Government opens search for fund manager as £500m Better Futures Fund moves into delivery
The UK Government has opened a competition to appoint a delivery partner for Round 1 of the Better Futures Fund (BFF), the first major procurement milestone since the fund was announced in July 2025.
The delivery partner will be selected by 10 July 2026 and will oversee the commissioning of Social Outcomes Partnerships (SOPs) for Round 1, which commits up to £37 million of government funding to tackling child poverty through outcomes-based contracts. Organisations wishing to apply have until 12 June 2026, with clarification questions closing 8 May and responses published 15 May.
Once the delivery partner is in place, the fund will open for project bids this summer. Round 1 is targeted at organisations with prior SOP delivery experience – projects that are ready to begin delivering quickly. SOPs tie government payments to measurable improvements in people’s lives, including school attainment, youth employment and reduced reoffending.
The BFF is designed to catalyse up to £1 billion in total – combining government outcomes payments, up to £500 million in match funding from local commissioners and philanthropists, and upfront capital from social investors. Further funding rounds, open to all applicants including those without prior SOP experience, will follow from 2027 across the Fund’s 10-year lifecycle.
The fund builds on nearly 15 years of outcomes-based commissioning in the UK. More than 100 SOPs have been launched to date, supporting over 100,000 people in areas including youth unemployment, mental health and homelessness. The BFF is expected to be the largest outcomes fund of its kind in the world.
James Burrows, Managing Director at Better Society Capital commented: “This is a significant step forward for the Better Futures Fund, the Social Outcomes Partnerships market and most importantly for the children, young people and families this fund is designed to support. The government’s search to find the right delivery partner signals that the fund is moving from ambition into action.
“SOPs have already proven what’s possible with over 100 already launched across the UK, supporting more than 100,000 people facing complex challenges. The Better Futures Fund has the scale and the government commitment to take that proven model to an entirely new level: up to £1 billion deployed over ten years, supporting 200,000 children, young people and families to build better futures.
“For investors, the announcement reiterates the long-term commitment to this policy and significant future funding, which will enable capital to mobilise at scale. We’ve seen growing appetite across pension funds, foundations and institutional investors who want to back this opportunity and the market is ready to respond. We look forward to supporting partners across government, local communities and the investment world to make this fund as successful as it can be for children and families across England.”
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