Geoff's blog

An independent Nesta

Geoff Mulgan - 01.04.2012

Today Nesta officially became a charity.

This moment has been a long time coming and at many points looked uncertain. Governments don't often give things away.  But this government decided, rightly in our view, that the sort of work Nesta does is best done from a position of complete independence.

So this will be an exciting new phase in Nesta's development. To mark it we're setting out some of our plans today. We're also publishing a brief history of the many things Nesta has done in its short life and we're unveiling a new logo for the new charity (done by a great team of designers at, I'm glad to say, a tiny fraction of the cost of some similar exercises).

Our change of status won't dramatically change what we can do. We'll still maintain the mix of investment, research and practical programmes that makes Nesta a pretty unique organisation.  

Instead my guess is that the biggest change resulting from Nesta leaving the public sector will be psychological. We'll be able to turn outwards more  and direct more of our energy and expertise to connecting with innovators all over the UK. And we'll be able to focus much more on the long-term impact we can achieve. Having the privilege of an endowment should mean that you're freed from news cycles and political fashions and are able to test and trial really radical new ideas - which is bound to be easier from a position of independence. Meanwhile, the security of our funding should mean that we'll be able to combine our resources with others in more creative ways than was possible in the past.

We're genuinely grateful to the enlightened ministers who have made this possible. A more independent Nesta may not always be comfortable for them. But we are as convinced as they are that in the long-run we can serve the public interest much better in our new form.