Friday 4 September 2015
Eight weeks after George Osborne detailed major changes to the Welfare System in the July Budget, Policy in Practice, Universal Credit software specialist, has announced today that it has completed a major funding round from growth investors.
Policy in Practice is a rapidly growing social policy software and consulting business which sells to central and local government, local authorities and housing associations, providing a digital platform to help people on benefit see visibly how changes in the welfare system will support them in moving back into work.
The investment will help the company to grow its market share, further develop its software platform to meet demand for outcome-based welfare support services and increase its social impact.
Already backed by Telefonica’s Wayra, investment has now been secured from tech entrepreneur Martin Leuw, welfare to work industry expert Sean Williams and public sector advisor and author Alexander Stevenson. The latest funding has been matched by social investment from the Big Venture Challenge, Unltd and the Big Lottery.
Deven Ghelani founded Policy in Practice in 2012 to help bridge the gap between policy intent and delivery. Deven was part of the team that developed Universal Credit at the Centre for Social Justice. He moved into policy after experiencing for himself how the welfare system works, and finding largely that it doesn’t. He developed two main services that help people to understand the impact of changes in government policy, so they can make better decisions:
- A Universal Benefit Calculator that models the current benefit system alongside Universal Credit, and helps people to budget effectively.
- A ‘big data’ service that helps local authorities map the cumulative impact of welfare changes on a household basis, to help them to deliver better targeted support.
The company’s social mission is a solid fit for social business investor Martin Leuw who said, “I focus on growth businesses with a strong social purpose and Policy in Practice fits that profile perfectly. The Wayra Unltd social investment incubator first introduced me to them, and the company has experienced impressive growth in the last 15 months.”
Sean Williams said “I started my career as an employment advisor. I know how important it is to have engaging and intuitive software that helps people to understand they can be better off in work. Policy in Practice have the deep sector knowledge and policy expertise necessary to really make a difference in this space.”
Alexander Stevenson said “Genuinely motivating people to change behaviour is a tough challenge and I whole heartedly support those who seek ways to make change happen. Deven and the team at Policy in Practice have created a brilliant yet practical solution that we know works.”
The company works with local authorities, housing associations and employment service providers. Clients include the Department for Work and Pension, Birmingham City Council and Serco Welfare to Work services.
Welcoming in the new investment Deven Ghelani, Policy in Practice CEO, said “This investment demonstrates great faith in the team and the product. Together with the match funding we’ve also secured from UnLtd we’re confident that we can help even more organisations and individuals to understand changes in government policy, so they can be better supported into work and make the decisions that are right for them.”
Ends
Notes for Editors
About Policy in Practice
(www.policyinpractice.co.uk)
Policy in Practice believes change happens on the frontline. We bridge the gap between policy development and its implementation by combining deep policy insight with practical frontline experience and technological expertise.
Deven Ghelani was part of the team that developed Universal Credit and founded Policy in Practice in 2012 to make policy work for people. He saw how complex and process-oriented the welfare system was and wanted to change that. He set up Policy in Practice to communicate information to people on the frontline in a fast, user-friendly way, and help people to make the decisions that are right for them.
For further information please contact:
Deven Ghelani, CEO, Policy in Practice
Tel +44 (0)7863 560 677
Email deven@policyinpractice.co.uk
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