Refreshing our brand isn’t about looking different for the sake of it. It’s about better reflecting who we are, what we do, and how we can better connect with the people and organisations we work with.
Why we’re changing
When PBE was formed in 2009, our focus was to connect volunteer economists with charities. Over time, we’ve grown from a purely voluntary organisation to a dedicated team of over 20 staff and a network of economic associates. We now offer consultancy, run large-scale funded research programmes, and produce ground-breaking research that drives real policy change. We continue to connect skilled economists and analysts with charities through our volunteer matching service. Read our latest Impact Report to find out more.
At the same time, our charitable mission has evolved and is clearer —to tackle the causes and consequences of low wellbeing in the UK. The name ‘Pro Bono Economics’ no longer fully reflects the full scope of what we do, nor our mission to improve wellbeing in the UK.
That’s why we’re evolving. Our new name, PBE, and strapline ‘economics to improve lives’, reflects our broader impact without losing our roots. Alongside a name refresh, we’re creating a refreshed website to make it easier for you to find and engage with the work that matters to you.
Why it matters
We’ve taken a good look at our current brand identity and website and recognised some key challenges:
- It’s hard to explain what we do. Our work is complex, so our messaging must be clearer and consistent.
- It doesn’t work for everyone. Our colours, visuals, and website aren’t as user-friendly as we needed them to be.
- It slows us down. Without clear branding and guidance, it’s harder to communicate consistently, grow our funding, and increase our impact.
- Our website is an important shop window for our work. It needs a helpful inviting front door, so that our audiences can easily find, support and fund our work.
We’re proud of all that we’ve achieved, and we’re hopeful that our new identity and name will help us achieve more, deeper and wider impact.
How we got here
This change is the result of listening carefully and looking inward:
- We spoke to staff, trustees, and some of the charities and organisations we work with to understand what works, what doesn’t, and what we need to do better.
- We focused on creating an identity that’s accessible, clear, and reflects our aims, uniqueness and values: collaborative, rigorous, and determined.
- We aimed to strike the right balance between our value as a leading economic think tank, a service provider, and an influential charity – professional and approachable; focused and empathetic.
Our new name, brand, and website are about helping us do what we do better: sharing our work, connecting with more people, and staying true to our purpose. We believe it strikes the right balance of PBE as a rigorous, independent think tank and thought leader, as well as a charity working with others to put an end to low wellbeing in the UK.
We’re excited to share this next step with you as PBE. Thank you for being part of our journey.