The London School of Economics' Marshall Institute has announced a £50 million ($68 million) commitment from investor Sir Paul Marshall to launch an accelerator for social impact ventures.

Announced at the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26) earlier this week, the Marshall Impact Accelerator will provide a new platform for the world's most promising social ventures to tackle global challenges in areas such as health, the environment, social inequality, public policy, and developmental economics. To be launched in spring 2022, the accelerator program will bring together LSE's research expertise and the institute's government and policy networks to provide critical funds and resources to the social sector.

"We live in a constantly evolving world, and if we want to overcome the challenges we face, we need to embrace brand new ways of thinking, now more than ever," said Marshall. "This donation to create the Marshall Impact Accelerator will support visionaries from every continent as they create groundbreaking new innovations and change the world. I can't wait to see what they come up with."

"As the world begins to turn away from a focus on 'making things people want' toward 'making things people need,' the scaling up of social impact projects through the Marshall Impact Accelerator will accelerate this trend," said Marshall Institute director Stephan Chambers. "Our aim is to create 'impact unicorns' — organizations improving billions of lives."

(Photo credit: London School of Economics/Nigel Stead)