Our Founding Commitments
The standards by which everyone involved in the National Strategy Project agrees to operate.
The National Strategy Project exists to help the United Kingdom think, decide and act together for the long term public good. We believe the future should be shaped with society, not for it — and that this responsibility belongs to all of society. We ask everyone involved in this work — founders, trustees, colleagues, volunteers, advisers, partners, donors and supporters — to make these commitments publicly and hold one another accountable to them. These commitments are the foundation for earning trust.
1. We seek impact — not power.
The Project exists to help people understand reality, work through difficult choices and play a meaningful part in shaping the future they share. The decisions — and their execution — belong to democratic institutions and to the people who elect them. The National Strategy Project — and in future the Institute for our Nation — will never legislate, regulate, tax, spend public money or compel anyone to do anything. We do not seek power and do not wish to hold it — but we care deeply about how it is used. Our role is to help society use power more wisely for the long-term public good: to understand reality more clearly, make better decisions and act on them together. We exist to strengthen democracy's ability to shape a better future, not to replace it.
2. We serve the whole country.
No individual, party, ideology, organisation or interest group speaks for the nation. Neither do we. Our responsibility is to help ensure that every part of society has the opportunity to be heard fairly and that no group is excluded from shaping the future we share. We will actively seek out perspectives, places and communities often overlooked by public life — including those who distrust institutions or do not normally participate.
3. We do not choose the answers.
Participants in deliberation will be selected independently to reflect the country as it is. Evidence will be presented fairly. Different viewpoints will be heard. Not everyone in a healthy society thinks alike. Disagreement is inevitable and often valuable. Our purpose is not to eliminate differences or manufacture consensus. We do not tell people what to think. Our role is to help establish where informed public judgement lies once people have had the opportunity to think seriously together. Sometimes this may reveal agreement. Sometimes it may reveal disagreement. Both are important. Our aim is to help society understand itself better: where people agree, where they disagree and what they are prepared to do despite those differences.
4. We show our working.
No individual, organisation or institution possesses complete understanding. Every knowledge document will identify its sources, assumptions and areas of disagreement. We will invite challenge, criticism and correction. Trust should never depend on taking anyone's word for it. People should be able to see how we reached our conclusions and decide for themselves.
5. We will be transparent about money.
Funding should never determine conclusions. We will publish our funding arrangements, disclose major donors and maintain safeguards to prevent any donor, organisation or interest group from directing our work. We will not accept funding that requires us to reach predetermined conclusions. The public interest comes first.
6. We will be accountable.
Trust must be earned. Our governance, decision-making processes and standards will be published openly. Independent oversight will be built into the organisation. These commitments are designed to be tested from the outside. We expect to be challenged, scrutinised and held to account by anyone who cares about the future of this work.
7. We will bring the country's strengths together.
The United Kingdom is rich in strengths, but too often these operate in isolation from one another. We will work to connect people, ideas, resources and leadership across sectors, generations, places and the whole of society so that more of the country's capabilities can be brought to bear on our shared goals. No organisation can build the future alone. Our role is to help society align and mobilise its strengths towards the future it wants, and support the leadership needed to achieve it.
8. We will put future generations — and the world they inherit — in the room.
Many of the most important decisions we make today will shape the lives of people not yet born and the world in which they live. We commit to considering the long-term consequences of our actions and ensuring that future generations are represented in our thinking.
9. We will approach this work with humility.
The future cannot be predicted with certainty. No individual, organisation or institution has all the answers. We will be open to new evidence, challenge and better ideas. We expect to learn, adapt and improve over time. Our purpose is to help society understand reality, make decisions and adapt together in an uncertain world.
10. We will leave the country stronger than we found it.
Everything we do should strengthen society's ability to think, decide and act together. Our success will be measured by the capability we leave behind — not by the growth of our organisation or the profile we achieve. It will be measured by whether the United Kingdom becomes more capable of shaping its future deliberately, democratically and together.
These commitments are the foundation of the National Strategy Project. Hold us to them. And if you choose to join this work, make them your own. The future belongs to all of us. The responsibility for shaping it does too.