Insights and learning
Little Ouse Headwaters Project (LOHP)
We learn so that we, and the organisations we work with, can make intelligent and evidence-based decisions about how to be effective in a complex environment.
Our approach to learning is guided by two questions:
- What does the world look like for the issues, organisations and people we support?
- Where are we making most and least progress and why?
Below you'll find our insights reports - sharing what we've learned from our funding - along with research or evaluation reports we've commissioned, and key publications from work we fund.
Do also take a look in Latest for news and blogs about our work.
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Diversity, Equity and Inclusion
Our commitments on Diversity, Equity and Inclusion as an organisation and through our work.
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Climate Change
Read about our commitment to addressing the causes and impacts of climate change.
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Open and trusting grant-making
Learn about our commitments to open and trusting grant-making, which is part of a campaign launched by the Institute for Voluntary Action Research (IVAR).
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You might be interested in
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12 August 2026Land truths, when the fires are burning
As devastating fires have spread across parts of the UK this summer, it’s clear we are already feeling the impacts of climate change. In the media, there is a debate about rewilding. Some have blamed it for the severity of the wildfires. Others have said rewilding is a solution. Who is right?
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Lessons from co-designing the Youth-Led Creativity Fund
Louise Chandler from our Involving Young People Collective shares her reflections from the co-design process for the Youth-Led Creativity Fund and what it taught her about power, responsibility and youth-leadership.
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What do people think about Esmée Fairbairn Foundation 2026
Read the key findings from a 2026 survey of successful and unsuccessful applicants on their experiences of working with Esmée, alongside what we plan to do in response.
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People can’t build for the future while they're fighting fires
In Gina Crane’s final project for Esmée, she has been working with Oliver French to pull together six years of learning about Esmée’s strategy for Trustees. In this blog, Gina shares the challenges organisations we fund are facing and shares three things she'd like funders to do.
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