Our impact
Society’s problems don’t exist in a vacuum, so they need a solution that recognises the bigger picture. Our approach has connected people – from policymakers to frontline workers to those with lived experience – to build solutions that work.
No “one size fits all”
Every system is built on relationships between people. We worked with tailored design and innovation tools to facilitate open, meaningful and insightful conversation between people who rarely have the chance to connect.
Telescope’s projects built empathy, trust and understanding between people working hard to build a better society. Participants feel optimistic and ready to lead real change in their sector.
As a social enterprise with impact at our core, we built a business model aiming to harness market demand in oder to fund that impact. We wanted to make real change through the projects and partnerships we deliver. To find out more about our work, download our annual impact reports below.
“It showed the benefit of getting views from a genuinely representative group of people, so all those different perspectives could be heard.”
— Local Authority Policy & Performance Manager
Our history
As a team, our co-founders brought together backgrounds in policy, research and social innovation, as well as diverse experience in finance, consulting and frontline service delivery. We met on the Year Here social innovation fellowship in 2018, working collaboratively to bring innovative solutions to the most pressing challenges in London.
Ruth Martin
Ruth has extensive expertise in policymaking, having worked in the UK’s national human rights institution and the House of Commons before moving to New Zealand to apply her skills to social development there. She has completed a PhD in history and is a trained facilitator, completing courses with Dare to LeadTM and REFRAMR, as well as leading human-centred design and strategy research projects. Recently back in the UK, she now works at the Blavatnik School for Government in Oxford.
Sarah Holliday
Sarah has a diverse background in science, research and social innovation. Her inspiration for co-founding Telescope came from working with amazing colleagues at the Bromley by Bow Centre, and she remains passionate about enabling and championing unheard voices with great ideas. She loves geeking out on learning experience design and is currently applying her incredible depth of knowledge to global health + climate challenges at the Wellcome Foundation.
Hebe Foster
A thoughtful, driven changemaker, Hebe is passionate about equality and empowering bottom-up solutions. Her knowledge of social impact ventures comes from work with Mercy Corps Ventures, an impact investing fund supporting early-stage ventures in emerging markets. She currently works at the Department of Business and Trade, providing policy advice on small business strategy + entrepreneurship across the country.