Marshall Institute

What does a career in social impact actually look like — in practice, across contexts, over time?

On 19 May (3–4pm UK time), join us for an online information session on the Executive MSc in Social Business and Entrepreneurship online.

The session will be led by Prof. Jonathan Roberts and Dr. Kerryn Krige, who will explore how the programme connects academic thinking with the realities of building and leading impact-driven work across sectors and geographies.

At the centre of the session are those shaping - and being shaped - by the programme:

Mark Ashfield (UK), EMSBE alumnus and founder of Lime - a behaviour-change and social innovation lab he founded nearly 20 years ago, working at the intersection of research, education and technology to expand life choices for young people

Pedro Drummond (Brazil), 100x Impact Scholar, current EMSBE student, working across multiple social businesses in Latin America, with a focus on scaling impact in complex, fast-moving contexts

Chandni Chopra (India), current EMSBE student and scholar, Co-Founder of Simple Education Foundation, working to improve learning outcomes and equity within education systems.

What emerges is a spectrum of experience - from building organisations over decades, to scaling ventures across regions, to working within systems on the ground. That diversity is not incidental. It’s central to how the programme works - and to what participants take from it.

If you’re looking to engage more deeply with real-world impact, join the conversation - and put your questions to those building and leading this work.

🔗 Register:
https://www.lse.ac.uk/marshall-institute/events/emsbe-info-session-19-may-2026

Scholarship for Executive MSc in Social Business and Entrepreneurship Fund your studies at LSE. Discover how to secure financial support to become an impact leader.

⏳ Two weeks left to apply for the EMSBE Scholarships ⏳

If your work sits in social or environmental impact, and you’re looking to strengthen how you do it, this may be worth considering.

The Executive MSc in Social Business and Entrepreneurship at the LSE is designed for professionals working across philanthropy, civil society, government and mission-driven organisations - combining academic insight with practical application, including time in London.

For the 2026–27 cohort, we are offering 3 full scholarships and 5 scholarships covering 50% of fees. One full scholarship is reserved for candidates working within organisations connected to the 100x Impact Accelerator ecosystem.

📅 Deadline: 1 May 2026
https://www.lse.ac.uk/marshall-institute/learning/scholarships

As the Easter break approaches, we’re already looking ahead to one of the most energising moments in the global impact calendar - Skoll World Forum 2026.

From 21–24 April in Oxford, the Marshall Institute and 100x Impact will be there in full force - convening, contributing, and connecting across a week that brings together some of the most thoughtful actors shaping the future of the impact economy.

This year, our team of researchers, practitioners and educators will be part of a rich set of conversations - from venture acceleration and funding models to the deeper question of how systems change actually happens in practice.

A moment we’re particularly looking forward to:

Catalysing Systems Change: The Role of Intermediaries
📍 Quaker House, Oxford
🗓 Tuesday 21 April | 2:30–4:00pm

Hosted in collaboration with Dasra, EMpower and Co-Impact, this session brings together leaders working at the intersection of capital, capability and systems change.

Speakers include:
Kieron Boyle (100x Impact / LSE)
Nisha Dhawan (EMpower)
Gaurav Shah (ARMMAN)
Deval Sanghavi (Dasra)
João Abreu (ImpulsoGov)
Priya Agarwal (Antarang Foundation)
Yasmin Maddan (Co-Impact)

Across the week, 100x Impact will also be hosting and contributing to a series of sessions - from venture acceleration office hours and investor roundtables, to conversations on innovative funding models and capacity-building ecosystems.

Behind each of these is a shared focus: how capital, leadership and collaboration can come together in ways that are not just effective - but enduring.
If you’re heading to Oxford, we would love to connect.

And if you’re building, funding or studying change - this is very much your room.

🎟 Register for the Catalysing Systems Change session:
https://ow.ly/7zvW50YIL5Q

Catalysing Systems Change: The Role of Intermediaries Join funders and founders in person during the Skoll World Forum, Oxford to explore how intermediaries spark systems change

The Marshall Institute is pleased to offer scholarships for the Executive MSc in Social Business & Entrepreneurship at LSE for leaders who are looking to strengthen their ability to create sustainable change.

For those accustomed to building and leading, applying for a scholarship can sometimes feel like stepping into unfamiliar territory.

But a scholarship is not about lack.
It is an investment in potential.
A recognition of the work you are already doing - and the impact you are capable of creating.

Over 12 months, participants on the programme:
• study at the LSE during six intensive learning weeks in London
• gain practical tools to grow purpose-driven organisations
• learn how to balance mission with financial sustainability
• join a global network of social entrepreneurs and impact leaders

📅 Scholarship application deadline: 1 May 2026

Learn more and apply: https://ow.ly/SY5550YClEv

What if you could redesign how your organisation creates value - for both profit and society?

The pressure is real: businesses are expected to deliver more than financial returns, while social purpose organisations are being pushed to think and act more commercially.

The leaders who will stand out are the ones who can do both.

Our on-campus programme Leading Social Business: Purpose, Profit and Impact is built for exactly this moment.

Join us this June at the London School of Economics and Political Science for an intensive week designed to stretch your thinking - and sharpen your leadership.

You will:
• challenge how you think about purpose, power, and value creation
• work with practical tools to drive real organisational change
• explore how to balance mission with market realities - without compromise
• learn alongside peers navigating similar high-stakes questions
This isn’t theoretical. It’s a focused reset - with immediate application to your work.

📍 London (on campus)
📅 Starts 1 June 2026 | 1 week, full-time
⏰ Applications close: 25 May 2026

If you're serious about leading in the impact economy - this is where to step up.
👉 Apply now:
https://www.lse.ac.uk/study-at-lse/executive-education/programmes/leading-social-business-purpose-profit-and-impact

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fXV_MLGcdNs

Leading Social Business: Purpose, Profit and Impact Hear Professor Stephan Chambers, course Director for ‘Leading Social Business: Purpose, Profit and Impact’ give an overview of the key themes and benefits of...

📘 New research "Match Trading and the behaviours of community businesses and social enterprises" from the Marshall Institute Match Trading programme developed by the School for Social Entrepreneurs.

The report explores:

How Match Trading - combining conditional grants, leadership training, and flexible resources - influences organisational behaviour.
Whether growing earned income aligns with social purpose, rather than driving mission drift.
How grants and trading income can work together to support long-term resilience and impact

Key insights include:

- Incentivised grants can encourage innovation, calculated risk-taking, and a shift in commercial mindset
- Commercial growth was largely experienced as complementary to social mission
- Training and peer learning were critical in embedding change at organisational level

🔗 Read the full report and executive summary: https://lnkd.in/e2Qnr8Dm

🎤 Join the conversation | Public event

The findings from this research will be discussed at an upcoming in-person public event:

Market and mission: building the commercial capacity of social enterprises and community business

How do social enterprises and community businesses generate income while staying true to their purpose? When does earning strengthen sustainability - and when might it begin to reshape mission?

Hosted by the Marshall Institute in collaboration with the School for Social Entrepreneurs, the event will feature:

Alastair Wilson OBE, Jonathan Roberts, Kerryn Krige, Tim Davies-Pugh
Chair: Kieron Boyle
The discussion will explore what enterprise-led grants mean in practice for:

- organisational sustainability and resilience
- leadership behaviour and strategic decision-making
- mission alignment over time
- organisational capability, agency, and professionalisation

📅 Thursday 12 March 2026
⏰ 6:30–8:00pm (GMT)
📍 In person
🔗 Register here: https://lnkd.in/eDVYNxfU

Where are you on your social entrepreneurship journey?

🌱 Just starting out?�
💡 Have an idea you want to develop?�
🚀 Already running a venture and ready to strengthen your impact?

The Online Certificate in Social Entrepreneurship is designed to meet you where you are and help you move forward with clarity and confidence.

Over 8 weeks, you’ll gain the tools, models and support to turn purpose into action, all with the flexibility to study online, alongside work and life.

📅 Next cohort starts: 4 March 2026�⏳
Apply by: 24 February 2026

Learn more: https://ow.ly/G96v50Yfgjh
Register: https://ow.ly/2j0X50Yfgjg

As the Marshall Institute enters its second decade, we are thrilled to share our Annual Report 2025 - a celebration of connection, growth and impact.

“Last year marks ten years of the Marshall Institute - ten years of building, testing and learning how ideas become action, and action becomes impact. What excites me most is not any single achievement, but the strength of the community we have built: colleagues, students, alumni, partners and ventures who continue to push one another to do better.”
Professor Stephan Chambers, Director, Marshall Institute

Highlights from our 2025 included:

🎓 Teaching & Learning
From the Executive MSc in Social Business and Entrepreneurship to executive education, online certificates and the MPA Social Impact specialism, we welcomed students and practitioners from around the world - united by purpose, curiosity, and a drive to make an impact.

🌍 Research & Thought Leadership
Our faculty advanced landmark research on philanthropy, social finance, market creation, and systems change, contributing to major publications and shaping global debates on the impact economy.

🤝 Partnerships & Convening
Through roundtables, public events, and global collaborations, we continued to bring together academics, policymakers, practitioners, and philanthropists - fostering dialogue and action for public benefit.

🚀 100x Impact
A year of growth, focus, and momentum: 16 new grants, a 15x funding multiplier, global expansion, and increasing influence on how social innovation scales within systems.

As we look ahead to the next decade, we do so with deep gratitude to our community - students, alumni, partners, colleagues, funders, and friends - and with genuine excitement for what is yet to come.

📘 Read the full Annual Report 2025 and explore the people, ideas, and partnerships shaping the Marshall Institute’s next chapter:https://www.lse.ac.uk/asset-library/lse-2025-v5-1.pdf

💬 What achievement or moment from this year inspires you most?