s ability to operate or to avoid a material penalty. We also considered the opportunities and incentives that may exist within the charity for fraud.

Auditing standards limit the required audit procedures to identify non-compliance with these laws and regulations to enquiry of the Trustees and other management and inspection of regulatory and legal correspondence, if any.

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Independent auditor’s report

Independent auditor’s report

We identified the greatest risk of material impact on the financial statements from irregularities, including fraud, to be the override of controls by management. Our audit procedures to respond to these risks included enquiries of management and the Audit, Risk and Governance Committee about their own identification and assessment of the risks of irregularities, sample testing on the posting of journals, reviewing accounting estimates for biases, reviewing regulatory correspondence with the Charity Commission and reading minutes of meetings of those charged with governance.

Owing to the inherent limitations of an audit, there is an unavoidable risk that we may not have detected some material misstatements in the financial statements, even though we have properly planned and performed our audit in accordance with auditing standards. For example, the further removed non-compliance with laws and regulations (irregularities) is from the events and transactions reflected in the financial statements, the less likely the inherently limited procedures required by auditing standards would identify it. In addition, as with any audit, there remained a higher risk of non-detection of irregularities, as these may involve collusion, forgery, intentional omissions, misrepresentations, or the override of internal controls. We are not responsible for preventing non-compliance and cannot be expected to detect non-compliance with all laws and regulations.

Use of our report

This report is made solely to the charity’s members, as a body, in accordance with Part 4 of the Charities (Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2008. Our audit work has been undertaken so that we might state to the charity’s members those matters we are required to state to them in an auditor’s report and for no other purpose. To the fullest extent permitted by law, we do not accept or assume responsibility to anyone other than the charity and the charity’s members as a body, for our audit work, for this report, or for the opinions we have formed.

Crowe U.K. LLP Statutory Auditor London

24 May 2023

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75

Foreword

Foreword

Financial statements and notes

76

77

Financial statements and notes

Financial statements and notes

Consolidated Statement of financial activities for the year ended 31 December 2023

Consolidated Statement of financial activities for the year ended 31 December 2022

----- Start of picture text -----
Note Unrestricted Restricted Endowed Total Funds Total Funds Note Unrestricted Restricted Endowed Total Funds
Funds Funds Funds 2023 2022 Funds Funds Funds 2022
£000s £000s £000s £000s £000s £000s £000s £000s £000s
Income and Endowments Income and Endowments
Donations and legacies 2 174 4,045 - 4,219 2,579 Donations and legacies 2 176 2,403 - 2,579
2 108 18 - 126 61 Charitable activities 2 36 25 - 61
Charitable activities
Investment activities 7 - - 4,155 4,155 2,753 Investment activities 7 - - 2,753 2,753
2 38 - - 38 13 Other income 2 13 - - 13
Other income
Total income 225 2,428 2,753 5,406
Total income 320 4,063 4,155 8,538 5,406
Expenditure on:
Expenditure on:
Raising funds
Raising funds
Investment management costs - - 1,182 1,182 1,721 Investment management costs - - 1,721 1,721
Charitable activities Charitable activities
Research, development and analysis 10,920 687 - 11,607 12,163 Research, development and analysis 11,558 605 - 12,163
Student and Other Programmes 444 (31) - 413 237 Student and Other Programmes 320 (83) - 237
Nuffield Early Language Intervention - 1,852 - 1,852 1,141 Nuffield Early Language Intervention - 1,141 - 1,141
In-house programmes In-house programmes
Ada Lovelace Institute 2,417 569 - 2,986 2,718 Ada Lovelace Institute 1,588 1,130 - 2,718
Nuffield Council on Bioethics 783 658 - 1,441 1,417 Nuffield Council on Bioethics 771 646 - 1,417
Nuffield Family Justice Observatory 1,001 - - 1,001 981 Nuffield Family Justice Observatory 981 - - 981
Other in-house programmes 13 - - 13 181 Other in-house programmes 181 - - 181
-
4,214 1,227 5,441 5,297
Total in-house programmes -
Total in-house programmes 3,521 1,776 5,297
Strategic and Other Funds
Oliver Bird Fund - 13 - 13 2,048 Strategic and Other Funds
- - Oliver Bird Fund - 2,048 - 2,048
Strategic Fund 3,093 3,093 2,296 - -
Strategic Fund 2,296 2,296
Commonwealth Relations Trust - 21 - 21 5 Commonwealth Relations Trust - 5 - 5
Total strategic and other funds 3,093 34 - 3,127 4,349 Total strategic and other funds 2,296 2,053 - 4,349
Effect of discounting grant liability (480) - - (480) - Total charitable activities 3 17,695 5,492 - 23,187
Total charitable activities 3 18,191 3,769 - 21,960 23,187 Total expenditure 17,695 5,492 1,721 24,908
Total expenditure 18,191 3,769 1,182 23,142 24,908 Net gains on investments - - (30,960) (30,960)
- - Net (expenditure)/income (17,470) (3,064) (29,928) (50,462)
Net gains on investments 37,945 37,945 (30,960)
Transfer between funds 14 16,451 1,918 (18,369) -
Net (expenditure) / income (17,871) 294 40,918 23,341 (50,462)
Net (expenditure)/income after transfers (1,019) (1,146) (48,297) (50,462)
Transfer between funds 14 17,617 2,054 (19,671) - - Reconciliation of funds:
Other recognised gains/(losses) (6) - - (6) - Total funds brought forward at 1 January 5,298 10,439 499,853 515,590
Net (expenditure) / income after transfers (260) 2,348 21,247 23,335 (50,462) Total funds carried forward
14 4,279 9,293 451,556 465,128
at 31 December
Reconciliation of funds:
Total funds brought forward at 1 January 4,279 9,293 451,556 465,128 515,590
Total funds carried forward
14 4,019 11,641 472,803 488,463 465,128
at 31 December
----- End of picture text -----

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79

Financial statements and notes

Financial statements and notes

Consolidated and Charity Balance sheet for the year ended 31 December 2023

Group Group Charity Charity
2023 2022 2023 2022
Note £000s £000s £000s £000s
Fixed assets
Tangible fxed assets 5 1,510 1,522 1,510 1,522
Intangible fxed assets 6 240 438 240 438
Investments 7 517,658 497,607 517,658 497,607
Programme-related investments 85 85 85 85
519,493 499,652 519,493 499,652
Current assets
Debtors
Bank and cash
Liabilities: amounts falling due
within one year
Grants payable
Creditors
Net current liabilities
Liabilities falling due after one year
Grants payable
Provisions
Net assets
Funds
Unrestricted funds
Designated fund
General fund		 8
9
10
9
11
14
14		 4,659
1,797
6,456
(15,620)
(3,831)
(19,451)
(12,995)
(17,836)
(199)
488,463
7,664
(3,645)		 2,647
3,571
6,218
(17,814)
(2,569)
(20,383)
(14,165)
(20,160)
(199)
465,128
11,426
(7,147)		 3,100
438
3,538
(15,620)
(2,695)
(18,315)
(14,777)
(17,836)
(199)
486,681
7,664
(3,645)		 3,361
1,988
5,349
(17,814)
(2,462)
(20,276)
(14,927)
(20,160)
(199)
464,366
11,426
(7,147)
Restricted funds
Endowed funds		 14
14		 4,019
11,641
472,803		 4,279
9,293
451,556		 4,019
9,859
472,803		 4,279
8,531
451,556
Total funds 488,463 465,128 486,681 464,366

Notes 1–15 form part of these financial statements.

These financial statements were approved and authorised for issue by the Trustees on 17 May 2024 and were signed on their behalf by:

The surplus generated by the Charity in 2023 after gains was £23,335k (2022: loss £50,462k).

Consolidated Statement of Cash Flows

2023 2022
Note £000s £000s
Net cash fows from operating activities
Net cash used in operating activities (23,638) (22,879)
Cash fows from investing activities
Investment additions (4,146) (5,530)
Investment fees paid directly from portfolio 631 1,015
Investment cash withdrawals 7 21,409 18,000
Payments to acquire tangible fxed assets
Payments to acquire intangible fxed assets
Income from sale of tangible fxed assets
Investment income
Net cashprovided byinvestingactivities
Reconciliation of cash and cash equivalents/net debt
Cash and cash equivalents at 1 January
Cash and cash equivalents at 31 December
Change in cash and cash equivalents/net debt in the year
Reconciliation of net income to net cash fows from
operating activities
Net income for the year
Adjustments for:
Depreciation
Amortisation
Investment income
(Gains) on investments
Loss of disposal of fxed assets
Increase in grant commitments
(Increase) in stock
Increase in creditors
(Increase) in debtors		 5
6
7
5
6		 (185)
-
-
4,155
21,864
3,571
1,797
(1,774)
23,335
197
198
(4,155)
(37,945)
-
(4,518)
-
1,262
(2,012)		 (12)
(2)
4,375
2,753
20,599
5,851
3,571
(2,280)
(50,462)
252
198
(2,753)
30,960
86
(1,653)
11
(128)
610
Net cash outfows from operating activities (23,638) (22,879)

There is £3.9m of cash held in investments (2022: £7.2m) which are not available for immediate use to further charitable activities, these are being held as part of the investment portfolio to generate investment returns.

Professor Sir Keith Burnett Chair

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Financial statements and notes

Financial statements and notes

Notes to the financial statements

1. Principal accounting policies

a. Basis of accounting

The financial statements have been prepared under the historical cost convention, as modified by the revaluation of investments and in accordance with applicable Accounting Standards. The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the second edition of the Charities Statement of Recommended Practice issued in October 2019 (the ‘SORP’), the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102) issued on 16 July 2014 and the Charities Act 2011. The Nuffield Foundation is a public benefit entity and is registered with the Charity Commission in England and Wales (Charity number: 206601). The financial statements have been prepared on a going concern basis and the accounting policies below are consistently applied. Based on the nature of the Foundation’s endowment management and its future financial commitments, the Trustees remain satisfied that there are no material uncertainties that may cast significant doubt about the ability of the Foundation to continue as a going concern for the foreseeable future.

The Foundation’s financial statements are presented in pounds sterling and rounded to thousands. The functional and presentation currency is the pound sterling.

b. Basis of consolidation

Consolidated accounts have been prepared which include the Foundation and its subsidiary company, Nuffield Foundation Education Ltd. The Nuffield Foundation Education Ltd is a private company limited by guarantee that was incorporated on 5[th] May 2021.

The consolidation is on a line-by-line basis. Amounts owed and owing between the entities have been eliminated from the consolidated balance sheet and consolidated statement of financial activities.

c. Estimates and judgements

The Foundation must make certain estimates and judgements that have an impact on the policies and amount reported in the annual accounts. The estimates and judgements are based on historical experiences and other factors including expectations of future events that are believed to be reasonable at the time such estimates and judgements are made. Actual results may differ from these estimates. These are reviewed on an ongoing basis and any revisions are recognised prospectively.

The key estimates and judgements made by the Foundation are addressed below.

I. Investments

The carrying value of investments is subject to estimates, assumptions and judgements of their fair value. In determining this amount, the Charity ensures its managers adopt the International Private Equity and Venture Capital Valuation Guidelines, applying the overriding concept that fair value is the amount for which an asset can be exchanged between knowledgeable willing parties in an arm’s length transaction. The nature, facts and circumstance of the investment drives the valuation methodology.

II. Fixed assets

The actual lives of tangible and intangible fixed assets and their residual values are assessed annually. In re-assessing asset lives, factors such as economic and future market conditions are considered, as is the remaining life of the asset and projected disposal values.

III. Dilapidation provision

The dilapidation provision requires management’s best estimate of the expenditure that will be incurred based on contractual requirements. The timing of cash flows and any discount rates used to establish net present value of the obligation

requires management’s judgement. The provision was recognised in 2020 and will be assessed regularly for fair value.

IV. Discounting of long-term grant commitments

Grant awards are often paid out over a number of years and non-current liabilities are discounted to net present value based on expected future cash outflows. The discount rate used is taken from the interest rate earned on Foundation’s cash accounts and is assessed annually. Due to historic low interest rates, this has become material for the first time this financial year and, therefore, presented in the 2023 accounts.

d. Income

Investment income represents dividends and interest generated from the investment portfolio, including any associated tax credits or recoverable taxation. This income is accounted for on an accruals basis and is allocated proportionally to the underlying funds.

Grants and donations are accounted for when the charity has entitlement to the funds, probable receipt and the amount is measurable. Where income is received in advance, it is deferred until the charity is entitled to that income.

e. Expenditure

Costs of raising funds represent amounts paid to the Foundation’s external investment advisors and managers. This excludes private equity fees which cannot be identified separately and therefore are shown net of the income received.

Charitable expenditure comprises grants and other payments made by the Trustees in accordance with criteria set out in the trust deed.

Grants are charged to the Statement of financial activities when allocations are approved by the Trustees and confirmed to the recipient, less any awards cancelled or refunded. Grants awarded subject to conditions are included as expenditure at the point at which the Trustees make an unconditional offer of a grant to the applicant.

‘Other costs’ include staffing, hosting seminars and conferences, commissioned research or evaluations together with any direct costs immediately attributable to a specific activity. ‘Support costs’ reflect the apportionment of costs shared by all activities.

Redundancy and termination payments are recognised when there is a demonstrable commitment on an individual or group basis that cannot be realistically withdrawn.

Basis of allocation of costs

Investment management costs and charity administration costs are allocated to the funds in proportion to their holding in the endowment at the beginning of the year. Where identifiable, costs related to Charitable activities or governance are attributed to appropriate activities and funds in full or, where not separately identifiable, are apportioned using the most relevant allocation basis for that expenditure.

Investments

Quoted investments are included in the accounts at their bid price as at the balance sheet date. Unquoted (e.g. private equity) investments with no readily identifiable market price are included at the most recent valuations from their respective managers.

h. Taxation

The Foundation is a charity within the meaning of Paragraph 1 Schedule 6 Finance Act 2010. Accordingly, the charity is potentially exempt from taxation in respect of income or capital gains within categories covered by Chapter 3 of Part 11 of the Corporation Tax Act 2010 or Section 256 of the Taxation of Chargeable Gains Act 1992, to the extent that such income or gains are applied exclusively to charitable purposes.

No tax charge arose in the period.

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Financial statements and notes

Financial statements and notes

j. Financial instruments The Foundation has financial assets and financial liabilities of a kind that qualify as basic financial instruments apart from the derivative instruments held. Basic financial instruments are initially recognised at transaction value and subsequently measured at their settlement value.

Fixed assets are stated at cost less depreciation. Assets over a value of £5,000 are capitalised. Assets under construction are not depreciated until they are brought into use. Depreciation has been calculated at the following annual rates, in order to write off each asset over its estimated useful life.

Software
Computers
Equipment
Infrastructure/IT systems
Fixtures and fttings
Artwork/Antiques		 3 years
3 years
5 years
5 years
10 years
20 years

there is no legal restriction on the power to distribute the expendable endowment.

The Trustees have used the values of the permanent endowments at 31 December 2003 to represent the ‘Preserved Value’ of the original gift.

n. Fund accounting

Unrestricted funds are donations, investment income and other income received or generated for the objects of the charity without further specified purpose and are available as general funds. Some of these funds are designated by the Trustees to fund specific strategic programmes.

Restricted funds have arisen from restrictions applied by donors. Expenditure that meets these criteria is identified to the fund, together with a fair allocation of support and charity administration costs.

The endowed funds of the Foundation consist of both permanent and expendable capital funds. Income generated from the expendable endowment funds is applied to the general fund or, where specified, to restricted purposes. A total return distribution is made each year from the endowment funds to fund charitable activities.

Where the effect of the time value of money is material, the amount expected to be required to settle the obligation is recognised at present value using a discount rate. The unwinding of the discount is recognised as a finance cost in profit or loss in the period it arises.

The Foundation recognises a provision for returning the new office at 100 St John Street back to its original state at the end of the 20-year lease term.

2. Income
2023
Unrestricted
Restricted
Total
£000s
£000s
£000s
Donations and legacies
Grants received
in support of:
Nufeld Early Language
-
2,872
2,872
Intervention
Nufeld Council
on Bioethics
174
709
883
Ada Lovelace Institute
-
331
331
Oliver Bird
-
133
133
174
4,045
4,219
Charitable activities
Sales, royalties and fee
income
108
18
126
Other income
38
-
38		 2022
Unrestricted
Restricted
Total
£000s
£000s
£000s
-
826
826
174
813
987
1
714
715
1
50
51
176
2,403
2,579
36
25
61
13
-
13
320
4,063
4,383		 225
2,428
2,653

l. Stock

Stock comprises of items provided to schools as part of the Nuffield Early Language Intervention programme. Stock is stated at the lower of cost and net realisable value.

m. Total return accounting

The Charity Commission permitted the Foundation to adopt the use of total return in relation to its permanent endowment on 7 February 2006. The power permits the Trustees to invest permanent endowments to maximise total return and to make available an appropriate portion of the total return for expenditure each year. Until this power is exercised, the total return shall be an ‘unapplied total return’ and remain as part of the permanent endowment. The Trustees have decided that it is in the interests of the Foundation to present its expendable endowment in the same manner in note 13, although

o. Pension costs

The Foundation makes contributions into a defined contribution pension scheme for its employees. Pension costs are charged as they are incurred.

p. Provisions for liabilities

Provisions are recognised when the Foundation has a present obligation (legal or constructive) as a result of a past event, it is probable that the Foundation will be required to settle the obligation, and a reliable estimate can be made of the amount of the obligation.

The amount recognised as a provision is the best estimate of the consideration required to settle the present obligation at the end of the reporting period, taking into account the risks and uncertainties surrounding the obligation.

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85

Financial statements and notes

Financial statements and notes

3. Expenditure Direct costs Direct costs Support and Total 2023
a. Charitable expenditure governance
costs
Grants Other
£000s £000s £000s £000s
Research, development and analysis
Education 4,116 512 979 5,607
Welfare 2,663 419 825 3,907
Justice 1,923 267 557 2,747
New grants commitment sub-total 8,702 1,198 2,361 12,261
Cancelledgrants (654) - - (654)
Student and other programmes
Nufeld Early Language Intervention
In-house programmes
Ada Lovelace Institute
Nufeld Council on Bioethics
Nufeld Family Justice Observatory
Other in-houseprogrammes
Strategic and other funds
Oliver Bird Fund
Strategic Fund
Commonwealth Relations		 8,048
401
-
-
-
-
-
-
(28)
2,488
-		 1,198
-
1,836
2,173
1,045
745
13
3,976
-
11
15		 2,361
12
16
813
396
256
-
1,465
41
594
6		 11,607
413
1,852
2,986
1,441
1,001
13
5,441
13
3,093
21
Efect of discounting grant liability
Total charitable expenditure		 2,460
(480)
10,429		 26
-
7,036		 641
-
4,495		 3,127
(480)
21,960
a. Charitable expenditure Direct costs Direct costs Support and Total 2022
(comparative information) governance
costs
Grants Other
£000s £000s £000s £000s
Research, development and analysis
Education 3,824 402 1,003 5,229
Welfare 3,170 388 931 4,489
Justice 1,989 257 583 2,829
New grants commitment sub-total 8,983 1,047 2,517 12,547
Cancelledgrants (384) - - (384)
Student and other programmes
Nufeld Early Language Intervention
In-house programmes
Ada Lovelace Institute
Nufeld Council on Bioethics
Nufeld Family Justice Observatory
Other in-houseprogrammes
Strategic and other funds
Oliver Bird Fund
Strategic Fund
Commonwealth Relations		 8,599
115
-
-
-
-
-
-
1,997
2,151
-		 1,047
111
1,134
1,956
951
753
161
3,821
7
31
-		 2,517
11
7
762
466
228
20
1,476
44
114
5		 12,163
237
1,141
2,718
1,417
981
181
5,297
2,048
2,296
5
4,148 38 163 4,349
Total charitable expenditure 12,862 6,151 4,174 23,187

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87

Financial statements and notes

Financial statements and notes

b. Support and governance costs Total 2023 Total 2022
£000s £000s
Staf costs 2,039 1,621
Ofce costs
Information technology		 1,721
559		 1,862
529
Governance costs
Auditors’ remuneration (incl. VAT)
Trustees’ remuneration
Trustees’ expenses
Legal fees
Total support andgovernance		 4,319
63
98
10
5
176
4,495		 4,012
47
95
1
19
162
4,174

See note f for basis of allocation

4. Personnel costs 2023 2022
£000s £000s
Wages and salaries 4,697 3,830
Social security costs 513 456
Other pension contributions 490 411
Redundancy and termination costs 50 -
Average number of staf employed in year:
Grant-making
Ada Lovelace Institute
Nufeld Family Justice Observatory
Nufeld Council on Bioethics
Support services
Average number of full-time equivalent staf in year
Remuneration of higher paid staf
Between £60,000 and £69,999
Between £70,000 and £79,999
Between £80,000 and £89,999
Between £90,000 and £99,999		 5,750
Number
16.0
27.3
7.0
12.5
26.8
89.6
82.4
8
-
3
3		 4,697
Number
17.6
19.8
6.1
13.3
21.8
78.6
70.3
3
5
-
5
Between £100,000 and £109,999 4 1
Between £120,000 and £129,999 - 1
Between £130,000 and £139,999 1 -
Between £150,000 and £159,999 - 1
Between £160,000 and £169,999 1 -

The key management personnel of the Nuffield Foundation during the year were its CEO and Directors, including the Directors of the Nuffield Council on Bioethics, the Ada Lovelace Institute and the Nuffield Family Justice Observatory. They form the Leadership Team, responsible for planning, strategy and major decision-making within the organisation. Their combined remuneration during the year was £1,271k (2022: six key management personnel formed the smaller Executive Board, which was disbanded in 2023. Their remuneration for the year was £734k).They received no benefits additional to those received by other staff.

Employer’s pension contributions for higher paid staff were in total £182k (2022: £147k). Termination payments of £50k (2022: £nil) were made during the year.

The Nuffield Foundation paid contributions during the accounting period at a rate of £2.20 for every £1 of member contributions up to a maximum of five times the member contribution, together with an additional flat rate sum regardless of contribution, of £1,284 per employee (pro rata to their hours).

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89

Financial statements and notes

Financial statements and notes

5. Tangible fxed assets Other assets Assets under Total
Construction
Groupand Charity £000s £000s £000s
Cost or valuation
At 1 January 1,864 - 1,864
Additions 6 179 185
Disposals - - -
Transfers 151 (151) -
At 31 December
Depreciation
At 1 January
Charge for year
Disposals
At 31 December
Net book value
At 31 December
At 1 January		 2,021
342
197
-
539
1,482
1,522		 28
-
-
-
-
28
-		 2,049
342
197
-
539
1,510
1,522
6. Intangible fxed assets Software Total
Groupand Charity £000s £000s
Cost or valuation
At 1 January 977 977
Additions - -
Disposals - -
Transfers - -
At 31 December
Amortisation
At 1 January
Charge for year
Disposals
At 31 December
Net book value
At 31 December
At 1 January		 977
539
198
-
737
240
438		 977
539
198
-
737
240
438

Intangible assets include infrastructure systems such our CRM system, accounting ERP system, HR system and website.

All tangible fixed assets are held for continuing use in the Foundation’s activities.

Assets under construction during the year include new AV equipment and fit out (completed in September 2023) and the creation of a new meeting space at 100 St John Street.

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91

Financial statements and notes

Financial statements and notes

7. Investments 2023 2022
a. Investments at market values
Groupand Charity £000s £000s
Market value at 1 January 497,607 542,052
Purchases at cost (184,669) (52,377)
Sales at market value 184,467 55,152
Cash withdrawals (21,409) (18,000)
Other 3,717 1,740
Realised and unrealisedgains/(losses) 37,945 (30,960)
Market value at 31 December 517,658 497,607
Historic cost of listed investments at 31 December 449,151 437,064

‘Other’ movements include fees and expenses paid directly

from the investment portfolio, income received and accrued income charges.

b. Disposition
of investments
Groupand Charity
Listed equities
Fixed income
Private equity
Currency hedging
Cash
Total
Total UK investments
Total overseas investments
Total		 2023
£000s
370,145
45,702
91,500
6,363
3,948
517,658
188,518
329,140
517,658		 Purchases
£000s
(101,086)
(12,275)
(4,058)
(7,469)
(59,781)
(184,669)		 Movement
Sales
Gains/
(Losses)
£000s
£000s
94,506
39,390
1
765
10,020
(8,571)
2,396
6,504
77,544
(143)
184,467
37,945		 Other
£000s
611
1,435
1,174
-
(20,912)
(17,692)		 2022
£000s
336,724
55,776
92,935
4,932
7,240
497,607
189,797
307,810
497,607

‘Other’ movements include cash withdrawals, fees and expenses paid directly from the investment portfolio, income received and accrued income charges.

c. Income from investments 2023 2022
Group and Charity £000s £000s
Global equities 1,018 844
UK government bonds 1,399 1,246
Private equity 1,371 619
Cash 367 44
4,155 2,753

The forward exchange contracts have all been revalued at the applicable year end exchange rates and the resulting unrealised translation gains of £7m are included within the overall value of the equity investments above.

The Incorporated Trustees of the Nuffield Foundation is the sole subscriber of the Nuffield Foundation Education Ltd (a company limited by guarantee), which is registered in England and Wales (Company Number 13377195). Each member is liable to contribute an amount not exceeding £1 towards the assets of the company in the event of liquidation.

The company’s principal activity is delivering the NELI programme to schools with support via a grant from the Department for Education.

Nufeld Foundation Education Ltd Proft and Loss 2023
2022
£000s
£000s
Total Income 1,856
1,338
Proft after tax 3
205
Nufeld Foundation Education Ltd Proft Balance Sheet
Net Liabilities (5)
(8)

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93

Financial statements and notes

Financial statements and notes

8. Debtors and prepayments Group Group Charity Charity
2023 2022 2023 2022
£000s £000s £000s £000s
Accrued income 3,693 1,957 769 884
Other debtors 966 690 509 690
Amounts owed bysubsidiary - - 1,822 1,787
Due within oneyear 4,659
4,659		 2,647
2,647		 3,100
3,100		 3,361
3,361
4,659 2,647 3,100 3,361
11. Provisions for liabilities 2023 2022
Groupand Charity £000s £000s
At 1 January 199 199
At 31 December 199 199

The Foundation recognised a provision during 2020 for returning the new office at 100 St John Street back to its original state at the end of the 20-year lease term.

12. Commitments under Operating Leases

9. Grants payable
Groupand Charity
Grants awarded but not paid at 1 January
Grants awarded in the year
Grants cancelled in the year
Grants paid in the year
Discountingofgrant liabilities
Grants awarded but not paid at 31 December
Payables within one year
Payables after one year		 2023
£000s
37,974
11,686
(777)
(14,947)
(480)
33,456
15,620
17,836
33,456		 2022
£000s
39,627
13,667
(805)
(14,515)
-
37,974
17,814
20,160
37,974

All grants were awarded to higher education institutions and other organisations as detailed within the Trustees report.

At 31 December 2023 the Foundation had the following future minimum payments under non-cancellable operating leases:

Group and Charity
Not later than one year
Later than one year and not later than fve years
Later than fve years		 2023
£000s
822
3,282
8,616
12,720		 2022
£000s
821
3,282
9,436
13,539

The Foundation’s operating lease is in relation to the new office building at 100 St John Street which was leased in August 2020 for a 20-year term.

Lease payments recognised during the year total £684,000 (2022: £684,000).

For a list of research, development and analysis grants awarded in the year please see pages 48 to 52 of the report.

10. Creditors falling due within one year Group Group Charity Charity
2023 2022 2023 2022
£000s £000s £000s £000s
Income tax and National Insurance 182 147 182 147
Accruals 2,006 1,746 1,550 1,746
Other creditors (inc. trade creditors) 1,416 478 736 371
Deferred income 227 198 227 198
3,831 2,569 2,695 2,462

Deferred income brought forward has been fully utilised in the year.

94

95

Financial statements and notes

Financial statements and notes

----- Start of picture text -----
13. Statement of total return Permanent Expendable Total 14. Funds Balance at Income Expenditure Gains/ Transfers Balance at
endowments endowments a. Fund movements 1 January (losses) 31 December
£000s £000s £000s 2023 2023
Investment return Endowment Other
Restricted and unrestricted investment income - 3,988 3,988 £000s £000s £000s £000s £000s £000s £000s
Endowment investment income 167 - 167 Endowments
Unrealised gains/(losses) 1,528 36,417 37,945 Permanent endowments
Investment management costs (48) (1,134) (1,182) Elizabeth Nuffield 3,929 36 (10) 328 (170) - 4,113
Total return for year 1,647 39,271 40,918 Educational Fund
Less: application of return (792) (18,879) (19,671) Commonwealth Relations 14,379 131 (37) 1,201 (622) - 15,052
Net total return for year 855 20,392 21,247 Trust
18,308 167 (47) 1,529 (792) - 19,165
Unapplied total return Expendable endowments
At 1 January 10,728 252,516 263,244 Oliver Bird Fund 29,057 267 (76) 2,434 (1,262) - 30,420
As 31 December 11,583 272,908 284,491 Main Fund 404,191 3,721 (1,059) 33,982 (17,617) - 423,218
433,248 3,988 (1,135) 36,416 (18,879) - 453,638
‘Preserved’ value at 31 December 2003 7,581 180,731 188,312 Total endowed funds 451,556 4,155 (1,182) 37,945 (19,671) - 472,803
Expenditure reserve
Restricted funds
Elizabeth Nuffield - - (170) - 170 - -
Educational Fund
Commonwealth Relations 4,082 - (21) - 622 - 4,683
Trust
Oliver Bird Fund 2,663 133 (13) - 1,262 - 4,045
Ada Lovelace Institute 560 331 (569) - - - 322
Nuffield Council 174 709 (658) - - - 225
on Bioethics
Nuffield Early Language 762 2,872 (1,852) - - - 1,782
Intervention
Student and Other 1,052 18 (486) - - - 584
Programmes
Total restricted funds 9,293 4,063 (3,769) - 2,054 - 11,641
Unrestricted funds
Designated
Strategic Fund 3,656 - (3,093) - - 594 1,157
Ada Lovelace Institute 4,284 - (2,417) - - 962 2,829
- - -
Nuffield Family Justice 2,573 (1,001) 2,056 3,628
Observatory
Other 913 94 (31) - - (926) 50
Total designated funds 11,426 94 (6,542) - - 2,686 7,664
General fund (7,147) 226 (11,649) (6) 17,617 (2,686) (3,645)
Total unrestricted funds 4,279 320 (18,191) (6) 17,617 - 4,019
Total expenditure reserve 13,572 4,383 (21,960) (6) 19,671 - 15,660
Total funds 465,128 8,538 (23,142) 37,939 - - 488,463
----- End of picture text -----

96

97

Financial statements and notes

Financial statements and notes

The transfer of £19,671k between the endowment and expenditure reserve is the total return distribution for 2023 (see note 13). This is comprised of £4,155k investment income from the permanent endowments plus £15,516k of capital gains.

Other transfers of £2.7m include a designation from the General Fund to the Nuffield Family Justice Observatory (£1.8m) for agreed additional funding, £1.8m for designated funds support costs in year which are netted off by a release of unspent funds for the Q-Step programme (£0.9m).

b. Analysis of funds – 2023
Investments		 Unrestricted
funds
£000s
-		 Restricted funds
£000s
-		 Expendable
endowment
£000s
498,493		 Permanent
endowment
£000s
19,165		 Total
£000s
517,658
Other fxed assets - - 1,835 - 1,835
Net current assets/(liabilities)
Liabilities due after more than 1 yr
Total funds		 4,019
-
4,019		 11,641
-
11,641		 (28,655)
(18,035)
453,638		 -
-
19,165		 (12,995)
(18,035)
488,463
Analysis of funds – 2022
Investments
Other fxed assets
Net current assets/(liabilities)
Liabilities due after more than 1yr
Total funds		 Unrestricted
funds
£000s
-
-
4,279
-
4,279		 Restricted funds
£000s
-
-
9,293
-
9,293		 Expendable
endowment
£000s
479,308
2,045
(27,737)
(20,359)
433,257		 Permanent
endowment
£000s
18,299
-
-
-
18,299		 Total
£000s
497,607
2,045
(14,165)
(20,359)
465,128

c. Description of funds

15. Related party transaction a. Transactions with Trustees

Each Trustee is entitled to an annual allowance by virtue of the provisions of the Trust Deed. During the year, Trustees received £11,000 (2022: £11,000) and the chairman received £17,703 (2022: £16,780), with the total paid to active Trustees during 2023 of £98,000. In addition, Trustee Indemnity Insurance was purchased during the year.

– Ada Lovelace Institute represents the Nufeld
Foundation’s designated commitment to further
this work, as described above. Its funding was
extended in 2021, and now covers the period
to 2026 (8 years from inception).
– The Nufeld Family Justice Observatory
represents a commitment to the development
and pilot delivery phases of an initiative to support
the best possible decisions for children by
improving the use of data and research evidence
in the family justice system in England and Wales		 during the year.
2023
2022
£000s
£000s
Trustee remuneration
98
95
Expenses paid to the
Trustees
Travel expenses and
accommodation
10
1
Number of Trustees receiving
expenses
8
2

b. Transactions with subsidiary

No management charges have been made from the Nuffield Foundation to Nuffield Foundation Education Ltd.

2023
2022
£000s
£000s
Intercompany balance
at 1 January
Recharge of direct subsidiary
costs charged to parent		 1,787
1,697
35
90
Year end balance at 31
December		 1,822
1,787

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99

Reference and administrative details

Financial statements and notes

Reference and administrative details

Trustees

Professor Sir Keith Burnett CBE, FRS, FAPS, FOSA, FInstPhys, FLSW FRS (Chair)

Rt Hon Sir Ernest Ryder TD, DL, FRSA (Deputy Chair) Professor Ash Amin CBE, FBA, FACSS Professor Brian Bell (from October 2023) Professor Lorraine Dearden FACSS Professor Ann Phoenix FBA, FACSS John Pullinger CB, CSTAT, FACSS Dame Clare Tickell DBE, FRSA, FCGI

Senior staff

Tim Gardam, Chief Executive James Brooke Turner, Investment Director Deirdre Carty, Director of HR and Office Services Mark Franks, Director of Welfare Danielle Hamm, Director of the Nuffield Council on Bioethics Ian Hanham, Director of Finance and Information Systems (until December 2023) Natalie Leon, Director of Finance and Information Systems (from January 2024) Lisa Harker, Director of the Nuffield Family Justice Observatory Josh Hillman, Director of Education

Ian Hanham, Director of Finance and Information Systems (until December 2023) Natalie Leon, Director of Finance and Information Systems (from January 2024) Lisa Harker, Director of the Nuffield Family Justice Observatory Josh Hillman, Director of Education Rob Street, Director of Justice Nicola Webb, Director for Strategy and Engagement (from June 2023)

Principal address 100 St John Street London EC1M 4EH

020 7631 0566 www.nuffieldfoundation.org Charity number 206601

Investment Consultants

Cambridge Associates 80 Victoria Street 4th Floor, Cardinal Place London SW1E 5JL

Principal Investment Managers

Arrowstreet Capital 200 Clarendon Street Boston, MA 02116, USA

Harding Loevner 400 Crossing Blvd, Fourth Floor Bridgewater, NJ 08807, USA

Veritas Asset Management 1st Floor, 90 Long Acre London, WC2E 9RA

Maj Invest Holdings 33 Cavendish Square London, W1G 0PW

Magellan Asset Management Level 36, 25 Martin Place Sydney NSW 2000, Australia

GMO LLC 40 Rowes Wharf, Boston, Massachusetts 02110, USA

Auditors

Crowe U.K. LLP 5 Ludgate Hill London EC4M 7JW

Solicitors

Bates Wells 10 Queen Street Place London EC4R 1BE

Global Custodian

The Northern Trust Company 50 Bank Street, London E14 5NT

Bankers

Barclays Bank plc 1 Churchill Place London, E14 5HP

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101