**Help design a new tool to help you put the purpose into your business**

We’re working with Bates Wells Braithwaite (BWB) to design an online tool that limited companies can use to change their Articles of Association and governance to reflect their social purpose.  We want to make it easy for social entrepreneurs and mission-led businesses to declare and commit to a purpose beyond profit. The tool will cater for startups, as well as more established businesses, and for businesses that have a primary social purpose as well as those who wish to create social impact alongside commercial goals. The project is a direct response to the recommendations of last year’s Mission-Led Business Review.

What is the problem it's trying to solve?Â

Evidence suggests that 1 in 4 people starting a business want to make it social in some way. The vast majority of businesses use the standard company Articles of Association and few use UK company law to define a purpose beyond profit. Ways of doing this are not always clear and few entrepreneurs are able to access legal help.

Our solution

• Develop a set of ""best practice"" Articles of Associations and guidance that entrepreneurs can use, in language that meets their needs.
• Carry out research to understand the experiences and preferences of entrepreneurs when they are establishing their businesses and considering their purpose.
• Use these insights to design and build an online tool based around entrepreneurs’ needs. The mock-up for the tool and user testing will be ready by Summer 2017. The focus will then turn to the product build and building a supportive campaign around it.

This is bringing the best of design thinking into policy making.

How can I get involved?

Partner with us This collaborative project is co-funded by the Office for Civil Society and we are working with Companies House and other relevant organisations. We invite other partners to join us. Please contact our Policy team for more information.