It is a cliche of the Covid era that many of us struggle to recall which year was which. Events which we can be certain about act as useful anchors amongst those strange, unmoored months which are otherwise hard to pin down.
In the life of Carnegie UK, August 2021 was one such anchor – the month in which we published our new Strategy for Change alongside a new brand.
That publication marked the end of almost two years of review and reassessment. As I said at the time, if there was ever a moment for a wellbeing organisation to lean into its mission, then that was surely it. Although in autumn 2021 we didn’t know the precise path out of the pandemic, we already knew enough to understand that this unprecedented event would have a long tail of impacts on our collective wellbeing – and particularly on those who were already most disadvantaged.
However we didn’t know then that the direct effects of Covid 19 would be exacerbated by the disruption of global supply chains; war on the continent of Europe; a huge economic shock in our own country, and a devastating cost of living crisis. If we hadn’t already identified a set of principles intended to help everyone live well together, we’d certainly have had to invent one by now.
Two years on, I see we sounded hopeful in August 2021 that the experiences of the Covid years had taught us all some valuable lessons. A deeper appreciation of what matters in life; the liberation of community power; an emphasis on relationships and kindness in public services; a recognition of the fragility of global systems, and the importance of building future resilience. In Carnegie UK language, a balancing of social, economic, environmental, and economic outcomes.
It’s fair to say that we were over-optimistic about the pace of policy change. However, one of the privileges of being an endowed foundation is that we can take a long-term view.
Since August 2021, we’ve been working with others to put collective wellbeing at the heart of decision making and to tackle existing and emerging threats to wellbeing. As our Year in Review 2022-2023 illustrates, there’s no single approach or one organisation that will achieve this alone. We’ve enjoyed building new partnerships and collaborations and experimenting with new ways of working – as well as welcoming new staff and trustees to the Carnegie UK team.
Retrospectives like these are a timely reminder that predicting the future is a fool’s errand. However, the strategic context has not changed. The threats to our collective wellbeing are real and growing, not least the existential threat of climate change. As we embark on the next phase of our work together, we will continue to be guided by our values – motivated by change; challenging; collaborative and kind – and the commitment to the vision of a society where everyone has what they need to live well now and in the future.