Report

Social impact investment as a policy tool

Author(s): Stephen Muers

March 6, 2025

This report from UK think tank the Institute for Policy Research looks at the potential value of impact investment in achieving their policy goals.

Both before and since the 2024 UK general election, politicians have been talking about the potential value of impact investment in achieving their policy goals. Despite this interest, and an increasing body of evidence from live examples, it has proven hard for policymakers to understand how to integrate impact investment options into their policy toolkit.

This report aims to introduce some of the circumstances in which this approach might be helpful, specifically within a UK domestic context and reflecting the different levels of government that can make use of it.