Our mission

Dedicated to lifting living standards

The Resolution Foundation is an independent think-tank dedicated to lifting living standards in the UK. We focus particularly on households with low and middle incomes; those on low pay or in precarious work; and those vulnerable to financial shocks. We also investigate fairness between the generations in our Intergenerational Centre.

We aim to provide rigorous analytical work, develop effective policy proposals, and use our expertise to affect direct change. We analyse the trends and outlook for living standards, including for different age groups, family types, and levels of household income and wealth, and seek to promote greater understanding of these. Our research focuses both on the specific areas of the economy that matter most for people’s living standards, including work and housing; and on economic growth and productivity as the route to sustainably higher living standards. We also examine the role of government in improving living standards including through taxes, social security and public services.

We inform public debate, alongside key decision makers in government, the private sector, and civil society. Alongside regular publications from our team on a range of policy issues, we hold a wide-ranging programme of events, hosting diverse speakers from academia, the voluntary sector and business, and regularly engage with politicians from across the political spectrum. To learn more about our work and research areas, please visit this section of our website.

The Foundation is led by Ruth Curtice (Chief Executive) and David Willetts (President of Intergenerational Centre and Chair of the advisory council). The Foundation is overseen by a board of trustees, led by its Founder Clive Cowdery, and primarily funded by the Resolution Trust. The Foundation is assisted by an advisory council drawn widely from Britain’s leading academics, economists. It occasionally partners with other organisations. When this is the case the logo of the partner organisation is clearly displayed on any project outputs.

History

The Foundation was founded in 2005 with the purpose of producing high quality research and analysis that raised the profile of the challenges facing those on low to middle incomes, and developing policy solutions to these problems.

From 2005 – 2010, the Foundation built a consensus on the need to fill the gap in independent financial advice available to low and middle income families, and secured a government commitment to increasing the provision of generic financial advice.

From 2010 – 2015, the Foundation’s work focused on the underlying living standards of the low-to-middle income group, with a strong focus on the jobs market. During this time it hosted the high-profile Commission on Living Standards and the Bain review into the future of the minimum wage.

Between 2016 and 2018, the Foundation hosted the Intergenerational Commission, which brought together leaders from business, academia and policy-making to devise a means of repairing the social contract between generations.

Since 2018, we have calculated the real Living Wage – a voluntary hourly pay rate that is based on what families need to get by.

Between 2021 and 2023, the Foundation collaborated with the Centre for Economic Performance at the London School of Economics on The Economy 2030 Inquiry. The Inquiry brought together leaders from business, academia and policy making, in both the UK and US, to both diagnose the causes of the UK’s poor economic performance in recent decades, and to set out a new economic strategy for the 2020s. Over the course of the project, the Resolution Foundation published over 90 reports, briefing notes and comment pieces, examining the change that the UK is living through, and setting out a plan for successfully navigating that change. In December 2023, this work culminated in the publication of the Inquiry’s final report, Ending Stagnation.

In 2020, the Foundation launched its social investment arm Resolution Ventures to support social entrepreneurs and start-ups focused on improving conditions and career paths for workers locked in low-paid and precarious employment. Resolution Ventures launched its WorkerTech Fund in September 2025 securing an initial £6.7 million at first close.

In 2025, the Foundation celebrated its 20 year anniversary by renewing its mission of raising living standards standards across Britain through productivity-driven economic growth and announcing the formation of a new advisory council. The Foundation broadened its focus to include low and middle income families, those on low pay and in precarious work, and those vulnerable to financial shocks.

Our research

The Resolution Foundation’s fulfils its mission through undertaking and publicising high-quality, rigorous research and policy analysis.

We maintain sector-leading research standards through a variety of methods including detailed internal quality assurance processes, peer review and external engagement on new or controversial areas of our research agenda. The conclusions of our publications are derived from the research we have undertaken, with significant counter arguments considered. Additionally, we maintain a clear focus on well-defined topics that are material to living standards in the UK. For more details about the range of our research and policy analysis, please see our Publications page.

We expect all our researchers to observe the highest standards of integrity in the conduct of their research. Research carried out with a high level of integrity is more accurate and trusted. It upholds values of honesty, rigour, transparency and open communication, as well as care and respect for those involved in research, and accountability for a positive research environment. These values, and the behaviours they instil, are central to a healthy research culture and form the basis of the Foundation’s policy and practice in this area.

In order to confirm the standard all Foundation researchers are expected to uphold, and the procedures in place to maintain the highest standards of integrity, we publish an annual statement on Research Integrity.

– Download our 2023/24 Annual Statement on Research Integrity as a PDF