About Us
The Social Market Foundation (SMF) is Britain’s leading cross-party think tank. Our mission is to enable markets and government to work together to benefit society. We achieve this through the development of high quality, independent and pragmatic public policy research and debate across a wide range of social and economic areas.
What we do
The Social Market Foundation works to promote evidence-based policy and cross-party co-operation in politics. From our base at the heart of Westminster, we publish research on public policy and convene conversations that improve policy-making and public debate. A registered charity, our mission is to educate the public and their representatives about how better policies can deliver greater wealth, happiness and fairness.
Our work covers many aspects of public policy, including economics and market regulation, work, skills and education, public sector reform, energy and the environment, and the way power and wealth is shared between people and places. We believe in the power of markets to create and share wealth, but know that this requires a sensible partnership between the state and the private sector.
Overseen by a cross-party Board of Trustees, we do not take sides in party political debates but work to inform people, of all parties and none, about how public policy can improve outcomes, especially for the people and places too often left out of the political conversation
Who Funds Us?
The Social Market Foundation (SMF) is a company limited by guarantee registered in England and Wales (company number 02537035), and is a registered charity (charity number 1000971). Registered address: Third Floor, 5-6 St Matthew Street, London SW1P 2JT. The purpose of the SMF is to advance the education of the public in the economic, social and political sciences.
We are funded predominantly through sponsorship of our research, public policy debates and party conference work. The sponsor of each debate or publication is clearly displayed on the materials accompanying the event or on the publication, and on the relevant webpage. The SMF retains full editorial control over all of its output and we pride ourselves on the transparency of our funding. Further information about our funders is available via the links below and on our page on the Charity Commission website. If you require more information about how the SMF is funded, please contact enquiries@smf.co.uk.