New Economics Foundation

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New Economics Foundation (nef) is the UK's leading think tank promoting social, economic and environmental justice. Our purpose is to bring about a Great Transition – to transform the economy so that it works for people and the planet.

The UK and most of the world's economies are increasingly unsustainable, unfair and unstable. It is not even making us any happier – many of the richest countries in the world do not have the highest well-being.From climate change to the financial crisis it is clear the current economic system is not fit for purpose. We need a Great Transition to a new economics that can deliver for people and the planet.

nef's mission is to kick-start the move to a new economy through big ideas and fresh thinking. We do this through

  1. High quality, ground-breaking research that shows what is wrong with the current economy and how it can be better
  2. Demonstrating the power of our ideas by putting them into action
  3. Working with other organisations in the UK and across the world, to build a movement for economic change
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Team members

Charles Seaford

Charles is Head of Well-being at nef. His work involves promoting new measures of social progress and then using these to stimulate new approaches to (mainly economic) policy - for example, the design of a British investment bank. He also works on housing policy. Charles holds a BA in Philosophy, Politics and Economics and an MSc in Business Studies. He worked at the UK government’s Sustainable Development Commission and in management consultancy. Charles co-wrote a book on moral purpose in business and co-founded Prospect, a leading political and intellectual monthly magazine. Within NETGREEN, he is mainly involved in researching and analyzing current visions of a Green Economy and cataloging indicator initiatives and reporting tools.

Karen Jeffrey

Karen is a researcher in the Centre for Wellbeing at the new economics foundation (NEF). Before joining NEF, Karen worked as an analyst for a decentralised energy consultancy. She holds an MSc in Ecological Economics from the University of Edinburgh. At NEF, Karen carries out research around the empirical evidence regarding wellbeing, as well as working to influence policy-makers to reconsider how societal progress is measured. Her main tasks in the NETGREEN project are leading the team to produce a report on the definitions of the different pathways advocated to progress towards a Green Economy, producing an initial catalogue of indicators that can be applied to measuring progress towards the Green Economy, and producing the final policy brief of the project.