Matt Whittaker
@mattwhittaker.bsky.social
Exec Director at the Nuffield Foundation. Previously at PBE and the Resolution Foundation. Football nut (coaching, playing, watching) and eclectic gig goer.
After seven years in post, our CEO, @mattwhittaker.bsky.social, will step down on September 18, 2026. Under Matt's leadership, PBE has grown in both scale and scope to support more social sector organisations, unleash the power of civil society and tackle low wellbeing.
NEW: Our latest study – part of a new series called Mistaken Britain – shows public perceptions of crime are at odds with reality The public have an inflated view of the risk of crime, wrongly think many crimes are rising, and hold misperceptions about offenders' ethnicity and nationality ⬇️ 🧵
👀 ICYMI 📉 The public wrongly think mobile phone theft, vehicle theft, burglary and murder have all increased or stayed the same since 2010 📖 This finding comes from our latest report which examines misperceptions of crime among the UK public ➡️ www.kcl.ac.uk/news/public-...
Thanks to Toby Lowton, Founder at TL Economics and Senior Analytical Manager at NHS England, for his work on the evaluation. Read our blog on Toby's findings, written by our Chief Economist, @jonfranklin.bsky.social and CEO, @mattwhittaker.bsky.social: pbe.co.uk/insights/imp...
Impact squared: Measuring ‘the PBE effect’ on shaping charity income | PBE
Impact sits at the heart of everything we do at PBE, but what about the specifics of our own impact? What does each £1 invested in our organisation end up delivering?
pbe.co.uk
What if Andy Burnham could raise £15bn – without a tax rise? There's one catch. He'd need to solve the UK’s biggest and least-discussed tax problem. Almost half of all small business corporation tax isn't being paid - and nobody knows why. Thread:
My friend, mentor and former boss Gus O’Donnell & I wrote a piece for The House magazine on the us of WhatsApp etc in government. Don’t expect everyone to agree with it but we hope you find it at least interesting and thought provoking www.politicshome.com/opinion/arti...
Ministers must be able to let off steam – forcing full WhatsApp disclosure is unwise
The Mandelson files reignited the debate over what to do about the government being run on WhatsApp, which allows disappearing messages and stolen ...
politicshome.com
I'm stepping down to a new role in the autumn to try to get a bit more "life" in the "work - life balance" thing, so there's a vacancy to do my job: overseeing the research and policy output of RF. What a fab job for someone.
Ruth Curtice@ruthcurtice.bsky.social · 3mo agoLots of jobs changing at the moment - but let's focus on the most important. I am recruiting for a new partner in crime. Take a look, and get in touch if you want to help us deliver higher living standards across the UK, with an incredible team. www.resolutionfoundation.org/director/
New @pbe.co.uk note on non-profit pay trends shows charity employees are earning £3,500 less today than if their pay rises had kept pace with the private sector's. Stems from inflation exposure and highlights the need for new 'shock absorbers' in the sector's income model pbe.co.uk/insights/pay...
Here's a neat way (via @jonfranklin.bsky.social) of showing the mismatch between ambition and action when it comes to our offer to children and young people. Two word clouds: the first identifying what matters (health, confidence) and the second showing what gets measured (attendance, attainment)
Are you tired of the non-stop utopian/dystopian AI predictions from CEOs? Do you want to hear what's ACTUALLY happening, from the people it's actually happening TO? If so, I have good news: I felt the same, so I have worn out my shoe-leather & written this book! www.penguin.co.uk/books/462159...
Wowsers. Scientists found that between 2005-19, there was a 28% decline in spoken words. While all age groups were affected, participants aged 25 or younger showed a markedly steeper decline in speech. Seems significant and I've not seen this widely referred to www.sciencefocus.com/news/losing-...
We’re losing 338 spoken words every day | BBC Science Focus Magazine
We've been nattering less and less each year since 2005, according to research on more than 2,000 people across three continents
sciencefocus.com
In our new report, we set out five recommendations that outline a pathway from improving wellbeing measurement to strengthening the evidence base and enabling more robust long-term analysis. pbe.co.uk/publications...
Levelling the playing field: Measuring wellbeing among people with learning disabilities | PBE
Tools for measuring the impact of services on the wellbeing of the 1.5 million people in the UK with learning disabilities are falling short. Current methodologies focus on factors that are viewed as ...
pbe.co.uk
We want to level the playing field for people with learning disabilities by establishing more consistent ways to measure the impact of things that affect their lives.
Please help share what must be one of the best jobs ever. We are looking for a writer to join @ourworldindata.org to work with our fantastic team including @maxroser.bsky.social and @hannahritchie.bsky.social. £80k - £120k / ideally full time / location flexible ourworldindata.org/hiring-write...
We’re looking for a writer
We’re hiring a writer who can make the world’s largest problems understandable to our large Our World in Data audience.
ourworldindata.org
Our CEO @mattwhittaker.bsky.social shares his view on what the geopolitical shifts in 2026 mean for charity finances. pbe.co.uk/insights/on-...
On a war footing: what might the economic fallout from conflict in the Middle East mean for the UK's charities? | PBE
While the trajectory of the war in Iran remains highly uncertain – with the current ceasefire providing only temporary, and fragile, relief – the speed with which its economic impact has rippled aroun...
pbe.co.uk
It's a bit of a myth that rents are constantly increasing faster than earnings or overall inflation - on average, they're not. So what *is* the problem of unaffordability in the private rented sector? And what does this mean for how we go about fixing it? Our take 🧵⬇️
With household finances set to come under pressure again as a result of the conflict in the Middle East, it’s helpful to have new ONS data out today on the state of play just ahead of the first strikes on Iran at the end of Feb. what does it tell us?
PBE Volunteer and data analyst Ricard De Haro Flores created a tailored Excel-based data management and reporting tool for the Renewal Trust. 🧑💻
It’s fairly-well understood that the civil society workforce differs from the wider economy. A much higher share of (paid) jobs are held by women (67%/48%) and disabled people (25%/18%), but relatively few by young people (5%/11% of 16-24s) and ethnic minorities (12%/16%). But how did we get here?
Really pleased to publish our 2025 impact report, showcasing a year in which we arguably did more than ever before to empower UK charities, unleash civil society's potential, and drive the use of economics for good pbe.co.uk/impact_repor... Huge credit and thanks to all in the @pbe.co.uk family
Our impact in 2025 | PBE
The wellbeing challenge is a complex one. In 2025 we used our unique combination of economic expertise and social sector connection to help charities, funders, firms and policymakers tackle the causes...
pbe.co.uk
Really enjoyed discussing what it's like being an @instituteforgovernment.org.uk researcher at the "Working in the think tank sector" event at @resolutionfoundation.org yesterday. Recording available below, with the "Day in a life" panel starting from 1:43. www.youtube.com/watch?v=c2S1...
Working in the think tank sector: Webinar for those interested in working in the sector
YouTube video by Resolution Foundation
youtube.com
Delighted that we at @instituteforgovernment.org.uk are once again supporting this annual online event aimed at reaching people currently under-represented in the think tank sector… please share with your networks…
Latest data on life expectancy in local areas of the UK shows overall improvements in outcomes over the last 20 years, but a widening of the absolute gap between the best and worst performing parts of the country. Progress has slowed (or even reversed in some areas) in the last decade too
This is probably a well-known thing, but I hadn’t seen the data before… Need to be cautious of sample sizes and can’t infer causality, but interesting to see both how overall drug use rises as wellbeing falls and how much the pattern varies by drug. Cannabis clearly dominates the overall picture
The UK’s young people have the lowest wellbeing in Europe. This comes at a huge cost, with too many children feeling persistently unhappy. Hear from economists, educators, academics & young people on the difference arts programmes make to wellbeing, & how we measure it ⬇️ 📆20 November, 4 pm online
Unlocking creativity: The economic impact of engagement with arts and culture among young people | PBE
Children and young people in the UK are enduring a wellbeing crisis. Our teenagers record the lowest levels of life satisfaction in Europe, and one-in-four of our 19-year-olds has a probable mental di...
pbe.co.uk
Our latest report explores how early engagement with arts and culture can play a powerful role in supporting young people’s wellbeing, and assesses the value for money these programmes generate. pbe.co.uk/publications...
Unlocking creativity: the economic impact of engagement with arts and culture among young people | PBE
Children and young people in the UK have the lowest wellbeing in Europe. National survey data from 2023 show that about one in five children and young people aged 8 to 25 years were likely to have a m...
pbe.co.uk
A very worrying escalation of online harassment. Somebody has used a video of me saying "racism in football is a game of two halves" + put a fake voiceover on it saying "what I would say to the girls of Rotherham is it is a game of two halves" x.com/EuropaIneffa...
Europa Ineffable on X: "In a recent panel at what looks like Labour conference, Sunder Katwala, wearing an England shirt, appeared to compare the R🦍 GANGS to a football match: "it's a game of two halves" 🥴 https://t.co/b5YNKyaQtu" / X
In a recent panel at what looks like Labour conference, Sunder Katwala, wearing an England shirt, appeared to compare the R🦍 GANGS to a football match
x.com
We're hiring!💥 IPPR North are looking for a senior researcher who has big ideas for the future of our regions. Join us at this pivotal time for our economy and democracy. Based in Manchester, apply by 31st October. www.ippr.org/jobs/senior-...
Senior Research Fellow, IPPR North | IPPR
The Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) is an independent charity working towards a fairer, greener, and more prosperous society.
ippr.org
