History

Common Purpose began in 1989 with four staff, a small office off Oxford Street and a big idea.

The organisation's progress is evidence of what can be achieved when an idea is pursued with energy and a refusal to take "no" for an answer.

Founder and Chief Executive Julia Middleton recounts the moment when the idea of Common Purpose came, at a conference on the Future of British Cities.

"I remember sitting there looking at the audience and thinking, 'If the future is this audience, we haven't much of a chance.'" She knew that solutions had to be obtained from more than just the "usual suspects".

She set up two initial programmes, in Newcastle and Coventry, dedicated to improving the quality of leadership in the UK by increasing the number of informed individuals who were actively involved in shaping the future of the areas in which they lived and worked.

Since then, more than 100,000 leaders have been involved in Common Purpose's programmes and countless others have benefited from the organisation's websites.

Common Purpose boasts a growth rate few new businesses can match, particularly if they have been seeking to establish a completely new idea in a variety of locations.

There are now 45 Common Purpose offices and 150 staff throughout the UK. Through Common Purpose International , the campaign is spreading world-wide.

"Don't get advice from people who think your idea is brilliant. Talk to the cynics. Then you know what you're up against." - Julia Middleton, Founder and Chief Executive, Common Purpose