Social Impact Cluster

The Sussex Impact Exchange

Our membership community for charities, non-profits and CICs, the Sussex Impact Exchange is about building partnerships to power your mission. Through regular meet-ups, collaboration hubs and access to the Sussex Innovation network, members can connect with likeminded organisations, university expertise, practical resources and partnership opportunities.

In the face of rising demand, shrinking funding, and the need to innovate to stay sustainable, this social impact cluster is designed to make deeper change happen, helping you to build financial resilience and increase your impact.

Academic Research

Alongside a cluster of purpose-led enterprises, access to world-leading research expertise from the University of Sussex can help support your game-changing innovation with specialist skills or external validation. The University’s core research strengths offer a whole variety of practical insights, including:

• Sussex Sustainability Research Programme: a Centre of Excellence that brings together multiple strands of Sussex research with a shared focus on achieving the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals for people and the planet.
• Institute for Development Studies: ranked first in the world for Development Studies by the QS University Rankings, IDS is an authority on equitable and sustainable development, working with governments, NGOs and civil society to create progressive social change.
• Science Policy Research Unit: part of the University of Sussex Business School, SPRU is one of the world’s leading centres of research on science, technology and innovation policy and management, understanding how to ensure that research leads to transformational change.

If you think your innovation project might benefit from this one-of-a-kind combination of academic and commercial networks, get in touch to join our charity and social impact cluster.