Better Futures Fund

Overview

The £500 million Better Futures Fund (BFF) will support up to 200,000 childrenchildren, young people and their families over the next 10 years. It will do this by bringing together government, local communities, charities, social enterprises, investors and philanthropists, to deliver place-based solutions to complex social problems.problems across England.

The funding will primarily be for the commissioning of Social Outcomes Partnerships (SOPs), with government payments tied to the achievement of measurable improvements in people’s lives, such as school attainment, improved youth employment, and reduced youth reoffending.

The fund will aim to raise anotherup to an additional £500 million fromin localmatch government,funding socialfor investors,outcomes andover philanthropiststhe onfull topduration of the government’sprogramme, funding,working with partners including local government commissioners and philanthropists. It will also bring in additional upfront funding from social investors creating total funding of up to £1 billion. We are committed to a 10-year funding lifecycle, ensuring funding is accessible for the duration of the programme.

The BFF will fund projects which support the government’s ambitions to tackle the structural and root causes of poverty for children, young people and their families - projects that reduce the short or longer term impacts of poverty on the life chances and outcomes for children. children.  

The specific outcomes the fund will look to deliver are currently being developed.determined. The specific metrics will be decided in local places, aligned to local needs, but will be guided by an overarching set of outcomes that align with evidence on tackling child poverty. 

The UK is a leader in the international SOPs market, with 100 partnerships launched,launched supportingto overdate. 100,000 beneficiaries in areas like youth unemployment, mental health and homelessness. The Better Futures Fund follows the success of other SOPsSOP funds, such as the Life Chances Fund (LCF).(2016 Launchedto in2025), 2016,which thissupported fundmore focusedthan on50,000 supportingpeople those in societyareas wholike faceyouth theunemployment, mostmental significanthealth barriers to leading happy and productivehomelessness. lives.Building Theon £70this millionexperience fundand rana untilcomprehensive 2025evaluation withexercise, projectsthe helpingBetter supportFutures moreFund thanwill 50,000be beneficiariesthe inlargest areasoutcomes likefund youthof unemployment,its mentalkind healthin andthe homelessness.world.

Timescales

Round 1: funding

The Departmentfirst forfunding Culture,round Mediais andexpected Sportto areinvite currentlybids in theSummer design2026, stagesdesigned offor thethose fundwith inprior closeexperience collaborationof withdelivering aSOPs, rangeand ofexisting stakeholdersSOP fromprojects. acrossSuccessful localapplicants government,will thebe impactexpected economy,to anddemonstrate civilthey society.are Given‘ready theto scalego’ andprojects, ambitionable ofto thebegin fund,delivering thisquickly. 

This processfirst willfunding takeround timewill inbe orderable to ensurecommit thatup theto fund£37 deliversmillion itsof objectivesgovernment -funding bettertowards outcomes forwithin youngthe peoplenext decade. Further detail on criteria and theirmatch families. funding requirements will be available in the summer.

Round 1: delivery partner

WeDCMS areis anticipatingrunning a two-stagecompetition rolloutto withselect a dedicatedgrant capacityrecipient andto capabilitydeliver buildingthe programme.first Theround firstof phasethe isBFF. expectedFor tofurther inviteinformation bidsand indetails Summeron 2026how forto projectsapply whereto allbe partnersthe haveRound a1 trackDelivery recordPartner, ofvisit successfulthe socialcompetition outcomesguidance partnershippage.

Future delivery.funding Thisrounds

Subsequent rounds that will becover followedthe byremainder aof multi-yearthe secondBFF’s phase,funding anticipatedwill tobe launchfrom in2027 2027,onwards, designed to significantly scale up the number of socialSOPs outcomes partnerships and widen participation across the market.market. 

These will be open to all applicants, whether or not they have experience of SOP delivery. We areknow committedthat it takes time to aset 10-yearup fundingSOPs lifecycle,and ensuringthis fundingwill isbe accessiblereflected forin the durationdesign and management of the programme.fund. 

We are currently in the design process of the fund, in close collaboration with a range of stakeholders from across local government, the impact economy, and civil society. This includes exploring the role of local and regional government, prioritising a place-based approach to the fund’s delivery. More information will be available on this page in due course.

Capacity and capability building programme

Alongside these funding rounds, we will launch a dedicated capacity and capability building programme. This is in recognition of the leadcommitment upand time required to theestablish firstnew phaseSOPs ofand bidding.further details will be provided in Autumn 2026.

Social Outcomes Partnerships 

There are a range of entrenched social problemsissues, such as homelessness, unemployment and health inequalities which, due to their intersecting nature, haveare been consistently challenging to address through conventional approaches to public service commissioning. Social Outcomes Partnerships (SOPs) create partnerships between the public, private and voluntary sectors to help solve these challenges through a clear focus upon delivering the outcomes and real world impact we want to see. For more information and guidance on the use of SOPs (also known as Social Impact Bonds), visit the Social Outcomes Partnerships page.