The opportunity ahead is to embed a pro-social approach to business across the city region’s economy and make the case for what that delivers: good quality jobs in the places that need them most, social innovation that responds to community need, and a lever for follow-on investment. These are the building blocks of a more inclusive economy.
In 2025, Kindred’s work attracted interest from the Office for Impact Economy (OfIE), reflecting growing recognition of the role that socially-trading organisations can play in driving innovation, growth and economic resilience. This recognition reinforces Liverpool City Region’s potential to be a leader in developing more inclusive approaches to economic development.
Growth is already visible. The Based directory now has more than 228 members and is becoming the place where socially-trading organisations can trade with each other and other organisations can find and commission them. The Social Climbers programme, delivered by Capacity, shows real demand from STOs ready to scale up – demand that’s growing as the ecosystem expands. It’s why 0% finance matters so much: it builds the pipeline that supports increased impact for ambitious organisations. Since 2020, those organisations have unlocked £19m in follow-on investment – scale up in the truest sense.
None of this happens in isolation. How we work with partners across the region will be pivotal as we move towards a regional Social Investment Pathfinder, which is raising £50m, including £30m for a community property holding company, over the next seven years.
The more we can support to happen without us directly in the room, the better. This isn’t just our story; it belongs to every STO, partner and place we work alongside, including the cluster-based work taking shape across the region. Questions about how we measure and capture that, collectively, will continue as we better understand the different ways that people grow.
Measurement can often prove extractive, without capturing organisations’ ability to do things better, rather than doing things more. Growing the social economy means growing our understanding of its impact alongside it.