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Unlocking our hidden entrepreneurs

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The people closest to social challenges often have the best ideas to solve them – but the least ability to act.

Through our Citizen First model we find and back these hidden entrepreneurs – a year's Real Living Wage salary so they can build their businesses full time, alongside seed funding and specialist support – while systematically mobilising their place around them.

The result: citizens turning lived experience into businesses that change lives – independently evaluated at £10.43 of social and economic value for every £1 invested, in year one alone.
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Citizen First: A Proven Model

The independent evaluation, by Brunel University of London and Northumbria University, found:

"Citizen First does not simply support individual entrepreneurs: it constitutes a missing layer of civic infrastructure – a repeatable mechanism for converting lived experience into local economic and social value, at a scale and cost-effectiveness that merits continued regional investment."

‍The model is codified and on its third deployment. Its returns have been independently assessed twice, in two places – by the same research team, using the same methodology – with the ratio improving between them. The evaluators' conclusion: it "warrants expansion to other towns and city regions."

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Explore our Independent Evaluation

This report presents an independent evaluation of Citizen First LCR's first year, conducted by researchers at Brunel University of London and Northumbria University, using social return on investment (SROI) analysis, participatory action research and oral history.

Click the tiles below to explore the report

Download the full report here

Transforming lives in the Liverpool City Region

People Fixing The World with Myra Anubi

Citizens First LCR

Within a year, Citizen First entrepreneurs had built businesses: from robots for healthcare to apps for sleep support, from tackling the NEET crisis to addressing knife crime – even a uniquely accessible mobile hair salon. Businesses now trading and already securing investment, funding, commercial partnerships and revenue.

Behind them stands a coalition of more than 50 organisations from across the Liverpool City Region – universities, businesses, housing associations, civic organisations and public bodies – all helping local entrepreneurs succeed.

Bring Citizen First to your community

The independent evaluation concluded that Citizen First warrants expansion to other towns and city regions. The next wave of places is already taking shape.

Whether you're a combined authority, local council, university, business, housing association or place-based funder, we'd welcome a conversation about what Citizen First could look like in your community.

Partner with us

I believe Public Life has the potential to change the way we tackle our country's most pressing social problems.

Dave Allan

Founder, ?WhatIf! Innovation

Where James leads brave people follow and they and their communities reap the rewards.

Karen Badenoch

Hidden entrepreneur participant and Founder of Trusted Money Confidence