Our purpose is to build and support a movement for responsible leadership within and across organisations. We believe that to thrive organisations must be outward-looking, responsive and responsible.
We exist to support organisations that aspire to be beacons of responsibility and purpose. We actively help to build cultures and leadership teams that live their values, encourage new ideas, foster dissent and build strong networks.

The Forward Institute launched in 2015 to build a movement for responsible leadership. We work closely with leaders from many of the UK’s most significant organisations. Our focus is on cross-sector learning, creating space for challenging conversations, and exploring the very real dilemmas leaders face. We know that innovation and moral leadership come from connection with other worlds, not staying in your own bubble.

Our work is guided by the lived experience of the senior leaders who advise us, as well as a faculty of many of the UK’s leading thinkers.

We are a mission-driven, non-profit organisation. We were founded by a group of senior leaders and span out of the Boston Consulting Group. Our Board is Chaired by Sir Anthony Salz, our advisors include Sir Ian Cheshire (Chairman, Barclays UK) and General Sir Nick Carter (Chief of the Defence Staff) and we have a growing community of 350 Fellows in leadership roles across the private and public sectors committed to the public good.

We focus on three key ways in order to help our partner organisations revitalise their cultures, enhance their leadership and better act for the good of society.

1. UNLEASHING THE POWER OF THE FELLOWSHIP
Our Fellowship programme unleashes a greater sense of power and responsibility in leaders. Together with our partner organisations, we’re building a Fellowship of exceptional leaders who can navigate the complex challenges we face in today’s world.

2. ACCELERATE DEEP ORGANISATIONAL CHANGE
We work with our partner organisations to embed responsibility at the core of their organisation. This is done through a number of different interventions and activities including our Exchange programme, which introduces broader groups of leaders to concepts of responsibility.

3. SHAPE THE LEADERSHIP AGENDA
The wider world is waking up to the fact that we can’t ignore societal issues – for the benefit of organisations and society. We’re sharing what we’re learning about responsible leadership more broadly in a bid to influence the wider context.